Today the reports have been pouring in both verbally and online about what was great, what was so-so and what was a little underwhelming at this year’s Nuit Blanche. I didn’t get to see everything that was on my list, but got all over town on my bike and took in a good deal of official and unofficial contemporary art stuff. Here’s my condensed report of my late night wanderings.
Great:
– Barr Gilmore‘s appropriation of Honest Ed’s iconic sign in Court Square: Not only did it work really nicely in the space, but it made interesting references to the history of the courthouse and provided some quiet space for contemplation amidst all the madness in Zone B’s business district
Barr Gilmore, Benfit of the Doubt, 2008, From spacing.ca
– Jon Sasaki‘s I Promise It Will Always be This Way in Zone C’s Lamport Stadium: This project had me at hello. I knew I would love it as soon as I read the description, and seeing it realized, complete with screaming, dancing crowds of people and several headless mascots taking a well-needed rest at centre field, was even better.
Jon Sasaki, I Promise It Will Always Be This Way, 2008
Ruark Lewis, EUPHEMISMS FOR THE INTIMATE ENEMY, 2008, From spacing.ca
– Yoko Ono‘s Imagine Peace in Zone C: I risk mortal injury saying this, but Yoko Ono’s wish tree didn’t do it for me. I loved the billboard hanging from a nearby crane, but whenever I passed by the tree, all I saw were people taking portraits of themselves in front of the tree, or loudly complaining “I just want to write my wish and get out of here!” rather than anyone making any wishes or reading the messages that had already been left by others. While I’m sure it can be an amazing project, I don’t know if Nuit Blanche is entirely fitting as a venue for it.
– Farah Yusuf & Alex Stephan‘s r u part of the art? in Zone B: A friend subscribed to this cell phone instructional piece early in the night and gave us updates as we went along. While some of the activities were fun (providing the lyrics to the Muppets‘ theme song so everyone could sing along, for instance), others were just reminiscent of those lame summer camp activities you try and miss with carefully timed bathroom breaks (conga line to the next exhibition).
Farah Yusuf & Alex Stephan, r u part of the art?, 2008, Photo: Aubrey Arenas
Underwhelming:
– Luis Jacob‘s Without Persons in Zone A: I was really looking forward to this piece, and being able to go into Maple Leaf Gardens was pretty cool, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how the installation was related to its site. Why install a 2 channel video project in a huge and historically packed stadium if there is no obvious relationship between the two of them?
– Matthew Suib‘s Purified by Fire in Zone C: This was a project where the distance between the proposed mock up and the reality was a bit of a let down. While the idea of rear projecting fire into the windows of condo developments in the neighbourhood sounded like a great plan, I found they ended up looking like a hokey marketing contrivance rather than an intervention.
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