Art Pop Poppin’ up.
So Art POP is happening soon soon soon, with the first vernissage on the 30th of September at 5pm at 6600 Hutchison….
There’s a ton of stuff going on, so make sure to check out all that’s going down here.
One of the coolest parts about this year is that there are 2 central locations so it’s easy to go see a whole whackload of stuff without feeling overwhelmed. Also, as everything is going on all week, you get aladda chances to swing by and check stuff out, so no pressure. Of the peer kind or otherwise.
The artists that are showcasing this year include Bridget Moser & Jessica Campbell, Adrian Norvid, Lalie Douglas, Dominique Sirois, Kim Kielhofner, Michelle Lacombe & Sheena Hosko, Daniel Iglesia, Brendan Reed, Paul Warne, Christian Pelletier & David Beaulieu, Jean-Philippe Harvey & Adam Bergeron, Richmond Lam & Mathieu Blanchette.
It’s going to be a pretty amazing week. I am going to attempt to interview as many of these fine folks as possible to get a sense of what they’re working on, etc. so stay tuned!!
Filed under artists, events, festival, local | Tags: Adrian Norvid, Brendan Reed, Bridget Moser & Jessica Campbell, Christian Pelletier & David Beaulieu, Daniel Iglesia, Dominique Sirois, Jean-Philippe Harvey & Adam Bergeron, Kim Kielhofner, Lalie Douglas, Mathieu Blanchette, Michelle Lacombe & Sheena Hosko, Paul Warne, Richmond Lam | Comment (0)From across the sea…
Kim Kielhofner, video artist, drawer (ugh, what a horrifying word) and sketchbook virtuoso is an American living in Canada going to school at Central St Martins in London. She’s been there just a few weeks and is already grappling with what it’s like to have several shows happening at the same time in other places: the first, her ongoing show, In the Hall of Wonders, runs until October 16th at Centre Communautaire Elgar on Nun’s Island. It’s a show of drawings well worth the bike ride or ferry ride (apparently!) out there. As well, as part of the Art POP 2009 line-up, Kielhofner will be presenting a video installation at the Notman House registration venue.
I recently had the good fortune of discussing with her questions mainly concerning In the Hall of Wonders (although the drawings here are not the ones in that fantastic show) as well as other bits and ticks behind her practice.
1. What’s up with the title, In the Hall of Wonders? How do you create the links between your visual world and your written language of expression for it?
The titles are not so important to me in this case because for me the imagery in these pieces is very strong. Sometimes I use text in my work, but it’s much more integrated into the process of the work. Sometimes I will think about a certain phrase from literature or film and work with those ideas. In the case of this show, when I was creating these pieces I wasn’t using any text as a reference. The titles came after, almost as an afterthought.
2. You’re an artist that works primarily in 2 mediums. Could you give a bit of background about each medium and also how your relationships to them are similar, different, etc?
My work manifests itself most often in drawing and video. It all comes from the same process of collecting and working with a visual language. You know how I keep books of things I find, flyers, photos, sketches, even junk from the street. I think I arrange things visually so there is the hint of a narrative, but it’s not completely obvious what it is or I leave enough space for people to bring there own experience to the table. I draw figures but I don’t use any perspective so they all lie flat on a plane, kind of like a dreamscape. One action is not more obviously before another. The dreamscape along with my style of drawing gives a nice reference to a memory from the past.
Similarly with video I have begun to narrate my work but I don’t use a written text so I’m working from memory which creates these nice gaps in the speaking where one gets the sense that there’s something not being said. In my application proposal to Central Saint Martins I discussed these ideas and wanting to work in video installation, in actual space to create an experience.
There’s always an issue of presentation and I think video and drawing are the forms which are easiest to present my work. You know it’s like the question, “Where does the work lie? Is it in the process? Is it in the experience of it?” I’m interested in pushing these kind of questions.
3. Where did this work for In the Hall of Wonders come from?
These drawings are from the same project. It was over the last few years that I did these. They are all on mylar and all contain the same type of imagery which becomes kind of a mythology. These drawings are much more focused than other drawings which were simple, like a single figure. These drawings bring a lot together. When I was making them I was looking at Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights and a lot of pictures of old churchs, but also diverse things like Ian Curtis, Dolly Parton, and Kim Novak. And I also made a video using footage of Kim Novak from the TV show “What’s My Line?” I guess that’s a straight forward example of how my video and drawings fit together! But yes, this was a focused project that took a few years. I’ve done drawing series before but this is the most dedicated.
5. What are you hoping to focus on at Central St Martins?
I’m interested in interior space and memory. I’m thinking of a video following simple actions in house like drinking a coffee, or turning on a TV. Kind of creating a map of the house, but there’s obviously something missing, or something is lost… something you can’t quite put your finger on…I want to create something intimate, something vulnerable about the house. I want to bring this to the gallery into it’s own kind of “house”, to create and experience in the gallery where this space become palpable. Where you can feel it.
Filed under artists, illustration, interviews, local, video | Tags: Kim Kielhofner | Comment (1)In the hall, or perhaps land, of wonders…
Kim Kielhofner, an American-landed-Canadian-potential-Brit has been working and living in Montreal for years and years now, or at least a good chunk of time. I have had the pleasure of working with her on several projects, and of watching her practice become more intensely refined and focused as the days have worn by.
She is soon to be elsewhere for awhile as she heads to Central St. Martins for a Masters this fall, but there are plenty of opportunities to see her work in the city as she departs.
The first one is coming up for the month of September at the Centre Communautaire Elgar on Nun’s Island. While a bit of a drive/walk/bike, her drawings held therein are absolutely worth the visit. Entitled, In the Hall of Wonders, the show is a look at some of her most recent illustrative work created in the last few months.
Then, for Art Pop 2009, Kim is showing her latest video installation piece, A Dragnet for Lost Feelings, about train robbing ancestors, the mythology of the wild west, and the reality of violence and memory within families. Kielhofner has a poignancy, humour and ability to transform intense subject matters into an aesthetic and visceral language all her own. I do believe she is very much an emerging artist to keep an eye on.
If you heed my advice, and want to keep your eyeballs on her developing practice, the vernissage for In the Hall of Wonders is happening tomorrow night starting at 7 pm, and if you miss it, you can always go to see her work until October 16th at the Centre Communautaire Elgar. Again, google map, kids, google map.
Filed under art shows, artists, illustration, local, vernissage | Tags: Central St Martins, Centre Communautaire Elgar, Kim Kielhofner | Comment (0)Get your MPD on tonight
If you want to see everything there is to see tonight, you better work your multiple personality disorder to your advantage:
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- The animations of Stefan Gruber at Monastiraki (5478 St-Laurent) tonight at 8pm. His work has fluid animation and a trippy aesthetic that echoes the nonchalant sophistication of comix artists like Ron Regé Jr.
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- Before that though, you should stop by right next door, over at Le Cagibi (5490 St. Laurent), for the vernissage of an exhibition featuring the costumes, props and photos from the in-progress short film, Smile Stealers. This is happening from 5pm to 7pm.
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- The second edition of the Montreal 60 Second Film Festival is having its (free) Registration Party down the street at La Sala Rossa (4848 boul. St-Laurent) from 8:30pm to 11:30pm. The idea is simple: the first 120 filmmakers to sign up each make a 60 second film that will be screened in september. Entertainment will include performances by Julie Lequin (of her “This American Life” submission), magician Sébastien Talbot, zoetrope workshop, screentests - not to mention doorprizes featuring original art created for M60! More info on this incredible project here.
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- For the 18th year in a row, Groupe Intervention Vidéo presents Vidéos de femmes dans le parc (VFP), showing 17 short video works by awesome ladies, including forever-mammoth-favorite Kim Kielhofner. This is happening at the Théâtre de Verdure in Parc Lafontaine, 9 pm.
June 18th: Thoday is Thrazy Thursday
Brace yourselves, there are (at least) three art openings to go to today (Thursday the 18th). They all start at 7pm, and I hope you can find a way to see everything without missing Corpusse’s performance at Zoobizarre later tonight. Details below:
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1. Osvaldo Ramirez Castillo at Galerie Push (7-9pm)
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of his intense and riveting creatures (see Kit’s post below). His Bestiairies show is staying at PUSH (5264 St. Laurent) until the 26th of July.
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2. The Emporium State of Mind (7-11pm)
The product of a collaboration between The Emporium Gallery (3035 St. Antoine Ouest #74) and Montreal State of Mind: a “media spanning group exhibition that will exemplify Montreal State of Mind’s mission- to promote the inherent creativity of those who live in Montreal done through the Emporium Gallery’s curation”. The exhibition features the work of Fangs, Amber Albrecht, Sean Orena, Alexi Hobbs, 123Klan, RAGE5, Robb Jamieson, Kit Malo (!), Julien de Repentigny, Astro, Dave Arnold, Ben Pobjoy and Danielle Levy. They are 13 Montreal-based visual artists, who will each be exhibiting one artwork priced at a maximum of $200CAD
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3. A Red Bird Studios Group Show at General 54, 7pm
General 54 (54 St-Viateur O) is hosting a group show put up by the artist-run arts space Red Bird. The exhibition showcases the work of its diverse group of painters, sculptors, graphic designers and silk screeners, each one exploring their individual practice and methodology within the material constraints of a 10″x10″ canvas board. There will also be cake supplied by Cocoa Locale (best cupcakes in town, and I know what I’m talking about) and 10% off everything in the store!
Artists include: Sarah Courtemanche, Dan Buller, Kit Malo (!), Oksana, Rebecca Rosen, Jayce Yam, Mark Dixon, Julien Ceccaldi (!), Katie Earle, John Player, Andrea Kastner, Colin Lyons, Corrie Peterson, Kim Kielhofner, Naomi Cook, Lisa Wilson, Daniel Nessler, Rachel Berger, Becky Emlaw, Shannon Kelly, Konan Cook, and others…
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4. Where you must be after all the art and cake (Zoobizarre, 9pm)
Starting at 9pm, Suoni per il popolo presents Corpusse (TO), The Unireverse (Mtl) and Knurl (TO). There will be everything you could need by then (besides art and cake), i.e. synth action, confrontational performance and raw noise.
I’m especially looking forward to seeing Corpusse do his thing: it will be primitive hardcore punk with a synthesizer, and it will involve glitter and nice make-up. Here’s a video of his last performance at Zoobizarre (6388 St-Hubert) in October 2006.
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Filed under artists, events, gallery, illustration, local, painting, performance, photography, printmaking, vernissage, websites | Tags: 123Klan, Alexi Hobbs, Amber Albrecht, Andrea Kastner, Astro, Becky Emlaw, Ben Pobjoy, Colin Lyons, Corpusse, Corrie Peterson, Dan Buller, Daniel Nessler, Danielle Levy, Dave Arnold, Emporium Gallery, Fangs, Galerie Push, General 54, Jayce Yam, John Player, Julien Ceccaldi, Julien de Repentigny, Katie Earle, Kim Kielhofner, Kit Malo, Knurl, Konan Cook, Lisa Wilson, Mark Dixon, Naomi Cook, Oksana, Osvaldo Ramirez Castillo, Rachel Berger, RAGE5, Rebecca Rosen, Red Bird, Robb Jamieson, Sarah Courtemanche, Sean Orena, Shannon Kelly, Suoni per il popolo, The Unireverse, Zoobizarre | Comment (0)
