Elvis … and ice-cream? POP Montréal comes to Concordia
POP Montréal may be driven by music, but it keeps upping the ante on film and art.
The 2015 edition — which runs from September 16 to 20 — has teamed up once again with Concordia to present seven creenings under the banner of Film POP, a subdivision of the hugely successful visual arts component Art POP.
Robb Jamieson, Art POP’s curator, is a graduate of Concordia’s Department of Studio Arts. He says the festival also provides a chance for current and former students to exhibit in a high-profile space, alongside international talent.
“I know the Fine Arts program really helped me, and I think Art POP is a great opportunity to bridge the gap between academia and the creative community.”
After working hard to rustle up a packed house of artists, he’s excited to see the giant neon souvlaki sculpture by Greek artist Eleni Bagaki, as well as Concordia alum Michael Doerksen’s I Scream installation (pictured above), which Jamieson says looks like “someone threw 38 resin ice-cream cones against a huge wall.”
Fellow alums from Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts, including the show’s curator, Corri-Lynn Tetz, and artists Paul Hardy, Peggy Kouroumalos and Eliza Griffiths will also display their work in the Side Project group show at Quartiers Pop (3450 St-Urbain St.).
Concordians Stephanie Creaghan and Jessica Kirsh are putting on a show that includes alums Dan Vogt and Thea Govorchin in their CK2 Gallery (203-6560 Esplanade Ave.).
Meanwhile Rebecca Duclos, Concordia's new dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, is exploring American artist K8 Hardy’s creative practice in a public one-hour interview on Thursday, September 17 at 5:30 p.m. in Quartiers Pop (3450 St. Urbain).
In her work, Hardy (pictured above) primarily focuses on performance, photography and sculpture-based. It engages with popular cultural and fashion imagery while challenging notions of race, class, economics and gender.
A founding member of the feminist gender-queer collective LTTR, Hardy has exhibited and performed worldwide at galleries including the Whitney Museum of American Art and Tate Modern. The New York-based provocateur has also directed music videos for groups such as Le Tigre and Lesbians on Ecstasy.
On September 17, Hardy will also screen her new Outfitumentary, a selfie-a-day-style time capsule cataloguing the artist’s daily outfits for 11 years from 2001 and 2012.
“We thought it would be a great match to have Rebecca interview K8,” Jamieson says. “It's great timing because Rebecca just moved back to become dean of Fine Arts.”
Film POP picks at Concordia’s J.A. DeSève Cinema
For Elvis lovers (or haters):
Orion: The Man Who Would Be King (Jeanie Finlay | UK, USA, 2015 | 88 min.) — Quebec premiere — Friday, September 18, at 6 p.m., $10
The art of the selfie:
Outfitumentary (K8 Hardy | USA, 2010-2012 / 2015 | 90 min.) — Advanced screening — Friday, September 18, at 8 p.m., $10
A lost classic on pianist Leon Russell:
A Poem Is a Naked Person (Les Blank | USA, 1974/2015 | 90 min.) — Quebec premiere — Saturday, September 19, at 4 p.m., $10
The trials and tribulations of a newly divorced voice actor:
Playback (Sho Miyake | Japan, 2012 | 113 min.) — Canadian premiere with director in attendance — Saturday, September 19, at 6 p.m., $10
An experimental look at collaborative music making:
The Cockpit (Sho Miyake | Japan, 2014 | 65 min.) — Canadian premiere with director in attendance — Saturday, September 19, at 8 p.m., $10
On the pitfalls of internet fame:
Hot Sugar’s Cold World (Adam Bhala Lough | USA, 2015 | 85 min.) — Quebec premiere — Sunday, September 20, at 4 p.m., $10
The fourth installment in the “Groovin’ Gary” Griffith/Trent Harris collaboration:
The Beaver Trilogy Part IV (Brad Besser | USA, 2015 | 82 min.) — Quebec premiere — Sunday, September 20, at 6 p.m., $10
Find out more about events in Concordia's Faculty of Fine Arts.