Monday, October 22, 2012

ETC

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photo: Lena Ghio

ISABELLE LELARGE Editor in Chief of Montreal's ETC Magazine greeted us for the launch of the latest edition that treats the subject of failure at Librairie Formats . While there, I took the opportunity to visit ARTEXTE and the ongoing exhibition of SOPHIE BÉLAIR CLÉMENT 2 Rooms equal size, 1 empty, with secretary that will last until January 26 2013. In this context the performance artist MARIE-CLAIRE FORTÉ created a piece entitled  Marie-Claire Forté: Spectacle Continuel that has two performances left this Wednesday October 24 and this Saturday October 27.

-Lena Ghio

FRANÇAIS

ISABELLE LELARGE Éditrice en Chef de la Revue de l'Art Actuel ETC nous accueille au lancement de la dernière édition qui traite du sujet de l'échec à la Librairie Formats . Sur les lieux, je profite de l'opportunité pour visiter  ARTEXTE et l'exposition en cour de  SOPHIE BÉLAIR CLÉMENT 2 Rooms equal size, 1 empty, with secretary qui est présenté jusqu'au 26 Janvier 2013. Dans ce contexte l'artiste MARIE-CLAIRE FORTÉ a créé une pièce intitulée  Marie-Claire Forté: Spectacle Continuel pour laquelle il reste deux performances, ce Mercredi le 24 Octobre et ce Samedi le 27 Octobre.

-Lena Ghio

Friday, October 12, 2012

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS






Seven Psychopaths  trailer

MARTIN McDONAGH has created the most surprisingly funny movie I have ever seen!
The cast: SAM ROCKWELL as Billy, COLIN FARELL as Marty, CHRISTOPHER WALKEN as Hans and WOODY HARRELSON as Charlie take us on a journey of delightful madness. I grew up with four brothers and the movie reminded of these exciting nights when we couldn't sleep and we would begin inventing stories to make each other laugh, nothing was too wild or irreverent!

But this movie has unsuspected qualities and dimensions. Christopher Walken, who should be nominated for an Oscar in my book, gives the performance of his life as a man who has lost first his daughter then his wife to violence. The cinematography, BEN DAVIS, is outstanding! Care is given to what you will see from every angle. The portion that plays out in the desert is breathtaking to say the least. I have never felt so close to the desert. And the outlandish humor! Check out the trailer above, and those are not the funniest parts!

It is a bloody movie so do not take youngsters.
NOW PLAYING!
I LOVED IT!

-Lena Ghio



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

EXHIBITIONS THIS FALL / EXPOSITIONS CET AUTOMNE


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There is a lot of excitement at the Montreal Museum of contemporary art this fall. Two new major exhibitions have blown me away! What a treat to discover the huge talents of PIERRE DORION and JANET BIGGS.

Pierre Dorion is a Quebec painter who has made a name for himself with his exquisite compositions of interior settings. Pure, clean, limpid his work creates fascination. It is important to pay attention to how the work has been divided in the rooms.


The exhibition is curated by MARK LANCTÔT.
You will have a chance to meet the artist and the curator Wednesday October 17 at 7:00 PM in the exhibition rooms.

Next, there is Janet Biggs who presents four video installations with sound. What I adored about her work is that she presents us with unique people, doing extraordinary jobs or occupations, in the most awesome settings! The photo above for example is taken from Brightness all around and features a woman miner, the only female working with more than a hundred men. Her videos are often intercepted with musical performances that add an indescribable mood to the process of living her work.

This exhibition was curated by LESLEY JOHNSTONE. You will have a chance to meet the artist and the curator Saturday October 20 at 1:00 PM  in the exhibition rooms.

AUDE MOREAU, a French artist, was invited to show one of her video creations, Reconstruction 2012, that shows us the New York shoreline. It is captivating. I truly enjoyed it.
There are a lot of activities offered for all age groups and all interests. I urge you to consult the site.

NEXT! The CCA just opened a new exhibit put together by DAN HANDEL who won the CCA's Young curator Prize 2011. D'abord, Les Forêts takes a look at how architects and industry planners have handled forests for the last four hundred years. It is an exhibit put together with care and neatness. It is fascinating to see moments of deep thoughts about the forests to moments of incredible shortsightedness like the Brazilian forests being exploited today. At your disposition there are state of the art audio tapes that you need to ask for at the entrance.
While there be sure to look at the many books you can look at.
All the above exhibitions will run until January 6 2013.








FINALLY! The Impressionists arrive at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in an exhibit entitled Once upon a time...Impressionism.

You will experience more than seventy paintings that are part of The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute's collection accumulated by the Clarks starting in the early twentieth century. They shared a passion for RENOIR so his words underscore the exhibit. You will see some magnificent Renoirs including the one below, Une loge au théâtre, that is breathtaking! The important feature of this exhibition is that it retraces the Impressionistic movement from its inception until it marks the art world as the financial machine it is today.

The presentation is classical and neat. You can have access to audio guides that explain the stories behind the works. I discovered the Italian painter GIOVANNI BOLDINI who works on small canvasses yet produced the most intriguing spaces on his tiny works. Check out for his pieces  Crossing the Street / 1873-75 and Young Woman Crocheting / 1875. Another delight is the presence of two renowned female Impressionists MARY CASSATT and BERTHE MORISSOT.

There are many activities associated with the exhibit including
a special musical program at Salle Bourgie, movies, conferences and workshops! As always these activities are very popular so check the website often.

The exhibition was curated by NATHALIE BONDIL Director and chief curator at the Museum with MICHAEL CONFORTI  Director at The Sterling and Francine Clark Institute.

The exhibition is endlessly fascinating for a myriad of reasons. It will last until January 20 2013.
I LOVED IT!

-Lena Ghio

FRANÇAIS


Il y a beaucoup d'excitations au Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal cet automne. Deux expositions majeures m'ont éblouie! Quel délice de découvrir les immenses talents de PIERRE DORION et JANET BIGGS.

Pierre Dorion est un peintre Québécois qui s'est fait un nom avec ses compositions exquises de décors intérieurs. Pure, net, limpide, son travail crée la fascination. C'est important de porter attention à la disposition des oeuvres dans les pièces. MARK LANCTÔT  est commissaire de l'exposition. Vous aurez l'opportunité de rencontrer L'artiste et le commissaire Mercredi le 17 Octobre à 19:00 dans les salles d'expositions. 

Ensuite, Janet Biggs  présente quatre installations vidéos avec son. Ce que j'ai adoré de son travail c'est qu'elle nous présente des personnes originales oeuvrant à des emplois ou occupations totalement extraordinaires dans des environnements spectaculaires! La photo en haut, par example, prise de  Brightness all around et figurant une femme qui travaille comme mineur, la seule femme parmis des centaines d'hommes. Ses bandes vidéos sont souvent interceptées par des performances musicales qui ajoutent une atmosphère indescriptible  au processus de son oeuvre vivante. 

La commissaire de cette exposition est LESLEY JOHNSTONE. Vous aurez la chance de rencontrer l'artiste et la commissaire Samedi le 20 Octobre à 13:00 dans les salles d'expositions.

AUDE MOREAU, une artiste Française, a aussi été invitée à nous présenter une oeuvre vidéographique, Reconstruction 2012, qui nous fait voir le littoral de New York. C'est une pièce captivante que j'ai vraiment aimé.

Il y a beaucoup d'activités offertent au public de tous les âges et intérêts mais les places volent vite. Donc je vous invite à consulter le site.

ENSUITE! Le  CCA vient tout juste d'ouvrir une nouvelle exposition mise en scène par le jeune commissaire  DAN HANDEL qui s'est mérité le Prix du Jeune commissaire du CCA 2011D'abord, Les Forêts regarde comment les architectes et plannificateurs d'industrie ont manoeuvré les forêts depuis les derniers quatre cents ans. L'exposition est mise en scène avec soin et clarté. C'est fascinants de voir les moments de réflexion profondes à propos des forêts aux moments d'incroyable myopie comme c'est le cas avec les forêts du Brésil exploitées aujourd'hui. Vous avez à votre disposition des appareils audios de la plus haute technologie pour agrémenter votre visite. Vous devez les demander à l'entrée.
Pendant votre visite profitez des livres magnifiques mis à votre disposition. 
Toutes les expositions en haut se terminent le 6 Janvier 2013. 

FINALLEMENT! Les Impressionnistes arrivent au Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal dans une exposition qui s'intitule Il était une fois l'impressionnisme.

Vous y verrez plus de soixante-dix tableaux qui font partie de la collection appartenant à The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute collection accumulée par les Clarks dès le début du vingtième siècle. Le couple partageait une passion pour RENOIR donc ses mots sont parsemmés au long de l'exposition. Vous y verrez des Renoirs magnifiques dont celui illustré en haut, Une loge au théâtre, qui est chavirante! Un des attraits particuliers de cette exposition est qu'elle raconte le mouvement impressionniste de sa conception jusqu'au moment où le monde de l'art devient associé au monde de la haute finance tel que nous le connaissons aujourd'hui. 

La présentation est classique et nette. Vous avez accès à des audios-guides qui racontent les histoires associées aux différentes oeuvres. J'ai découvert le peintre Italien GIOVANNI BOLDINI qui travaillait sur des canevas de petites tailles pour y produire des espaces intriguantes. Portez attention pour ses pièces En Traversant La Rue / 1873-75 et Jeune Femme Faisant du Crochet / 1875. Un autre délice, la présence de deux artistes Impressionnistes féminine, MARY CASSATT et BERTHE MORISSOT

Il y aura beaucoup d'activités associées avec cette exposition incluant un programme musical spécial à la Salle Bourgie, des films, des conférences, et des ateliers! Comme toujours ces activités sont très populaires donc vérifiez le site  souvent.

NATHALIE BONDIL, Directrice et commissaire en chef au Musée, a réalisé cette exposition avec  MICHAEL CONFORTI  Directeur à The Sterling and Francine Clark Institute.

L'exposition est infiniment fascinante pour une myriade de raisons. Elle durera jusqu'au 20 Janvier 2013. 

J'AI ADORÉ!

-Lena Ghio


Monday, October 1, 2012

THE 8th MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL 2012


(L to R) Harry Belafonte, Fabienne Colas, Stedman Graham, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam.  Photos ©  Lena Ghio, 2012

What a week of emotion at the 8th Montreal International Black Film Festival. It began with an exciting opening evening in the presence of HARRY BELAFONTE, a legendary artist, humanitarian and activist. What a thrill it was for all of us present to honor his life achievement with the first ever Humanitarian Award given by the Festival.

The evening continued with the screening of the film WINNIE starring JENNIFER HUDSON and TERENCE HOWARD. The movie, directed by DARRELL ROODT, is superb with exquisite cinematography by MARIO JANELLE. Jennifer Hudson takes us through the hellish experiences endured by a woman who very young upheld her husband's, NELSON MANDELA, struggle for human rights in South Africa. I was shocked by what I discovered Winnie Mandela had gone through. I had never looked beyond the persona photographed in newspapers and although I did support her words for human rights, I never imagined the cost to her. I am astonished by her bravery. I was in tears when the end credits rolled down and we could see real pictures of Winnie, her eyes overflowing with grief.

I enjoyed several movies. One of them was Umkhungo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2gBqOsZm0k a short film that recounts the story of a young boy with a magical gift who is hunted by his terrified family. A street thug, who at first wants to sell the boy, helps him instead and finds resolution for one of his own greatest regrets. I adored this movie rich with superb performances correct timing and eternal themes. The other Slavery by another Name reveals the truth about how blacks were treated in the United States after slavery was supposedly eradicated : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s8ccKepCms very hard to watch images of public lynching of young men while ladies stand around in fancy dresses chatting!!!! Surfing Soweto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKQ0eOkFH94 also moved me tremendously. Very young boys risk their lives creating challenges to develop their skills by surfing on moving trains. The footage is mind blowing and their skills are amazing but some of them die. The closing film The Central Park Five was a strange echo of the movie Slavery by another Name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIGBUXuZGyQ five young boys aged between fourteen and seventeen were accused of the horrific rape of a female jogger in New York at the end of the eighties. Two of the boys, now men still trying to rebuild normal lives were with us Sunday September 30 and shared with us where they are at now. We were so moved!

Finally we had the enormous joy of meeting STEDMAN GRAHAM, a business man, author, humanitarian who gave a conference "THE NINE STEP PLAN FOR SUCCESS" based on his best selling books. In this context M. Graham received the first 2012 Career Achievement Award.  I had the opportunity to ask him a question on all our behalf, that he answers on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um1YtiL2W3s the answer is very to the point and I was very inspired by his words. If you need a dose of encouragement, do listen!

Now we will have to wait a full year to see what the Festival will come up with next!

I LOVED IT!!!!!
-LENA GHIO

www.montrealblackfilm.com