It’s now been a bit over a month since I’ve changed jobs and I’m already missing all the new music that was being sent to me and other colleagues. The last album I received (just a few weeks ago) was of Brooklyn artist Reid Paley. Anyways… an awesome surprise, he has collaborated with Frank Black, so what more can I say? I am a music lover and cannot get enough of it:)
Another surprise was when I was reviewing a tiny clip I filmed last year at Southpaw in Brooklyn. I remembered I was filming a wall of posters, because they have a poster of The Dagons who I had worked for the past three years, then I noticed that Reid’s poster was stuck right beside… small world, I knew there was something familiar about that guy…
When friends enter our new apartment, I have to reassure them that they are not dizzy, the floor is definitely sloping — as it happens often in century old houses of the Plateau neighborhood in Montreal. But then I read this nytimes story about the house that architects and poets Arakawa and Madeline Gins just built in East Hampton.
The house (is) officially called Bioscleave House (Lifespan Extending Villa). Its architecture makes people use their bodies in unexpected ways to maintain equilibrium, and that, she said, will stimulate their immune systems.
Like the undulating floor, Arakawa and Gins, as they are known professionally, tend to throw people off balance. In 45 years of working together as artists, poets and architects, they have developed an arcane philosophy of life and art, a theory they call reversible destiny. Essentially, they have made it their mission — in treatises, paintings, books and now built projects like this one — to outlaw aging and its consequences.
“It’s immoral that people have to die,” Ms. Gins explained.
I love these people!
First, I can’t recommend enough to view the audio-slide-show that can be found on the nytimes page linked above: there are wonderful pics of the house.
I could link to everything: “Zone of the clearest confusion”? “Critical ressemblance house“? What? “If thrown off-balance when entering the house, call out your name or, if you prefer, someone else’s. Should an unexpected event occur, freeze in place for as long as you see fit. Then adopt a more suitable (for being more thought out) position for an additional twenty seconds or so.”
I am no more apologetic for my slanted floor: thanks to Arakawa and Gins, now people will visit us to live forever.
It is with *great* pleasure that i welcome a new Vu d’ici contributor, Bruno. Bruno has been quietly watching and contributing to the web here, and there.
His attempts of blogging on his own have been numerous, but a little on the side, so here i provide him with a listening audience for his views on the world and the web to be heard. As you’ll find out by yourself, Bruno always has a good eye on what’s going on in the wild web. So here he is, all for you pals!
*applause!*
m-c
Ponoko is an interesting new site that offers to make objects from your design. It’s also a market where you can sell either your design or the stuff you have made there.
“Armed with nothing more than an idea, professional and hobbiest designers, crafters, hackers and artists can turn their ideas into real products – and new revenue streams – using our web commerce and digital make-on-demand services. No upfront costs. No minimum orders. No inventory. Simply click to design, make, sell and deliver your creativity to the world, at your own speed.”
Nice pitch, but of course it’s a little more complicated than that. You have to design something, order it, have it sent to you, test it, change the design and hopefully they’ll be able to make something that works. Or you have to begin the whole process again and you don’t know the cost until you have submitted something, which I didn’t do.
The step by step explanations are very clear, though. The choice of materials is limited but interesting. Personally, I am intrigued by the potential of acrylic, especially to do colored lights like this one I found this week on the ideaco website .
Over all, it’s not yet the desktop universal fabricator from science fiction stories, but it’s a nice step in this direction. If you try Ponoko, please let us know about your experience.
One of my dear friends, Manuel Bujold, has been cooking up a brilliant project for the past couple of years, called MAP or Make Art Public / Mouvement d’art public.
It was finally launched a few months ago at Square Victoria metro station. If you live in Montreal, you might’ve seen that there is a publicity free section of billboards. The ads have been replaced by art, exposing artists to thousands of daily metro users. The project will also be launched in Ottawa, Québec, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Mexico.
Art will replace publicity in subways, bus stops, billboards and columns, so check it out if you can!
I don’t know why, but I have this psychological barrier that’s keeping me from getting to get to my friend’s place, where I stored a few boxes of my personal belongings. I can’t find my passport and I assume it must be there. It’s not at the end of the world, it’s just east of Pie IX… for real. But I recently remembered an old colleague of mine opened up a sweet restaurant/café/caterer on Sainte-Catherine, just east of Pie IX, called Le Tambour…
I haven’t written on M-C’s blog for a while… I now have a gorgeous 5 months old daughter and therefore I have been a bit busy posting photos on Facebook and changing diapers. Maybe I’ll find a way to post a photo to you soon but for now – I have another amazing thing to say to you and that is that we finally have Audiogram’s catalogue on Bluetracks.ca! It was not an easy thing to do. Since early 2004, we have been patiently waiting for them to come around and accept to take the plunge and join our Independent and DRM-free MP3 online music store… very radical! So it’s done! They are now with us! I’m very happy about it. Here is their artist list :
Adam Chaki, Alain Lefèvre, Ariane Moffatt, Basta, Bïa, Bran Van 3000, Carl Bastien & TheStone County Players, Stone County Players, Damien Robitaille, Daniel Bélanger, Fredric Gary, Comeau, Freeworm, Genevive Paris, Ily Morgane, Isabelle Boulay, Jean Leloup, Jeszcze Raz, JF. Lemieux, Jim Corcoran, Judith Bérard, Karkwa, Kevin Parent, La Chango Family, Dan Bigras, Laurence Jalbert, Léandre, Lhasa De Sela, Loco Locass, Louise Forestier, Madame, Magneto, Magnolia, Mara Tremblay, Marc Déry, Marie Michèle Desrosiers, Marie-Jo Thério, Michel Cusson, Monica Freire, Océane, Paul Ahmarani / Les Nouveaux Mariés, Paul Kunigus, Pierre Lapointe, Pink Martini, Ringo Rinfret, Rudy Caya, Senaya, Sylvie Tremblay, The National Parcs, Tom Poisson, Tristan Malavoy, Urbain Desbois, Vilain Pingouin, Yves Desrosiers, Yves Marchand, Zébulon
To celebrate – here is a code for a free song to each of you: 73001CaM154Zx3
And I’m also sending each of you a big celebratory kiss – Montreal way.
An artist living between the small village of Mérindol, in the south of France, and Montréal, Canada. This blog is a collection of my thoughts, travels and explorations, online since april 2002.
My work has appeared in the Huffingtonpost, Elle, Glamour and Spin Magazine. My other projects are meïdia Studio and Creacamp. I can be hired for art/illustration assignments, conferences and workshops.
Artiste, illustratice, globe-trotter et communicatrice vivant entre Mérindol, petit village du sud de la France, et Montréal, au Canada. Ce blog est une collection de mes pensées, idées et exploration, et ce depuis avril 2002. Je suis à la tête du studio de création meïdia, et de Creacamp. Je suis disponible pour différents projets : illustration, calligraphie, conférences et ateliers.
Je suis co-auteure de Pourquoi bloguer. Mon chapitre, Bloguer pour réseauter, a été rédigé dans le but d'inspirer les gens intéressés par le potentiel de réseautage des outils de blogues : étudiants, artistes, gestionnaires d'entreprise, curieux et patenteux de tout genres. Commandez votre copie dédicacée!
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