I have been very busy (too busy to write, oops!) this month and so I decided to share with you a few pictures I managed to take here and there...a montage of my December...in Montréal.
Mermaid Skin by artist, Geneviève Bouchard from the current exhibit at the Biosphere, ONE | Outfits from a New Era. This exhibit is beautiful, I promise to share more pics from my visit soon. For this piece, the artist used 97 salmon skins, 300 meters of fishing line, 40 mussel shells.
(top) Temporary holiday snack shack at Parc Lahaie located at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and St. Joseph in Montréal where several local musicians played, Christmas trees were sold and family activities took place during the month of December. (bottom) Santa's green "shipping" container set up at the corner of Wellington and De l'Église in the City of Verdun. It was set up as a stage for Christmas carolers and Santa pictures. I applaud the creativity!
(top left) Christmas Tree Shopping on Boulevard St. Denis. (top right)Angel: exterior decoration on Montréal's Notre-Dame Basilica. (bottom right) Sign from Parc Lahaie. (bottom Left) My red winter Sorel boots.
(top) Bar at Caffè in Gamba inMontréal, the only place in town (that I have found so far) where one can get a decent expresso, (bottom) Plaza currenty under construction across the street from theNotre-Dame Basilica.
(top) detail of my Christmas Tree: my Don Quijote metal sculpture made in Zacatecas, Mexico as my "Joseph" and one of my felt Vivi Dolls as my Mary and a blessed baby Jesus given to me by my mother...and other little friends given to me as gifts through the years. (bottom) Wrapping with the Financial Times...present for my belle-mère. Don't you just love the card? I love finding unique cards for the people I love.
(top left) Presents for my lovely husband: Dec. 24th's Financial Times....and a fabulous card with a 1971 Alexander Girard graphic printed by LogomDesign. (top right) Me...at an interior architecture event drinking squash soup. (bottom) Christmas Tree picture emailed to me by my friends, Omar and Lizbeth, currently living in Mexico City.
...But here I dreamt I was an architect. The Decemberists I think this is my new favorite quote. I love that the architecture magazine, MARK chose to use this quote on the cover of their current issue. The quote ispart of a song titled, "Here I dreamt I was an architect" from the 2003 album, Castaways and Cutouts. For those of you who are not familiar with The Decemberists, they are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon. This quote is soooo wrong yet so right...it can have many interpretations. Any thoughts?
A professor in architecture school once told me, "You cannot save the world through architecture."
Perhaps he is partially right. . . BUT, I recently read about the project situated in Noh Bo, a small village along the Thailand-Burma border,designed and built by the architecture firm TYIN tegnestue from Norway.The pictures above illustrate the Soe Ker Tie House, an orphanage that houses refugees belonging to the Karenindigenous group of southeast Asia. The village also includes the Safe Haven Bathhouse, the Safe Haven Library and the Old Market Library. It is a beautiful design full of unique and vernacular details.This project did not save the world, but what a spectacular way of trying, don't you think?
I encourage you to check out the official website. Photos by Pasi Aalto.
I do not know how to ride a bike...my patient husband tried teaching me this past summer with a Montréal Bixi, but I need more practice. I just never learned when I was a young girl. One can look quite chic riding a bike. I must learn to ride...perhaps by next summer.
I love Denmark, check out the upcoming Copenhagen wheel. The project was unveiled last year at the COP15 United Nations Climate Conference. It was devised and developed by the SENSEable City Labfor the Kobenhavns Kommune and it will be available June 2011 for about $600.00 US. I think it is very Danish...spotless design. When I lived in Copenhagen, it was amazing to see gorgeous women and men riding their bikes with sharp outfits...the women with heels, in the snow!!
The Copenhagen Wheel would be a great addition to the Bixi...hint..hint
NOTE: Pictures by Max Tomasinelli
The COPENHAGEN WHEEL. . ."It transforms ordinary bicycles quickly into hybrid e-bikes that also function as mobile sensing units. The Copenhagen Wheel allows you to capture the energy dissipated while cycling and braking and save it for when you need a bit of a boost. It also maps pollution levels, traffic congestion, and road conditions in real-time."
This is the beautiful work of German artist, Thorsten Brinkmann. These images are my inspiration for the week. I am very impressed with the way he composes theatrical postures with found objects. The artistry behind the arrangement of colors and textures is gorgeous. I can vividly contemplate an entire conversation among all of his characters. I especially enjoy the intentional titles he gives them...titles like Lady Gittersky, Henry Van Ed, Berta von Schwarzflug. His work is a perfect symbiosis ofcouture, sculpture, performance and portraiture. I would love to visit his studio. I can imagine a fascinating play where all of the characters have their heads covered...or better yet a fashion show. Has Marc Jacobs ever used the Louis Vuitton bags for hats or face masks?..ok...I know, it is very Elsa Schiaparelli.
Some of the images above are from his series, 'Portraits of a Serialsammler.' (2006-2010...ongoing)
"In his fantastical oeuvre, the German artist Thorsten Brinkmann moves between painting, photography, sculpture, readymade, collage and performance. Thorsten Brinkmann (b. 1971, Herne) is an active collector. In Hamburg, his place of residence, he has a huge shed filled with found objects. Everything that can be found at a flea market will be found in Thorsten Brinkmann’s collection: ruined wardrobes, lampshades, side tables, clothing and more. From this collection he freely draws-out items for use in his installations, sculptures, videos and photos. Hereby Brinkmann subtly indicates to us the shallow and nonchalant manner in which we, in our society, deal with objects." Elisa Platteau Galerie, Belgium.
Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofsky. I believe the posters above were used to advertise the film in London. I am a big fan of Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel. . .I can't wait to see this film.
Have you seen this Halls' cough drops campaign around your local bus stops or metro/subway? (Designed by the firm JWT out of New York). Every time I bump into them I just laugh. I find them disturbing yet amusing. To me it is very Euro. It is a campaign I would not be surprised to see in Copenhagen or Berlin, for example, because of its comical presentation. I mean just look at the wardrobe? What is Halls trying to say, that Halls costumers should revive the fashion of the 1970's? And the slogans, "Fair Lady" "Partner" "Good Lady".... what? I finally decided to snap a few shots of some examples here in Montréal to share with you.
The first 3 pictures I shot and the last four posters are from JWT.
A few images from the recently published book by Thames & Hudson, Isabella Blow written by Martina Rink.
credits: 1. (left) detail of book cover, photo by Donald McPherson, (right) shot by Sean Ellis 2. (left) shot by Chris Moore, (right), shot by Kevin Devies 3. (left) Tim Noble and Sue Webster's The Head of Isabella Blow, 2002. (right) Isabella Blow with Anna Piaggi.
Ok, I found another reason why I must visit NYC... I need a piggy bank... Stumptown Coffee Roasters just opened their Brew Barin the neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn. It is only opened on weekends, but doesn't it sound fun? I really want to bring Stumptown Coffee to Montréal. Mark and I are seriously thinking about opening a coffee bar here...we miss good coffee and baristas that know what they are doing.
I came across the website of French artist, Émilie Faïf and I found her working desk pictures amusing. A new image unfolds every time you click the word accueil (welcome). Try it!
Inspiring. . .great way of documenting one's own process and work habits.
Two things come to mind when I think of the word Asylum...The 1975 film,One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nestand Alexander McQueen's 2001 Spring show. . . where McQueen glamorized the confinement of a mental institution with four mirrored walls, models with bandaged heads and well...an impeccable couture collection. And so because of the terrorizing yet inviting notion of an asylum, this past weekend, I chose to add to my library Christopher Payne's book, Asylum: Inside the closed world of state mental hospitals. But really why? . . . because it is a gorgeous photography book and because I truly support the documentation of the forgotten. Lunatic asylums (mental hospitals, institutions, state hospitals)...they went from being a refuge, a sanctuary, a benevolent institution to abandoned ruins or simply grotesque places. I highly recommend you buy this book or at least browse through it. The photographs below are details from some of Payne's images.
a) Alexander McQueen's 2001 Spring Show. (Not included in Christopher Payne's book) b) Straightjacket, Logansport State Hospital, Indiana. c) Patient Dresses, Clarinda State Hospital, Iowa. d) Typical Ward, Buffalo State Hospital, New York. e) Files, Spring Grove State Hospital, MD. f) Linen Closets, Traverse City State Hospital, MI. g) Unclaimed Cremation Urns, Oregon State Hospital, Oregon. h) Autopsy Theater, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington, DC. i) Joel-Peter Witkin, "Sanitarium" 1983. (Not included in Christopher Payne's book)
When I was a little girl, I was infatuated with the idea of becoming a ballet dancer. My mother owned a small jewelry box with a tiny porcelain ballerina. A magnet would allow her to dance on a mirrored platform, to an enchanting melody, when one opened the box. Every time I hear that melody, I transform into afictionalballerina. . .in my head.
This morning, I came across David Eustace's small film, The Little Ballerina. The dancer in the film is Tomomi Sato, currently a principal dancer for the Scottish Ballet Company. What is incredibly fascinating to me is that David Eustace use to be a prison guard in Scotland’s HMP Barlinnie prison and served at the HM Royal Navy prior to becoming a photographer. . . I wonder what he wanted to be when he was a little boy. Photographs borrowed from David Eustace's website.
