Whoaaaa, now that's a cool post date. So kids it's a big visual arts week here in Montreal as we are gearing up for our annual Nuit Blance, next Saturday. All the kids are going to be out about making stuff, showing stuff, staying up all night and getting freaky as galleries keep their doors open till the wee hours of morning. The Festival coincides with our annual High Lights festival, which is a huge outdoor, nighttime winter carnival filled with bright lights and some of Quebec's finest cultural festivities and hosts a HUGE Farris Wheel that is the center piece of the BMO's Celebration of Lights.
 Off the top of my head to check out for this years Nuit Blance is Opera Karaoke, interesting but true, and could be mildly painful depending on who is singing deffinatly worth a gander though. En Masse is doing their thing in the basement of the Eaton Center, which may seem like a strange place for such a hip a group of kids to create their craft, if you where not take into account En Masse's incredible abilities to take any space and turn it into a visually compelling environment. It also helps that Eaton Center over the past few years has turned itself into a alternative hot spot for culture, having shown various exhibitions such the Bodies Exhibition and the Da Vinci Exhibition. So really they’re no prudes and I am sure that En Masse will feel artistically free to create an evocative work. The idea also works on other levels as well as En Masse is about bring art to the public and they will be in a very public space.

 Another exciting space that night will be the Belgo Building, which to my knowledge will be housing thirteen events in all. At Visual Voice we will be hosting Bettina Forget's video work, where participants’ are invited to vote on her two latest video creations. At Maision Kasini they will be housing some of Clement Yeh's wood sculptures (I think they are more like drawing though) as well as his latest instillation "All Four Hooves Leave The Ground". Another show that has caught my intrigue is Diego Piccini da Todi's "Visual Art and Memory: Man and the City" I have no clue what the show holds, the drawing this man does are Amazing though. Technically sound, traditional, highly crafted, one sometimes believes they were made in another time and space. Galleries throughout the building will be exhibiting work and artists will be doing their thing, visitors are even invited to check out a couple of dance performances as some of the dance studios have opened there doors as well. The Whole house will be Rock’n so don’t bother knocking, feel free to come on in. 

One place I always enjoy visiting during Nuit Blanche is The Montreal Contemporary Museum of Art. Not only do they always have an awesome exhibition, there really is something though about being in the Museum well after regular hours, the art seems to take on a whole new form. This year visitors are in for a real treat as the main exhibitions feature Marcel Dzama, Etienne Zack and Lauren Martineau. I don’t know what to say about this one, strange how three different artists can create three different bodies of work, be exhibited in the same space and be so different yet so similar. All of these works have an essential inherent organic feel, a certain naturalism on a cellular level, they also have the feeling that, that essential element of it has been manipulated intentionally or unintentionally by humankind. Whether it is Ms. Martineau’s soft sculpture, Etienne Zack massive paintings, or Mr. Dzama’s illustrative collages, dioramas, drawings or sculptures you are sure to find something that stimulates you. Now that I think about the Projection Series also in the MMAC, featuring Karl Lemieux Mamori also has those similar elements. And to boot if that’s not enough to stimulate you for one evening you can even make origami icebergs there. Please note, to all the art kids who may go see the show, if you choose to go on psychedelics, as I know many of you enjoy. Be Prepared, as this is a really really heavy show that alters your mind sober, lord only knows what you might conceive if already altered. I’m giving you this warning because it would be a shame for you to go out for a night of art celebrations and end up a vegetable in the mental hospital. If modern art is not your thing the Museum of Beau Arts will be open from 9pm-2am where there is a lovely showing of Tiffany Lamps, a demonstration on Glass Blowing, and participants are also invited to join a figure drawing class. If nothing else one should take a stroll to see their renowned permanent collection, which consists of a wonderful display of Quebec and Canadian art and an astounding paragon of works and crafts from around the world.

All of that and I haven’t even gotten out of downtown there is stuff going on in every nook and cranny in the city and it should not be missed. There is gallery Pangee in the Old port, Red Bird Studios in the mile End and Push gallery on the main. If I was you and I lived between eight and twelve hours away I would hop on a bus or get in a car cause this is an event not to be missed.

A couple last notes in closing notes not related to Nuit Blanche. As you know Barn Burner remastered and rereleased their album Bangers with two new tracks on it last week. Here is the first Video.

And finally I heard a story last week that has been bothering me to no avail, so I thought I might share it with you in the hopes I can save just one single life. So the story goes like this (and this isn’t an urban myth), a young woman has snake (a constrictor of some sort) that she nurtures cares for and sleeps with for years. This snake sleeps coiled up at the bottom of her for quite some time, one day the snake stops eating and starts sleeping length wise beside her. After a bit, she becomes concerned and takes her friend for a visit to the vet. At the end of the veterinary visit she is asked to leave and told she cannot have her snake back. When she asks why she is told the snake was sleeping length wise beside her to measure her to see if it could eat her.