Drake Hotel, Toronto, Ontario.
September 19, 2010
Overlord of Entropy and Master of Maintenance in attendance.
Toronto Urban Film Festival Closing Party
September 19, 2010Urban Ideas and Politics
September 10, 2010
photo : Sharon Switzer – TUFF
From: Sharon Switzer
Date: August 5, 2010 2:46:25 PM EDT (CA)
To: crum1@sympatico.ca
Subject: Congratulations on your submission to TUFF!
Reply-To: Sharon Switzer
Dear Crum,
I am very pleased to inform you that your film ‘Crumbruler’ was selected to be part of the Toronto Urban Film Festival, running from September 10-19, 2010. It was chosen by Min Sook Lee for the ‘Urban Ideas and Politics‘ program, and will screen as part of a 10-film program (one film every ten minutes) on September 13th.
80 films were selected this year, out of a total of 355 submissions from 25 countries. Each film submitted was reviewed by one of our seven guest jurors / programmers. TUFF is seen by an audience of over 1.3 million daily commuters on the subway platforms of Toronto’s transit system. Your film will cycle throughout the day with the other chosen films in your category. Again this year, TUFF is pleased to announce that Film Zones will air TUFF content non-stop during the entire 10 days of the festival, on screens in select downtown stations. Read the rest of this entry »
ALISSA FIRTH-EAGLAND : HOW TO ACT IN PUBLIC COMMENT AGIR DANS LA SPHÈRE PUBLIQUE
July 5, 2010What possibilities for artistic action exist within the public sphere?
The CRUM welcomes independent curator Alissa Firth-Eagland to Montreal. As part of her stay, she will give a talk at Skol to present her practice and experiences as a nomadic cultural worker, and her interest in printed matter as public sphere. A fictive text, produced as part of a collaborative project organized by École du Magasin (Grenoble, FR) puts forward The Bruce High Quality Foundation (New York) and Claire Fontaine (Paris) as protagonists and acts as an entry point to an open group discussion.
Presentation and discussion
Thursday, July 8th, 2010 – from 5 to 7pm
@ Skol
372 Sainte-Catherine Street West
suite 314
Montreal, Quebec
H3B 1A2
514.398.9322
www.skol.ca
CRUM International Residency (CIR) : Sara Wookey
June 29, 2010
The CRUM International Residency (CIR) program was inaugurated with Los Angeles-based artist, choreographer and creative consultant, Sara Wookey. In anticipation of future projects, Sara explored interests in all things movement-body-space related: urban development; public transportation; spatial design and signage.
What struck me the most was the human scale, the ease of moving the body from point a to point b and the juxtaposition of old industry to new development. -SW
Rapport annuel : performance et projection
May 24, 2010
Conjurer le non-actuel pour confirmer
notre présence fragile
au temps et à l’espace
Conjuring the not-now to confirm
our fragile presence
in time and space
dimanche le 30 mai, 2010 à 14h
articule
262, Fairmount O.
Montréal (Qc)
www.articule.org
Le Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM) vous invite à un événement spécial qui conclura l’année de services rendus à articule tout au long de sa programmation 2009-2010.
Documentaliste en résidence, le CRUM a travaillé à partir des archives d’articule pour produire une série d’interventions artistiques explorant les vérités et les fictions anecdotiques des trente ans d’histoire du centre.
Proposé par le Service de consultation en information (SCI), un rapport annuel final sera présenté sous les formes d’une discussion portant sur le témoignage des archives et la projection d’un court film.
The Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM) invites you to a special event that concludes their year-long service to articule throughout the 2009-2010 programming year. As Documentalist in Residence, the CRUM has worked with articule’s archives to produce a series of artistic interventions exploring anecdotal truths and fictions in the centre’s 30-year history.
As part of the CRUM’s Information Consultation Services (ICS), a concluding Annual Report will be delivered in the form of a discussion around archival evidence and the screening of a short film.
En préparation à l’événement, veuillez consulter les deux documents suivants // Please consult the following two preparatory readings:
Entrevue avec / Interview with Noam Chomsky (articule’s Discussions, vol. 7 no. 2, 1988, p. 4-9).
Anthony Hubermann, Naïve Set Theory, 2007 (http://www.dextersinister.org/library.html?id=126).
Fwd: LIZ MAGOR LIZ MAGOR
April 16, 2010Begin forwarded message:
From: articule <info@articule.org>
Date: May 12, 2010 2:02:03 PM EDT (CA)
To: Recipient List Suppressed:;
Subject: Fwd: LIZ MAGOR LIZ MAGOR
Begin forwarded message:
From: Liz Magor
Date: April 14, 2010 9:53:34 PM EDT (CA)
To: CRUM <crum1@sympatico.ca>
Subject: Re: LIZ MAGOR LIZ MAGORDear CRUM – I have absolutely no recollection of doing this talk, although I believe that it may have taken place.
Please keep me informed of the proceedings on this 25th anniversary of the event. The address for receipt of my name tag is :
#XXX -XXX XXXXXXXX Street
Vancouver, BC XAX AXA.Thank you
Liz Magor Liz Magor
On 4/14/10 2:32 PM, “CRUM” <crum1@sympatico.ca> wrote:
Dear Ms. Magor,
We wish to inform you that the Center de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM) has appropriated information related to you that was recently found in the archives of the Montreal artist-run center articule. The piece of found information is a vintage mail-out bulletin that announces your artist talk at articule on Friday, April 16th (circa 1985). Please see the attached jpg image.
The CRUM has mailed out a copy of this archival artist talk announcement to the gallery’s current mailing list.
The members of the CRUM will be on location at 1012 rue de la Montagne (articule’s original address) to greet all those interested in hearing your talk on Friday, April 16, 2010.
The CRUM will be wearing blue name tags identifying each of the five members as, respectively, LIZ MAGOR, LIZ MAGOR, LIZ MAGOR, LIZ MAGOR, LIZ MAGOR and LIZ MAGOR.
As a small token of the CRUM’s appreciation for you and your work, we will also send you a name tag in the mail. We hope you enjoy it.
Please also find attached a Semi-Annual Report on the activities of the CRUM’s project to date.
CRUM is currently working on a project that offers its services as Documentalist in Residence to articule throughout the 2009-2010 programming year. This year-long commitment of service to the center, its membership and its larger public is part of the 30th anniversary of articule. As Documentalist in Residence, the CRUM has been working with articule’s archives to produce a series of artistic interventions exploring anecdotal truths and fictions in the centre’s 30-year history, and the broader context of artist-run culture in Canada. For more information on CRUM, please visit our web site at www.crum.ca
Please fell free to contact us with any questions or comments you may have.
Best regards,
CRUM:
Chris Carrière
Matt Killen
Alexandra McIntosh
Douglas Scholes
Felicity Tayler
Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal
83, rue Ste-Marguerite
Montréal, QC
H4C 2W5
514.931.3875
crum1@sympatico.ca
www.crum.ca
Semi-Annual Report
March 24, 2010
The CRUM issues a Semi-Annual Report as part of Conjuring the not-now to confirm our fragile presence in time & space. CRUM offers its services as Documentalist in Residence to articule throughout the 2009-2010 programming year. This year-long commitment of service is part of the 30th anniversary of articule, one of the oldest artist-run centres in Montréal. As Documentalist in Residence, the CRUM has been working with articule’s archives to produce a series of artistic interventions exploring anecdotal truths and fictions in the centre’s 30-year history, and the broader context of artist-run culture in Canada. A description of the project and interventions to date is outlined in a Semi-Annual Report that can be viewed here as a PDF: Semi-Annual Report
Photograph courtesy of articule, 2009.
articule’s 0.01% Public Art Program: Innauguration
December 11, 2009
Inauguration : 0,01% articule
CRUM : Documentalistes en résidence 2009-2010
Vendredi le 27 novembre 2009, 19h
Le CRUM a organisé une cérémonie de coupe du ruban inaugurant le 0,01% d’articule, une série d’interventions permanentes in situ se développant, au cours de l’année, dans et autour de la galerie. Créé à partir de la politique de Réponse aux concepts artistiques (RCA) développée par le CRUM, le programme d’art public 0,01% célèbre et souligne les 30 ans de participation d’articule à l’environnement culturel montréalais.
Inauguration Event: articule’s 0.01%
CRUM: Documentalist in Residence 2009-2010
Friday November 27, 2009 at 7pm
The CRUM held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate articule’s 0.01%, a series of site-specific permanent interventions, evolving in and around the gallery, throughout the year. Created through the CRUM’s Response to Artistic Concepts (RAC) policy, the 0.01% public art program celebrates and affirms articule’s 30-year integration with Montreal’s cultural environment.
Petite enveloppe urbaine no. 18
November 27, 2009
Themes for Young Lovers
Toronto,
A special edition of the Petite enveloppe urbaine on the theme of love and marriage, created in honour of the matrimony of CRUM member Matt Killen (Overlord of Entropy) to his beloved, Joanna HR Foster, and distributed to wedding guests upon the occasion.
Issues encompasses: CD in envelope, 12.7 x 12.7 cm; white handerchief with black printed text, 41 x 41 cm; colour photo printed on cardstock, 11.5 x 11.5 cm; colour image on glossy cardstock, 13 x 18 cm; yellow envelope, 15. 5 x 8.5 cm, envelope contains two sheets of paper; certificate with gold embossing and a gold circular seal (sticker), 21.5 x 17 cm; Cellophane envelope containing 4 apple seeds, colour printed card 14 x 9.5 cm, plastic engraved plaque, 4 x 10 cm; colour photograph, 12.5 x 17.5 cm; beeswax relief carving, 3 x 8.5 x 0.75 cm; envelope dimensions 24 x 14.5 cm — Description courtesy of the The Banff Centre’s Paul D Fleck Library and Archives, Banff Alberta
Recent Nomination into Presidential Who’s Who
October 16, 2009
“Presidential Who’s Who, each year, recognizes and selects key executives, professionals and organizations in all disciplines and industries for outstanding business and professional achievements.”
Conjuring the not-now to confirm our fragile presence in time and space
September 10, 2009Conjurer le non-actuel pour confirmer notre présence fragile au temps et à l’espace
CRUM is the Documentaliste in Residence at articule, Montreal, QC
September 2009 to June 2010
0.01% public artwork – Bathtub with sconce light and shelf
accomplished in collaboration with Steve Topping
Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM) is offering its services as Documentalist in Residence at articule during the entire programming season 2009-2010. Our specialized expertise will facilitate the realization of articule’s programming objectives in line with its 30th anniversary. As a non-profit organization that operates through symbiotic (parasitic) infiltration, the CRUM enhances communication tools through decentralized services, rendered on-site and at a distance for maximum convenience. Our tactical operations include CRUM Information Consultation Services (ICS), featuring editorial direction and intervention (with extensive use of Red Pen), in-depth exploration of articule’s Archives, and dissemination of semi-factual Truths; CRUM Organizational Facilitation (OF), universal maintenance activities and corporate retreat facilitation for cultural workers (based on The CRUM Method™); and CRUM Response to Artistic Concepts (RAC), including, but not limited to, subjective interpretation, automatic composition, and exploratory research into combustible materials. With an exclusive synthesis of contemporary communication networks and superseded technology, CRUM brings your message to the world with clarity and alacrity. Help us help you capitalize on your objectives.
All deliverables subject to CRUM Approval.
Licensing available upon request.
***********************************************
En résidence chez articule, Le Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM) offrira ses services de documentaliste pendant toute la programmation 2009-2010. Organisation à but non lucratif opérant par infiltration symbiotique (parasite), le CRUM améliore vos outils de communication en offrant des services décentralisés, en ligne et à distance, pour un maximum de commodité. Notre expertise spécialisée facilitera la réalisation des objectifs de programmation d’articule en conjonction avec son 30e anniversaire. Nos opérations tactiques comprennent les Services de consultation en information CRUM (SCI) qui proposent une direction et des interventions en rédaction (avec utilisation massive du stylo rouge), l’exploration en profondeur des archives d’articule et la dissémination de vérités à demi factuelles; la Facilitation organisationnelle CRUM (FO), activité d’entretien universel et lieu de retraite pour travailleurs culturels (basé sur la Méthode CRUM™); et la Réponse aux concepts artistiques CRUM (RCA) incluant, sans s’y restreindre, l’interprétation subjective, la composition automatique et la recherche préliminaire en matériaux combustibles. Par une synthèse exclusive des réseaux actuels de communication et des technologies désuètes, CRUM livre votre message au monde avec clarté et rapidité. Aidez-nous à vous aider à capitaliser sur vos objectifs.
Toutes les livraisons sont sujettes à l’Approbation de CRUM.
Licences disponibles sur demande.
MAKING IT WORK / METTRE EN OEUVRE
April 22, 2009
An exhibition on collectives and how they work. The CRUM works together Saturday May 2nd at the Opening.
May 5 to June 13 2009
Opening: Saturday May 2 4–6 pm
Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery
BGL
DGC~CGA
CRUM
Knowles Eddy Knowles
Leisure Projects
PME-Art
Curator: Susannah Wesley
PRESS :
Nicolas Mavrikakis, “Mettre en oevre : Ésprit d’équipe” Voir Montréal. 7 mai 2009
Marie-Ève Charron, “Objets porteurs” Le Devoir. samedi 09-dimanche 10 mai 2009
Wesley asked a few Quebec collectives to make new works illuminating their collaborative style. The five-member collective CRUM, (it stands for Le centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal) is presenting the residue of their shared writing project: the CRUMIFESTO. Completing each other’s sentences on specially modified typewriters, they have created non-linear narratives in the mode of the exquisite corpse.
(“Throughout the ages, forces beyond our control have oppressed our right to cut our toenails on the living room couch” or “There has never been a better time to claim our right to sweeten the deal. ALWAYS USE REAL SUGAR.”) Delight here comes from expecting the unexpected.” — Sarah Milroy
GRIEVANCES
April 6, 2009The CRUM would like to release its grievances to the public domain.
F: No room for the creative imagination in the creative economy. And technological determinism. Hate that.
M: Tired of being hassled by the man! Oh, and the urban space has beauty that is being taken for granted. I’m gonna make a stink about it.
D: Too many rules (conservatism); political correctness (conservatism); jumping on the band wagon of the new (technological determinism); lack of declarative free association texts.
C: Derivatives. No derivatives. Derivative derivatives.
A: Are grievances and thank yous the same thing?
D: Keep the man at bay and forever give thanks for the innate beauty of urban landscape.
Articulation
March 28, 2009
With thanks to Tom Sherman and the Ottawa Art Gallery.
More information from Artengine here.
Public domain.
Musée de dactylographes // Typewriter Museum
March 14, 2009Le CRUM fait visite au Musée de dactylographes
de Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.
A CRUM field trip to the Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Typewriter Museum.
Underwood Typewriter 1938
In preparation for the CRUMIFESTO performance at the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University, the members of CRUM determined the weight of an Underwood typewriter in Jerusalem artichokes. CRUM thanks E. Board for both the Underwood and the Jerusalem artichokes.
Atelier de thérémine / Theremin Workshop
January 31, 2009
Atelier de thérémine avec Christian Carrière
Le CRUM est fier de vous présenter, pour la toute première fois, un atelier de thérémine. Une présentation sur l’histoire de cet instrument musical particulier et son inventeur, Léon Theremin, sera suivie d’une courte prestation avec l’accompagnement de Zachary Scholes au piano.
Après la présentation, vous aurez tous la chance de jouer le thérémine !
*********************************
The CRUM is proud to bring you, for the very first time, a Theremin workshop. This enchanted afternoon will feature a short lecture on the history of this musical instrument and its inventor, Leon Theremin, followed by a performance accompanied by Zachary Scholes on piano.
After the presentation there will be an opportunity for all present to try out a real live Theremin for themselves! Read the rest of this entry »
Petite enveloppe urbaine no. 17
November 16, 2008
Architectural Follies
Les Follies architecturales
Novembre / November 2008
Edition of 80
LAUNCH / LANCEMENT
Librarie Centre Canadien d’architecture
Dimanche 16 novembre, 15 h
Canadian Centre for Architecture Bookstore
Sunday December 16, 3pm
Lance Blomgren (Dawson City), Sara Graham (Toronto), David Hoffos (Lethbridge), Knowles Eddy Knowles (Jon Knowles, Michael Eddy, Rob Knowles; Montréal/Londres) et NIPpaysage (Mathieu Casavant, France Cormier, Josée Labelle, Michel Langevin, Mélanie Mignault ; Montréal); Curator / Comissaire Alexandra McIntosh
IAD (Improvised Artistic Device)
October 25, 2008
Urban research in a non-urban setting or blowing shit up!
Performed in collaboration with Chris Ricketts
and Julia Chan for the
White Noise Cabaret
You even called me friend
13th Symposium of Art, Sackville, NB
Owens Art Gallery
Struts Gallery & Faucet Media Arts Centre
GOOD THINGS HAPPEN IN SMALL PLACES
Despite New Brunswick’s reputation as a “drive-through” province, time and space converged this fall in Sackville to unleash the creative imagination. Thanks to the encouragement of supportive staff and members at the Owens Art Gallery and Struts Gallery & Faucet media Arts Centre, a curious group of artists from across Canada and through the porous border of the USA came together amidst an environment of controlled anarchy.
The experience was unmediated creative exploration and exchange as ample opportunities were offered to the artists and the local community to interact in official and less formal circumstances. The week presented diverse modes of artistic enquiry and included radio broadcasts, discussions open to the public, lectures and studio visits at the university, as well as spontaneous encounters over drinks at Duckys (the only bar in town). Artists Pam Hall and Margaret Dragu, Ed Pien, Tom Sherman, jake moore, Valérie D Walker, Mario Doucette, Jennifer Bélanger (and myself) fused with the local community of artists and creatively-minded people.
The Symposium is intentionally unthematic (signaled by the use of successive Anne Murray lyrics for each year’s title); however, it seemed the glue that held us together were questions regarding the centre and the periphery… or perhaps those things that get forgotten somewhere through time and space. The following is a summary of the weeks’ events for the benefit of those of you who were unable to join us. It is an attempt to share some of the unfettered synergy of that week in a small place on the periphery. Read the rest of this entry »
Petite enveloppe urbaine no. 16
September 10, 2008How to become a genius / Comment devenir un génie
September/Septembre 2008 – Calgary, Alberta
Unlimited edition
This edition is produced in coordination
with the Artcity Festival in Calgary.
Launch/Lancement
Wednesday, September 10th @ 7:45 pm
at the Uptown Stage and Screen
Calgary, Alberta
How to become a genius is inspired by today’s fascination for the unique and fantastic ways of thinking that are contra-status quo in the contemporary culture. With the focus on the individual, our fast paced information based Western culture has a thirst for the next new thing and each of us wants (so we are told) to be unique, to stand out, to become the genius in our area of interest.
How to become a genius is an opportunity for the invited artists to reinterpret the idea of the “genius” as an open-ended concept – a fictional place, a literal space, or a metaphorical site that explores the creative genius and the ways in which imagination pushes boundaries. The works that are presented in the context of the Petite enveloppe urbaine will reflect the multi-faceted nature of this phenomenon. Read the rest of this entry »
Knock on Woods: Corporate Retreat
August 28, 2008
Knock on Woods: a roving international artist residency
Un projet de Yvette Porter
En collaboration avec Quartier Éphémère www.fonderiedarling.org
Événement de clôture et discussion: 5 septembre 2008 de 17h à 19h @ articule
La résidence et habitation internationale, Knock on Woods, est un site nomade qui se consacre aux artistes d’ici et d’ailleurs et leur offre un moment de répit à l’abri d’un globalisme déroutant.
Knock on Woods is a nomadic temporary site that dedicates itself to offering local and international artists a sense of rootedness and respite from a hectic and bewildering globalism.
See images of the CRUM Corporate Retreat on the Knock on Woods site
The activities during the 12 hour residency compressed into this eleven minute video.
 |
An animated gif of the Lego Tree (click for action) |
The CRUM residency took place from 10 am to 10 pm, on August 31, 2008, outside the Darling Foundry
(See below for photographs of residency activities)
A heterogeneity of interests and commitments takes the individual members of CRUM to faraway places at different times. Distance and time are thus challenges to maintaining a collective identity within a cultural context that emphasizes individuality.
The CRUM will use Knock on Woods for a corporate retreat of 12 hours. Within the temporary autonomous zone and wilderness environment constructed by KOW we will undertake a period of unstructured intellectual reflection – we will exist together as a collective in the present moment. This will be an action in direct opposition to the neo-liberal results-oriented model to exist in the future or conservative tendencies to exist in the past. Read the rest of this entry »
Petite enveloppe urbaine no. 15
June 24, 2008
You: Inversal Properties
LAUNCH
Thursday, June 26th, 6-9pm
Open Studio, 401 Richmond Street West, suite 104
Toronto (Ontario)
Edition of 55
Featuring the work of:
Jack Allen, Dan Cohen, Jackson Darby, Christopher Manousos, Paige McLachlan, Sinead Thibert
The theme of Issue No. 15 is inspired by the essential quality of an object, form or symbol that we recognize as invariable, despite inverse transformation. You: Inversal Properties explores the idea of individuals living collectively within a universe and how they recognize the importance of these invariant or ‘universal’ properties. The works that are presented in this issue of the petite enveloppe urbaine reflect the underlying forms that are preserved through inversion.
This particular edition of the Enveloppe, coordinated by Jack Allen with the assistance of CRUM member Matt Killen, exclusively features the work artists between the ages of 18 and 20.
Julie Favreau & Caroline Dubois : Soirée de performance
May 30, 2008
30 May 2008
Présentée par le Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM)
Doug Scholes à invité deux artistes Caroline Dubois et Julie Favreau à investir son atelier (aka le “CRUM clubhouse”) et à travailler avec son contenu comme point de départ d’un projet de création. Dans ce lieu insolite, elles confronteront le corps à l’espace de l’atelier et présenteront une série de tableaux vivant crées sur place.
Doug Scholes has invited Caroline Dubois and Julie Favreau to work with his studio (aka the “CRUM clubhouse”) and its contents as fodder for their creativity. In this unusual space they will perform live a series of tableaux vivants which juxtapose the body to the studio space. Read the rest of this entry »
Petite enveloppe urbaine no. 14
October 26, 2007Locus horribilis
octobre / October 2007, Montreal (Québec); Toronto (Ontario)
Edition of 66
LANCEMENT / LAUNCH
Friday, October 26th, 2007 : 7-10pm
Art Metropole, Toronto (Ontario)
With a live Doom Metal performance by Matt Killen.
Saturday November 10th , 2007 : 14h30 – 17h30
Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain, PFOAC, Montréal (Québec) Accompanying the solo exhibition John Latour ” Chimérique” and Outside of the Ordinary a presentation of video and animated films.
Peu 14 – Press Review in Locus Suspectus, No 5 (Fall, 2007) p 7
dream listener : an audiobook in three movements
October 19, 2007
LANCEMENT / LAUNCH
19 octobre 2007 (en honneur de la Centre St-James )
18h à 23h
à Dare-Dare Centre de diffusion d’art multidiciplinaire de Montréal.
All proceeds from the launch will go to the Saint James Drop-In Centre. Les profits de la vente au vernissage seront versés au Centre de jour St-James.
DARE-DARE est situé
dans un parc sans nom / in a park with no name
entre Saint-Laurent et Clark,
entre Arcade et Rosemont/Van Horne
métro Rosemont ou bus 55 (sortez à Bernard).
Press
“Blogosphere,” Steve Faguy, The Montreal Gazette, Saturday 13 October (2007), B2.“Street dreamscape,” Christine Redfern, Montreal Mirror, Vol. 23 no 18 (2007), Arts section.
dream listener: an audiobook in three movements is the compelling story of dream listener, a public art project by artist Karen Spencer in collaboration with the Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM), Homeless Nation, and the St-James Drop-In Centre. …
dream listener, le livre audio en trois parties est l’histoire fascinante de porteur de rêves, un projet d’art public signé Karen Spencer en collaboration avec le Centre de recherche urbaine de Montréal (CRUM), Homeless Nation et le Centre de jour St-James…
Photos from the launch (courtesy of Jean-Pierre Caissie and Dare-Dare, and featuring the mobile sculptures of Alexandre David)
Propagande Picturale // Pictorial Propaganda
July 30, 2007
16 juillet 2007, Marché Atwater / Atwater Market, Montréal
FITZGERALD, L.L. Landscape with Trees, 1931. Oil on canvas board. 35.9 x 43.4 cm. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Accession no. 15473. (Reproduced from Canadian Art : Catalogue of the National Gallery of Canada Ottawa. Vol. 1 / A-F. Eds. Charles C. Hill and Pierre B. Landry. Ottawa : National Gallery of Canada, 1988. p. 342)
Public art and landscape painting = L’Art public et la peinture paysagiste
The Pictorial Propaganda project was initiated by Felicity Tayler for the CRUM in 2006.
The project uses conceptual performance and the archetype of the Western tradition of landscape painting to engage the public in an ongoing discussion regarding economic value, identity, individualism, nature and the urban environment.
To pursue the research, Tayler assumes the role of a traditional plein-air landscape painter as a pretext in order to engage the general public in an open dialog. Individuals who pass the artist and her easel installed in public spaces (public markets, shopping mall parking lots, touristic areas) stop to observe the painting unfold. However, they quickly realise that she is not painting the scene infront of her but is instead reproducing existing works from important museum collections. In reaction, they share their personal philosophies with her and occasionally find something to trade in exchange for a painting.
The results of this information gathering and a chronicleing of the project can be found at www.pictorialpropaganda.ca.
The project has taken place in 2006 at the Atwater Market in Montréal and at La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse during the annual St-Laurent bouleverd street fair. In 2007 as part of the 25e Symposium international d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul and PEINTURE FRAÎCHE, at DARE-DARE, centre de diffusion d’art multidisciplinaire de Montréal… The fieldwork is ongoing and future iterations can be followed through the Pictorial Propaganda blog.
dream listener : Festival Voix d’Amériques
February 5, 2007Nous sommes tous des beaux rêveurs
We are all beautiful dreamers
Karen elaine spencer a présenté une performance/lecture de rêves au Festival Voix d’Amériques, le 5 février 2007 entre 17h-19h à la Casa del Popolo dans le cadre de la serie Text-Perplexed animée par Victoria Stanton.
As part of a segment of the spoken word Festival de Voix d’Amériques, dream listener recounted a narrative of her experiences. Perched on a tall stool in front of a microphone, she seemed tentative at first and alternated throughout between telling a story and reading dreams.
She stated early on, “these are not my stories, but they are my stories to tell.”
So much of what dream listener is about is the notion of “authorship” synonymous with ownership in our knowledge economy, where intellectual property becomes a hotly contested legal matter. In our economic structure, dreams are something from nothing. They are a common, shared creative experience with little value because it does not take great skill to do it. Dream listener also points out that in our economic structure sleeping is considered a waste of time, hence the expression, “sleeping on the job” or sleeping “too much.” Dreams are undervalued precisely because they come from this useless activity, and they in themselves cannot be bought or sold. Despite their pervasiveness dreams remain mysterious and with out convincing explanation – why do we dream?
dream listener : radio interview
January 18, 2007Dream listener (aka karen elaine spencer) gave an interview with CBC radio to be aired on Saturday, January 20th between five and six on 88.5 fm.
“it was mostly the dream holding aspect of the project we talked about as the other part is slower to come together… it is so difficult to talk intelligently about homelessness and dreams.
karen elaine spencer : rêve dans mon oreille
October 5, 2006Du 1er au 27 octobre au Centre d’art actuel le Lobe de Chicoutimi au Saguenay qui accueil des artistes en résidence.
Communiqué de presse
“so far things have been moving rather slowly. i have not yet been able to work with the maison d’acceuil sans abri, but i continue to meet with sylvaine, the director…and maybe this wednesday i will get the chance to present my project to the residents so i can listen to their dreams. there are no homeless living in doorways, chicoutimi is a small town and it seems everyone has shelter of some sort. my project so far has been to condense into thirty words or less my own dreams and then to write the dream on carboard and circulate on racine street.
Pictorial Propaganda
September 18, 2006An exercise in public art and landscape painting
Felicity Tayler, 2006
From June to September 2006, Felicity Tayler has engaged the public by painting landscape paintings at the local market. By presenting the general public with a familiar image of the artist she was approached regularly by individuals curious to see the fruits of her labour.
CRUM 
