To start with GrimSkunk just finished a tour of Brazil, for those of you who are uninformed Brazil has a huge Metal scene and for a local band who has had their nose to the grind stone for close to if not more than twenty years I think that's a great accomplishment. It sounds as though the tour went well, no injuries where reported, other than a few mild concussions suffered by audience members from banging their heads to hard. I think this is especially great for the guys because they have done soo much for the independent music scene here in Montreal and Quebec running the Indy record label Indica Records, which house a slew of Quebec recording artists such as Priestess(Yup their Quebecois), Xavier Caffeine, Les Trois Accords, and Machins Vulgar. They themselves are also set to release a new album early next year. I think it would be great if they where to get some more international success and fame as they have given so much.

 

In visual arts news the Contemporary Art Gallery has appointed, Marie Fraser  as new head Curator beginning the seventh of January. The press release read(excuse if I make a mistake in the translation) "Madame Fraser possesses vast experience in the domain of research in museology, the history of art and as a commissionaire of expositions."
"A profesure at the department  of art history and museology at the University of Quebec in Montreal since 2007.She holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Montreal on the narrative and the performance of narratives in contemporary art. She was guest curator for the 10th edition of the Mois de la Photo in Montreal in 2007 under the theme Replaying Narrative. She also directed the publication of the first major studies to appear on the exploration narrative in the image and new media. As guest curator at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Quebec, said she held me / tell me (2005-2006) in collaboration with Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, and Playfulness (2001-2003 ), also presented at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Lille Métropole in France. She has curated two dozen exhibitions, including some in urban areas, questioning the boundaries of art and reality and redefining the public's role in the production and dissemination of artwork."

My guess is this means for some great new and exciting exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Gallery. Congratulations and good luck to Madame Fraser.

 

 Also in Canadian Visual Arts news, I found the most amazing book on Canadian Art called "Canadian Paintings, Prints and Drawings" by Anne Newlands.Published by Firefly books in 2007 this is one of the most extensive and beautiful books published on the subject.This 365 paged hardcover book features 153 prominent Canadian artist from through out our history. Each artist is given a two page spread which features large high quality reproductions of their art on one page and a quick summery of the artist life and work on the other. This book is an absolute MUST have for those considering investing in Canadian art or for those with a passion for the subject. As Canada is a vast land with cities separated by thousands of miles of road and wilderness provincially Artists seem to often get lost from east to west and from Provence to Province, this book is an all inclusive who's who and what's what on the subject matter. From the Anishnaabe rock paintings in the Georgian Bay to Attila Richard Lukacs' "Where The Finest Young Men..." it''s all there and more. Colville, Borduas, Illingsworth Kerr, Jane Ash Poitras, The Pratts,Tousignant, Morrisseau artists from every major movement and territory are represented in this finely crafted book. It is exillerating and breath taking and will surly make get down on your knees and pray to the art gods.For the low low price of 69.95$ it is definitely a steal and belongs on your shelf.

 

And in closing after 17 years off our Television screen the Canadian Comedy team Kids in the Hall return to CBC for an eight part mini series called Death Comes to Town. Here are a couple of my favorite skits in case you never had the pleasure of catching them before.