2012

Reflections on Day Three and Four

Sylvie Cotton performing at Toronto Free Gallery

By Christine Korte The language of materials was the central talking point of yesterday’s (Friday’s) Performance Art Daily.  Each artist – Guadalupe Neves, Paul Hurley and Maria Hupfield – was asked by moderator Wanda Nanibush to elaborate on their relationship to the materials or objects used in their performances. The most interesting question of the …

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Day Three

Rachel Echenberg performing at Mercer Union

By Christine Korte Let me begin with last tonight’s performances. I’ll start with Rachel Echenberg’s At Home. Wearing a transparent plastic house on her head which framed her face, Echenberg began by delineating spaces in the gallery. A large piece of synthetic turf covering the center of the gallery marked one space, within which the …

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Community engagement

By Randy Gledhill The night concierge at the Alphaville Inn is enchanted by the performance art crew that has invaded. He is also computer savvy, saving me several times from the usual system crashes endemic to the makeshift patch-and-fix servers of big hotels in these pioneering years of internet access. “OK your system is down, …

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OMG

Anna Kalwajtys performing on Bloor Street

By Randy Gledhill “I will focus on the limitations of humanity by investigating the topics of social cannibalism, mutual social elimination, the exclusion of weaker individuals, repression, and isolation”Anna Kalwajtys, from the 7a*11d festival programme Mid afternoon. The weather has changed. A dark cloud is rolling in. I enter Mercer Union. Anna Kalwajtys, the serious …

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The Full Monty

Paul Hurley performing at Mercer Union

By Randy Gledhill The set-up Three farmyard buckets equal distance to form a triangle. Each containing something. One sprouts Blue Hydrangia. A black leather jacket. A bottle of red wine. And a pair of gold lame stiletto heel shoes, as worn by a woman or someone pretending to be. On with the Show Paul Hurley, …

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I cry for you, Argentina

Guadalupe Neves performing at Mercer Union

By Randy Gledhill Five IV drip bags hanging in a row, filled with something dark. A white paper flower garland around her head. A white paper frock with a long paper train, Guadelupe Neves scatters industrial stainless steel bowls to catch the offerings, then, standing below, opens the first hose. Dark blue liquid flows over …

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Day Two

Carl Bouchard and Martin Dufrasne performing at Toronto Free Gallery

By Christine Korte Carl Bouchard and Martin Dufrasne’s performance on Wednesday night began with us beholding the performers’ heads on a guillotine–like mirrored plank. The two performers were locked into this bizarre contraption, instantly evoking the idea that this could be a troubled union (uh oh!). After completing a perilous round of the gallery space …

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