Présences du littéraire dans l’espace public canadien - Audiovisual

Lingua Aqua

Marie-Claude Langevin — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:51:00 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Cassidy, Melanie; Filimowicz, Michael; Marks, Brady; Pasquier, Philippe

Artwork creator(s):

Cassidy, Melanie

Filimowicz, Michael

Marks, Brady

Pasquier, Philippe

Text author(s):

Quignard, Pascal; Hesse, Hermann; Miller, Casey; Waldo Emerson, Ralph; Sapir, Edward

Text author(s):

Quignard, Pascal

Hesse, Hermann

Miller, Casey

Waldo Emerson, Ralph

Sapir, Edward

Installation year:

2009

Artwork description

Source: Surrey (2009). LinguaAqua. (http://www.surrey.ca/files/40-LinguaAqua2.pdf)

Description:

The structure is a self-enclosed fountain, with rain curtains and a reflective pool that contains a video monitor. The video shows a variety of community members speaking their native languages and employs a range of visual treatments

A mirror in the underside of the roof reflects the pool, the video images and viewers. Glass panels overhanging the roof are engraved with symbols drawn from a number of languages spoken in Surrey. Four support columns each house audio speakers that play a variety of sounds that complement or contrast with the content of the video. The audio component is transmitted through holes in the columns. These perforated designs form Braille texts related to the role of language across various cultures.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

“You live a new life for every new language
you speak. If we spoke a different language,
we would perceive a somewhat different
world. If you know only one language, you
live only once.”
-Compilation of Czech proverbs (anonymous)

2.
“Language is an anonymous, collective and
unconscious art; the result of the creativity of
thousands of generations.”
-Edward Sapir

“Language is a city to the building of which
every human being brought a stone.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

3.
“Our native language is like a second skin,
so much a part of us we resist the idea that
it is constantly changing, constantly being
renewed.”
-Casey Miller

“Everything becomes a little different as soon
as it is spoken out loud.”
-Hermann Hesse

4.
“Language is for the empty mouth what
dreams are for closed eyes.”
-Pascal Quignard (translated from French by Philippe
Pasquier)

“He who loses his language loses his world.”
-Gaelic proverb

“A country without a language is a country
without a soul.”
-Gaelic – Irish proverb

Text theme:

Diversity and similarity of language across cultures

Artwork theme:

Diversity and similarity of language across cultures

The similarities and differences that link us and distinguish us between different cultures.

Dimensions

Other information

Artist's biography:

Michael Filimowicz

Author's biography:

Philippe Pasquier

Document(s):

LinguaAqua

Students’ multimedia art destined for Surrey parks

Surrey Public and Community Art diversity, language and place making

Save Me

Marie-Claude Langevin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:59:30 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Wonnacott, Justin

Artwork creator(s):

Wonnacott, Justin

Text author(s):

Wonnacott, Justin

Text author(s):

Wonnacott, Justin

Installation year:

1993

Remarks on location:

Ciné-terrasse (a movie screen is mounted on the wall adjacent to the terrace, projections are presented every summer from June.)

Artwork description

Source: Justin Wonnacott (2008). Justin Wonnacott posts (http://www.aregeebee.net/pages/justinp.html)

Description:

Projected images outdoors

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

Save me

Text theme:

Call for help

Artwork theme:

Interpretation of moving images (exploration)

History

History:

Exhibition Ex site, New Line 7 = Outside Gallery 101, Ottawa, ON / Hull, QC, from July 9 to August 31, 1993. (Artists: Pierre Dalpé, Diane Génier, André Martin, Richard Nigro, Michael Robinson, Justin Wonnacott, Anne-Marie Zeppetelli. Curator: Richard Gagnier. Curator: Cindy Deachman. Eleven artists have been invited to invest 6 city sites to create works in situ. The screenings were held during the intermission, once a week throughout the summer.)

Dimensions

Other information

Note(s):

"The viewer could take it or leave it. The static nature of the image allowed people to study the image and assign meaning to it in ways that are different from how they would approach the moving images they usually saw presented there. The picture suggests that some action is desired of the reader, i.e.: save me but the "product" is ambiguous and open to many interpretations. The photographs are nineteenth century cartes de visite. The image held in the woman's hand shows a long dead quadriplegic civil war veteran in a studio. The man's hand holds a picture of a black man with what appears to be sugar cane on his shoulder. The red stripes are positioned as if they were a "comp" that would later be the place where the explanatory text would be placed. The image is an extended set of puns intended to connote diverse readings. The overall shape is like a flag, the predominant colours are red and black, the woman's hand is the "distaff" side, the action is in the present but the images proferred refer to memory and the past but their meaning is determined by the present use of them as historical documents. This was the first digital work I produced for exhibition."

Justin Wonnacott (2008). Justin Wonnacott posts
<http://www.aregeebee.net/pages/justinp.html>

Artist's biography:

Justin Wonnacott

Source:

Justin Wonnacott, artiste justinwo@ca.inter.net, justinwo@rogers.com portable : 613 798 3858 domicile : 613 725 2680

Document(s):

Archives. Artistes / Expositions, 1983-1999. Ex-site

More Public Art. Public Art Commissions. Save Me

Bystander

Marie-Claude Langevin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:39:13 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Peacock, Jan

Artwork creator(s):

Peacock, Jan

Text author(s):

Peacock, Jan

Text author(s):

Peacock, Jan

Installation year:

2009

Artwork description

Source: The Prairie Art Gallery (2009). Here Now or Nowhere - Exhibition. (http://www.herenowornowhere.com/exhibition.html)

Description:

A love poem is scattered across paper clippings and, from them, a gift is made by hand. Bystander involves a "performance for scanner", presented in three chapters on video monitors – with a charming epilogue.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

We Glimpse Your Perfect Words

Text theme:

Love poem

History

History:

Here Now or Nowhere is an exhibition of temporary public artworks presented throughout downtown Grande Prairie during the month of January 2009. The exhibition is designed to animate and engage the city through the presentation of a number of free events, objects and experiences. Based on the structure of last year’s exhibition – entitled Artery – which focused on video projections in various storefronts, this year’s iteration has been expanded to include an interactive audio work, a series of newspaper projects in the Herald Tribune every Friday, a free comic book and, for 3 nights only, a special installation in which a residential house glows with the light of 50 televisions.

Event date(s):

2009

Dimensions

Other information

Source:

The Prairie Art Gallery (780) 532-8111 www.prairiegallery.com Robert Steven, Executive Director/Curator rsteven@prairiegallery.com

Document(s):

Here Now or Nowhere: Northern Lights

Here Now or Nowhere - Exhibition

Prairie Artsters: Where’s the Here?

…8,9…

Marie-Claude Langevin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:50:21 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Chen, Millie; Quigley, Warren

Artwork creator(s):

Chen, Millie

Quigley, Warren

Text author(s):

Chen, Millie; Quigley, Warren

Text author(s):

Chen, Millie

Quigley, Warren

Collaborator(s):

Schoolchildren

Installation year:

2005

Artwork description

Source: Warren Quigley (2009). Warren Quigley. (http://www.warrenquigley.com/projects.html)

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

J'ai peur
des fantômes

And be
there when
I want

The person
in front of
new house

Mangera
la terre
entière!

I fear
that the

J'ai peur
de l'obscurité

Je veux
beaucoup d'amoureux

Je souhaite que mes parents
reviennent ensemble

J'ai peur que les personnes sans abri
restent sans abri pour toujours

J'espère avoir
un chien

Je veux que les filles et les garçons
soient égaux

Text theme:

What does the future hold?

Artwork theme:

Future

History

History:

The artists conceived the project …8, 9…, and asked schoolchildren in the towns of Granby and Waterloo to participate, involving them directly in the creative process. During this exchange, the children produced symbolic images and formulated short phrases about their perceptions of the future.

Event date(s):

2005

Dimensions

Other information

Artist's biography:

Warren Quigley

Author's biography:

Millie Chen

Document(s):

Terrains d'entente, 2004-2005

Four Sisters

Marie-Claude Langevin — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:21:02 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Armstrong, John; Collins, Paul

Artwork creator(s):

Armstrong, John

Collins, Paul

Text author(s):

Armstrong, John; Collins, Paul

Text author(s):

Armstrong, John

Collins, Paul

Installation year:

2008

Remarks on location:

Parking lot at the intersection of Bay and Elm Streets. Site A5 on the map of the event.

Artwork description

Source: CCCA (2008). Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. (http://www.ccca.ca/nuitblanche/nuitblanche2008/artists/a5.html)

Description:

Four Sisters is a silent, 30-minute video sequence shot on Toronto's waterfront Gardiner Expressway during a late afternoon rush-hour commute, from East to West. The Gardiner, an elevated highway crossing much of the city, is flanked by a plethora of billboards and other signage. The video also documents a construction boom on redeveloped railway lands that parallel the highway. Near the end of the video, the Gardiner returns to ground level and a series of roadside topiary gardens depicting corporate logos and brand names come into view. Beneath the video is a running band of text that recounts 11 short, anecdotal narratives in either English or French.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Remarks on image:

Image 1: Retail; still. Text in French. Image 2: Retail; still. Text in English. Image 2: View of the installation. Current projection. Image 4: View of the installation. Current projection.

Text of the artwork:

[Narration 1/11] —

John, who has a penchant for institutional, self-service food, was excited about trying out the new cafeteria at Ikea. We were driving West along the Gardiner Expressway, the lake was on our left, occasionally visible between the Victorian fairground pavilions. Further along, on the right, we passed a series of topiary gardens where the shrubbery depicts various corporate logos and brand names: HP, Westinghouse, Sears, Deloitte & Touche, FedEx, Manulife Financial, Parmalat, Rogers, CGI, Weber, Waterhouse, CN, United Way, Ford, and the City of Toronto. As we drew parallel to the four towering chimneys of the Lakeview Generating Station, John suggested that we should call our new collaborative project “Lakeshore.” I readily agreed, but had great difficulty believing that we were actually going to Ikea to eat.

[one of eleven stories] —

There was a time when a person could make a respectable living by creating handlettered signage with nothing more sophisticated than a decent lettering brush and a pot of paint. A good signpainter was trained in proportion, scale and detail, understood the origins of typefaces, and had a penchant for experimentation. The trade also attracted other, less assiduous folk, who used it simply as a way to earn some quick cash and then crawl away inside a bottle. You could earn a surprising fee for just several hours’ work. Those of us who thought of ourselves as professionals would speculate on the identity of our fly-by-night competitors whose work was always a shaky, garish mess. Their lettering typically advertised a greasy-spoon restaurant or a discount yard-goods retailer — the proprietors of which presumably didn’t know or care that signpainters, who could have done a real job of it, existed. One such mystery artist we called the Phantom. His work was everywhere. The advent of computer-driven, polyvinyl letter-cutting machines in the ‘80s reduced the trade to a shambles. You no longer came across the Phantom’s work, or anybody else’s who had even a passing acquaintance with the systematic pleasure of twisting a letter out of a brush. What you saw instead was a digital smear of plastic, reams of bad layout and grating colour schemes seemingly shot out of a cannon by dolts who apparently knew how to stack enough dollars in a pile to buy the computer rig but didn’t understand the nature of the graphic travesty they unfurled in the public’s eye. Twenty-five years later, the signmaking business has tamed its machinery and discovered the secrets of composition and balance. Since most everything is plastic, vinyl lettering seamlessly blends in. Handlettering even rears its noble head occasionally when good taste prevails and budgets are extended. Just yesterday I caught myself gladdened to see the front window of a down-market eatery only recently lettered by someone with no ability.

[one of eleven stories] —

After finishing art college, I worked with Cliff for about a year in his West Toronto sign shop. The business was located on the ground level of a renovated warehouse, and Cliff’s unit had a large storefront window that faced out onto a quiet street of other light-industrial concerns. The candymaker Rowntree was just down the road from us. The sweet smell of chocolate frequently hung in the air. Business was intermittent. It was the early ‘80s and there was a recession. The computer-generated vinyl lettering that would soon replace the handpainted signage that Cliff specialized in was still a few years off, and on occasion we did get large jobs: showcards announcing seminars at dental conferences, outdoor signs advertising new residential developments, showpiece wooden signs for upscale restaurants. Often this work was last minute, and we would paint late into the night. Invariably, when this occurred we would get a call from a sexual prankster. He would dryly relate to us in great detail how terrific it was to masturbate while listening to the sound of our voices. Whenever I picked up the phone to find him on the other end, I would immediately slam down the receiver. This was an involuntary reaction, and may well have been exactly what the caller was looking for. Cliff, on the other hand, would switch the caller onto speakerphone, and engage him for some time by sarcastically playing along.

History

History:

1. History: created in 2007. Presented in a gallery. Event: Logo Cities: An International Symposium on Signage, Branding, and Lettering in Public Space, Concordia University, Montreal, QC Dates: May 4-5, 2007

2. Background: In cooperation with the Consulate General of France in Toronto. First exhibition of the work in a public space. Event: Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Toronto, ON Date: night of October 4, 2008

3. Event: Four Sisters, Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto, ON Date: October 10, 2008

4. Event: Evening performance, École Supérieure d'Art de Toulon, Provence méditerranéenne, Toulon, France Date: December 10, 2008

Event date(s):

2008

Dimensions

Other information

Artist's biography:

Logo Cities: An International Symposium on Signage, Branding, and Lettering in Public Space

Source:

John Armstrong jc.armstrong@utoronto.ca Paul Collins pcollins@club.fr

Document(s):

Painting in public. An illustrated overview of collective and individual work

Nuit blanche: Toronto en veille

Bulletin culturel

Archive. Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2008

Night watch: three years in, Nuit Blanche has grown into a 155-site beast. Five spectacles worth fighting the crowds for.(ART)

Survival

Marie-Claude Langevin — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:45:37 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Holzer, Jenny

Artwork creator(s):

Holzer, Jenny

Text author(s):

Holzer, Jenny

Text author(s):

Holzer, Jenny

Installation year:

1985

Artwork description

Source: «Survival», Jenny Holzer: Signs, Londres: Institute of Contemporary Arts in Association with Art Data, 1988

Description:

Projection of text on a building

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Text of the artwork:

YOU ARE TRAPPED ON THE EARTH SO YOU WILL EXPLODE.

WHAT URGE WILL SAVE US NOW THAT SEX WON’T?

PUT FOOD OUT IN THE SAME PLACE EVERY DAY AND TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO COME TO EAT AND ORGANIZE THEM.

SAVOR KINDNESS BECAUSE CRUELTY IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE LATER.

DANCE ON DOWN TO THE GOVERNMENT AND TELL THEM YOU’RE EAGER TO RULE BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU.

THE BREAKDOWN COMES WHEN YOU STOP CONTROLLING

YOUR SELF AND WANT THE RELEASE OF A BLOODBATH.

SPIT ALL OVER SOMEONE WITH A MOUTHFUL OF MILK IF YOU WANT

TO FIND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT HIS PERSONALITY FAST.

MOTHERS WITH REASONS TO SOB SHOULD DO IT IN GROUPS IN

PUBLIC AND WAIT FOR OFFERS.

OUTER SPACE IS WHERE YOU DISCOVER WONDER, WHERE YOU

FIGHT AND NEVER HURT EARTH. IF YOU STOP BELIEVING THIS,

YOUR MOOD TURNS UGLY.

DIE FAST AND QUIET WHEN THEY INTERROGATE YOU OR LIVE SO

LONG THAT THEY ARE ASHAMED TO HURT YOU ANYMORE.

TRUST VISIONS THAT DON’T FEATURE BUCKETS OF BLOOD.

IN A DREAM YOU SAW A WAY TO SURVIVE AND YOU

WERE FULL OF JOY.

IF YOU’RE CONSIDERED USELESS NO ONE WILL FEED YOU

ANYMORE.

WHEN YOU EXPECT FAIR PLAY YOU CREATE AN INFECTUOUS

BUBBLE OF MADNESS AROUND YOU.

YOU ARE SO COMPLEX THAT YOU DON’T ALWAYS

RESPOND TO DANGER.

MEN DON’T PROTECT YOU ANYMORE.

WITH ALL THE HOLES IN YOU ALREADY THERE’S NO REASON TO

DEFINE THE OUTSIDE ENVRIONMENT AS ALIEN.

WHEN SOMEONE BEATS YOU WITH A FLASHLIGHT YOU MAKE LIGHT

SHINE IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

FINDING EXTREME PLEASURE WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON IF

YOU’RE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT THRILLS YOU.

USE A GUN WHEN THE PERSON COMING AT YOU

HAS A GOOD EXCUSE.

IT IS IN YOUR SELF INTEREST TO FIND A WAY TO BE VERY TENDER.

THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WILL BE SECRET.

THE CONVERSATION ALWAYS TURNS TO LIVING LONG ENOUGH TO

HAVE FUN.

WHAT COUNTRY SHOULD YOU ADOPT IF YOU HATE POOR PEOPLE?

USE WHAT IS DOMINANT IN A CULTURE TO CHANGE IT QUICKLY.

PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT.

YOU ARE CAUGHT THINKING ABOUT KILLING ANYONE YOU WANT.

IT’S HARD TO KNOW IF YOU’RE CRAZY IF YOU FEEL YOU’RE IN

DANGER ALL THE TIME NOW.

YOU CAN’T REACH THE PEOPLE WHO CAN KILL YOU ANYTIME SO

YOU HAVE TO GO HOME AND THINK ABOUT WHAT TO DO.

THE FUTURE IS STUPID.

HIDE UNDER WATER OR ANYWHERE SO UNDISTURBED YOU FEEL

THE JERK OF PLEASURE WHEN AN IDEA COMES.

SOMEONE ELSE’S BODY IS A PLACE FOR YOUR MIND TO GO.

WHEN THERE’S NO SAFE PLACE TO SLEEP YOU’RE TIRED FROM

WALKING ALL DAY AND EXHAUSTED FROM THE NIGHT BECAUSE IT’S

TWICE AS DANGEROUS THEN.

IT’S EASY TO GET MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ON EVERY CONTINENT TO

PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO EATING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.

GO WHERE PEOPLE SLEEP AND SEE IF THEY ARE SAFE.

HANDS ON YOUR BREAST CAN KEEP YOUR HEART BEATING.

TURN SOFT AND LOVELY AYTIME YOU HAVE A CHANCE.

IT IS FUN TO WALK CARELESSLY IN A DEATH ZONE.

YOU LIVE THE SURPRISE RESULTS OF OLD PLANS.

LET YOUR HAND WNADER ON FLESH TO MAKE POSSIBILITY MULTIPLY.

IT IS EMBARRASSING TO BE CAUGHT AND KILLED FOR STUPID REASONS.

SHOOT INTO INFINITE SPACE TO HIT A TARGET IN TIME AND

CALL IT INEVITABLE.

YOU HOVER NEAR LOVELY UNCONSCIOUS LIFE FORMS THAT OFFER

NO IMMEDIATE RESISTANCE.

PEOPLE LOOK LIKE THEY ARE DANCING BEFORE THEY LOVE.

BODIES LIE IN THE BRIGHT GRASS AND SOME ARE MURDERED AND

SOME ARE PICNICKING.

SILLY HOLES IN PEOPLE ARE FOR BREEDING OR FROM SHOOTING.

YOUR MODERN FACE SCANS THE SURPRISE ENDING.

History

History:

http://www.adaweb.com/context/artists/holzer/jhimg2.html

Dimensions

Other information

Artist's biography:

Holzer, Jenny

Document(s):

Jenny Holzer: Writing=Schriften

The Venice Installation

Flashlight

Marie-Claude Langevin — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:49:23 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Jacob, Luis

Artwork creator(s):

Jacob, Luis

Text author(s):

Worrell, Bernie; Collins, Bootsy; Clinton, George

Text author(s):

Worrell, Bernie

Collins, Bootsy

Clinton, George

Installation year:

2005

Remarks on location:

Subway Station: King Street – Yellow Line Yonge-University-Spadina

Artwork description

Source: Photo provided by Luis Jacob

Description:

The message “EVERYBODY’S GOT A LITTLE LIGHT UNDER THE SUN” appeared at the Toronto Sculpture Garden in the spring of 2005. This message was written upon an LED sign that framed a climbing dome situated beneath a large mirror ball, in a park. The electric sign and the mirror ball’s motor were powered by two different sources: solar panels captured available sunlight and converted it to electrical energy to power the motor of the mirror ball; alternately, bicycle pedals attached to hidden electrical generators also transformed visitors’ muscle power into electricity to power the LED sign and make the text visible.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

EVERYBODY'S GOT A LITTLE
LIGHT UNDER THE SUN

Text theme:

Song: Flashlight; Artist: George Clinton; Album: 500,000 Kilowatts of P-Funk Power; Lyrics: Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, Release date: 2004.02.17; Label: Fruit Tree

Artwork theme:

Global warming, energy consumption, solidarity

Text reference:

Luis Jacob. Flashlight

History

History:

Exhibited: May 4-September 15, 2005, at the Toronto Sculpture Garden

Event date(s):

2005

Dimensions

Height:

13m

Width:

17m

Other information

Note(s):

Flashlight was awarded Best Public Art 2005 by NOW Magazine and the Viewers’ Choice Award 2006 by the Toronto Sculpture Garden

Artist's biography:

Salazar, Jose Luis Jacob

Source:

1.Luis Jacob 266 Dunn Avenue #1Toronto ONM6K 2R9647.201.9023towardsatheory@gmail.com2.Rina (directrice) et William (photographe et architecte) GreerToronto Sculpture Garden115 King Street East, Toronto, ON M5C 1G6T : 416.515.9658info@torontosculpturegarden.comluis.jacob@utoronto.ca

Document(s):

The City of Toronto and Toronto Life magazine announce the "face the arts" recipient for November: Luis Jacob

Luis Jacob [Flashlight. Toronto Sculpture Garden. Toronto]

Luis Jacob, Flashlight, May 4-September 15, 2005, Toronto

Luis Jacob. Flashlight

Templates for Walking Theatre (2000-03) and Flashlight (2005)

Flash Forward

A Funky Parliament

Shining Some Light on Fun

Flashlight's Brighr

Beyond Lowbrow Camp

Flashlight: Public Art and the Mothership Connection