Well this was my first Nuit Blanche and I had an awesome time! Fabulous weather. I wish I’d gone out last year, as I’m sure it was different now.
THE GOOD
I loved the experience of the energy on the street. The city felt really alive. For me that was the art piece. I loved that (despite the often poor quality of work) the public was out with the intention of at least vaguely looking at art. That can’t be a bad thing. If galleries seem a little less intimidating then it will hopefully encourage more people to look at art more often. This event seems like our version of the Turner Prize or Tate Modern, a really publicly friendly thing that gets people talking about contemporary art. It’s no longer just the Group of Seven and Robert Bateman. YAY!
THE BAD
However, I’m bothered by the way that it turns art into an event, a circus and a spectacle. There is no time to contemplate, step back, sit, look, listen. It was impossible to appreciate the majority of things on display. This is why, when you read below, I selected “Ann Hamilton’s Listening Choir” as one of the best events (despite my bias as a participant )
THE BEST
VENUE ZONE B.
1) U of T. It was great because there was room to move, large open spaces, and less traffic. The art installations there were actually good, especially Hart House.
2) OCAD and Grange area, Beverly St. Again - space to move makes all the difference.
BEST EVENT
1) Ann Hamilton’s Listening Choir Group.
“The Listening Choir” was created over the week with a group of 20 students. It grew to include many more. The piece involved the group dispersed a few meters apart but clearly connected. We all stood still with our eyes closed, and listened to the sounds around us. In response to the noises we would pivot our bodies in that direction. Slowly turning, often in unison. This would go on for about 15 minutes. It had a beautifully poetic quality and presence. It got a lot of attention, especially at U of T where the conditions were all perfect. Philosophers walk took place spread out on three paths on a hill, it reminded me of Anthony Gormley’s body sculptures on the beach. It was very existential. We continued until 1:00 am when we lost half the group in the crowd. We started at OCAD and then walked around the city adapting to each site. It reached its strongest point at U of T and Philosophers Walk.
People even joined our group along the way. It was like being in completely different headspace from the insanity of Nuit Blanche. It was successful because it encouraged people to do the same, take a deep breath, stop, listen, and relax. Participating lead to tuning out of all the ongoing noise but at the same time being completely present because you were responding to the changing sounds. I feel really lucky to have participated.
2) “Slow Dance with Teacher”: Darren O'Donnell, Harthouse, University of Toronto Great Hall. This was a wonderful idea. A group of Profs who volunteered to slow dance with their students to music that many of us remember from high school dances! I loved it. I danced with a woman but I'm not sure if she was a teacher. It was great and a lot of fun.
3) Incursion: The Great Hall Storefront Window: Craig Walsh, Queen West West,
The giant storefront fish tank. Very cool video installation. Featured giant fish swimming in the storefront. Beautiful and mesmerizing. Up close the pixels bothered me, but from across the street it was at its best.
4) “In Memory of Brian Kipping” Group Show Bau-Xi Gallery.
(Ok biased again) I was in this one too. It was a group show (up for a few days) of Toronto street scenes at night. I particularly love this genre so I really enjoyed the variety and seeing that there were so many other people fascinated by the same thing as me.
5) Three Readings: Nestor Kruger: Hart House Squash Courts,
A wonderful sound installation in squash courts.
6) The Watcher: Beverly Street Building. Millie Chen.
This was beautiful with lights turning on and off in the windows of the museum.
7) The Gladstone Hotel: Installation rooms.
Really crowded, but I remember there being some nice things. Couldn't tell you what they were!
8) The ROM.
Looked really cool all lit up, but should have been open.
THE WORST
1) Church Street: Red Light District. “Nightless City”
The all time loser of Nuit Blanche for me was Church Street. Crap. It shouldn’t really have been a surprise that Church would be the least creative, most boring and commercial venue. It was a closed off street with red lights in the windows and a bunch of people dressed as Belle Époque Parisian whores. Sounds fun in theory, but not in practice. Lots of obnoxious drag Queens desperate for attention. It was just another Gay Pride, artless, and dull.
2) Queen West West.
Queen West West was no fun. Its not built to handle that kind of crowd. I arrived there at around 2:00am and the crowd was insane and drunk. The storefront projects and videos are a nice idea but if anyone stops to look at them no one can get by on the sidewalk.
3) The National Ballet of Canada: A Window on Ballet, Four Seasons Centre.
Featured pictures of the National Ballet dancers in rehearsal and performance. BORING! I love dance, but seriously, who cares! Is that the best they could do?
4) Femmebomb: Beatrice Lillie Health Centre, Janet Morton
Big and Tacky. I just don't get the point. I also found it over all too thin. It didn't go far enough to be interesting.
SORELY MISSED
I didn’t get to…but wanted to…
1) Lower Bay Station!
The lineup went all the way around the block. Obviously everyone in Toronto wants to see the Ghost Station, so they should open that up again for a few days. YAY TTC!
2) Bloor Night Light, Dyan Marie Art Projects.
I just couldn’t get over there before the subway and buses stopped. It’s a shame. Did anyone go? I like that this is a local issue.
3) Casa Loma Stables.
Sounded really cool, but too out of the way.
THE FUTURE OF NUIT BLANCHE:
From the sounds of it, the event has already doubled in size from last year. If it is to survive as any kind of strong art event there has to be a selection committee to prevent it from becoming totally commercialized. It’s only a matter of time before businesses start exploiting the event as advertising by having installations in their stores etc.
There must be: NO BEER GARDENS! NO CLOSING OFF THE STREETS TO PUBLIC TRANSIT.
I think that artists will start to find ways to force the crowds to stop and slow down.
copyright: Gareth Bate, 2007