Last night in Toronto was Nuit Blanche, the annual “white night” (the French has the connotation of “all-nighter”) in which the entire city is taken over by hundreds of art installations — a very hip idea that apparently started in Paris, but now has events in Toronto, Madrid, Miami, Rome, Leeds and several other cities worldwide. The vibe around the city was very cool, as the sidewalks and parks were packed with (mostly) friendly people until the wee hours of the morning.Two sites in particular are worth relating here.
BGL, "Domaine de l'angle #2," 2008
In Domaine de l’angle #2, an alley just off of Eaton Centre was covered with drop-ceiling and fluorescent lights. The same group of artists (collectively titled “BGL“) had previously installed a similar exhibition in the woods somewhere. Although either site is interesting in itself, it’s helpful to interpret each in relation to the other. Perhaps there will be more in the future?
BGL, "Domaine de l'angle," 2005
A large part of the experience, however, is in the sheer amount of people who are viewing these exhibitions. This is no hushed museum, but rather public space that is transformed and made dramatically more public in the spectacle itself. In the case of Domaine de l’angle #2, it was an absolute blast to share this alleyway with so many people. On an average evening, one hopes that a dark alleyway would be empty. If one comes upon someone else in an alley, the immediate reaction is most often fear and defensiveness. But here, with bright lights all around, everyone was excited to share the space! A garbage bin under fluorescent lighting is a curious object to be received/perceived in mutual sharing, not a disgusting, smelly object of unfortunate utility that one prays will not reveal a violent thief-in-hiding.
The public-ness of all the exhibitions was not always positive, however. In the basement auditorium of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, we had the opportunity to hear Lynn Kuo perform two outstanding pieces. The second piece, entitled “Squamish” and composed for her by Michael Pepa and Dennis Patrick (who were also in attendance), can be viewed in part online. The auditorium was so packed, however, that latecomers had to sit in the aisles, one of whom unknowingly sat directly next to Pepa and was behaving remarkably similar to Jeff Richards’ SNL character “Drunk Girl.” As we were sitting directly behind Pepa, and thus next to her as well, the experience was less than optimal.
Lynn Kuo at Nuit Blanche 2007
Kuo’s first performance, however, was fortunately untainted by the crowd. Indeed, it was so beautiful that even the rudest audience would have been moved to tears. Composed by Avalon Rusk, this piece (“Calling Loons”) incorporated recordings of both electronic music and — not surprisingly — loons calling. The recording of the loons, however, was impeccable; it was so crystal clear that one could almost hear the mist rising off the lake. As the loons called, Kuo’s violin responded; and as she played, the loons called back. Both my wife and I were reduced to tears, having recently left our family of loons back at the lake in Wisconsin.
It was a lovely evening, and I hope that more cities will incorporate this fantastic event into their cultural repertoire. Just as long as the drunk girls stay home.
I should also say a few words about Shayne’s Wesley Report. It’s THE standard for learning about the Wesleyan/Methodist world. In addition to the the standard blogroll for Methodist blogs, he provides daily summaries of the top Methodist blogposts each morning, news updates from UMNS, as well as commentary posts, regular posts from John Wesley’s journals, weekly quotes from Guilaume de la Flechère on “Fletcher Fridays,” and all the links you’ll ever need to keep up with Methodism online. It’s mostly geared toward the United Methodist Church, but he does a good job incorporating the British Methodists and the World Methodist Council. I use WR daily to keep up with the Methodist world. Many thanks to Shayne for including Fides ex auditu on his blogroll!
