The top 5 things to do in Montreal: Jan. 29 to Feb. 12
"Engine Angelic" by Katerina Athanasopoulou, currently showing in The Engine Room. | Courtesy of the artist
1. THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE
Loin des bruits du monde | Librairie Monet | till March 1 | Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For Guylaine Chevarie-Lessard, there is more to literature than words and meaning.
The whole body is involved in the act of writing — it’s a movement. This installation doesn’t push the listener out into an imaginary world; Chevarie-Lessard hopes listeners can withdraw from the world to reflect within themselves. She invites us to sit or lie on the sofa, and discover the “visible voice.”
The idea came to Chevarie-Lessard on a walk in the country where she decided to record her voice; then, to write to the rhythm of her respiration. Add rice paper, Chinese ink drawings and the voice of journalist Ariane Emond, and you have Loin des bruits du monde.
Quebecois actor Michel Dumont in the 2012 film Café de Flore.
2. ACTORS STUDIO
Tête-à-tête Deceppe | Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme at Place des Arts | February 4 at 5 p.m.
Attention acting buffs: here's your chance to get an inside scoop on the industry. Quebec thespian Michel Dumont is running through the highlights of his decades-long stage and screen career.
For example — Dumont acted alongside Vanessa Paradis in Café de Flore (2012), which was nominated for 13 Genie Awards.
"Chiang Rai, Thailand" by Radu Juster. | Courtesy of the artist
3. LAYERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Radu Juster : Mise en scène | Monument-National | til February 28, 5 to 8 p.m.
Radu Juster doesn’t take the photograph. He builds it. And, in the process, pushes the limits of expression in digital photography.
For Juster, there is a “pre-click” and a “post-click” set-up. First, he stages and scripts the shot, with careful lighting, subject-postioning and camera angles. After the "click," he adds in layers and digital brush strokes.
It's a painstaking process — but somehow, the results are always surprising.
Find out more about Radu Juster : Mise en scène.
4. LAST CHANCE
Eric Godin: New Exhibition at Galerie Roccia | Galerie Roccia | till February 1
“Daring to destroy to better rebuild who I am, where I’m at, with whom, past and present. Loving. Painting and sculpting, living,” writes Eric Godin.
Known for his illustrations and media collaborations, Godin is pretty much a visual Renaissance man: painter, editorial cartoonist, graphic designer, illustrator, sculptor...
He boasts more than 2,000 original works, on display in the McCord Museum and the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. Galerie Roccia is showing his latest, including the mysterious Pinhead.
Find out more about Eric Godin: New Exhibition at Galerie Roccia.
"Dream" by Lena Athanasopoulou, currently on display in The Engine Room. | Courtesy of the artist
5. GREEK MEDIA MADNESS
The Engine Room | Centre des arts actuels SKOL | till February 7
Independent curator Stéphanie Bertrand sought out the works of three artists to explore the “schizophrenia of our contemporary condition,” with a focus on the current political happenings in Greece.
You can expect an (unexpected) mix of video, print, photo and collage work by Katerina Athanasopoulou, Lena Athanasopoulou and Zoe Giabouldaki.
Find out more about The Engine Room.
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About the author
Andy Fidel is a Montreal-based freelance journalist, photographer and writer with dreams of living on a submarine. She enjoys metro rides, writer's block and cold instant coffee.