Miami Report – Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel Dugas (2014)

Report from a visit to Miami and the Everglades National Park – Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel Dugas, November 2014

Our visit to South Florida to screen video poetry at the Miami Book Fair International and a visit to the Everglades National Park was short.  Aside from the two days of air travel, we were there for just three days, really full days! To begin, on November 18, we screened several videos and took part in a panel discussion on the transformative effects that the July 2014 AIRIE (Artist In Residence In Everglades) residency had on our work.  While our FLOW: BIG WATERS everglades-based project is ongoing and will eventually include an installation with soundwalks and photographs, we were happy to screen a selection of the video works that we have completed to this date.

The panel discussion was co-moderated by Artist and AIRIE Executive President, Deborah Mitchell and Biologist Skip Snow.  The five AIRIE Artists who presented and took part in the discussion were: Gustavo Matamoros, Reed van Brunschot, Author Anne McCrary Sullivan, and ourselves. After brief introductions by Deborah Mitchell, Miami historian Dr. Paul George opened the conversation with details about the current and recent landmarks that stand and stood close to the Book Fair venue we were sitting within. Downtown Miami is undergoing many physical changes as new buildings replace older structures. Dr. George’s comments brought some of these changes to light. The evening took place at the SWAMP; the pop-up lounge utilized for showcasing social and cultural events during the Miami Book Fair International on the Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus.

After the AIRIE presentation, Gustavo Matamoros and his partner, Miami-based Graphic Artist Claudia Ariano invited us to drive over to Little Havana’s El Cristo Restaurant to experience Cuban cuisine. The conversations continued in a range of topics that ran from contemporary art through a variety of cultural markers.

During two of our days, we walked around the Wolfson Campus and Miami’s downtown to become somewhat oriented with the city. We found our way over to the Miami Beach Mall for the opening of an umbrella of exhibitions at the ArtCenter of South Florida. The open studios and exhibitions for the 30 Years on the Road show spread out from 924 Lincoln Road, along the block to transform the experience from indoor venues to vitrines for sidewalk viewing. It is an ambitious undertaking that showcases retrospective and contemporary artworks embodying many genres.  Outside of 924 Lincoln, the Listening Gallery, in partnership with Subtropics.org is presenting the collaborative work: Walk-Run. On opposite sides of the entrance doors, Walk-Run features face to face moving images by Charles Recher. Combined with a soundscape by Rene Barge and Gustavo Matamoros, Walk-Run can be experienced differently depending on if you are up-close to it, on the sidewalk in front of the building, or at distance. Turning the corner to view other artworks presented in vitrines also permits variable exposure to the audio as the sound waves bend around the architecture of the cityscape. Owing to the nature of showing so many artists at one time, the opening reception moved along the block with conversations continuing inside in and outside of the studios. Walking this stretch of the Mall with Gustavo, we met and talked with many artists. We also took time to view examples of art deco along the Lincoln Road Mall.

On November 20, the final day of our visit, Deborah Mitchell invited us to drive out to the AIRIE lab to visit November’s resident artist Regina Jestrow.  Regina had generously organized an open studio reception in the lab where she laid out a sampling of the research she carried out during the month. It was a chance to talk informally with Regina, the other artists and scientists who dropped by, and several of the Park Staff that we had the pleasure of working with during July. We saw the beginning stages of Regina’s artworks utilizing imprinted rubbings and look forward to seeing the next stage of this new textile based work.

Back in Miami the same evening, we visited the Locust Project.  Showing in the Main Space is Daniel Arsham’s Welcome to the Future. In the project room,Salvadorian artist Simón Vega’s exhibition Sub-Tropical Social Sculptures is ongoing.We arrived in time for the Art on the Move presentation with Curator Dominic Molon in conversation with Vancouver-based artist Ron Terada. The subject of the discussion was Terada’s Soundtrack for an Exhibition.

Our on-the-ground introduction to the Miami art scene gave us the chance to scratch the surface of this diverse, multicultural city where Spanish is the predominantly spoken second language. Staying in downtown Miami gave us the chance to see the last days of the old Miami Herald Building as it underwent demolition. It will be interesting to go back and see what new masterpiece rises to replace it on Biscayne Bay. If one word could be used to describe the face and evolving culture of Miami, vibrant would fit!

This activity was supported by the New Brunswick Arts Board

And the MBFI / The Swamp

Moncton Man Loves Every Minute Of His Busy Life (2014)

Spem reduxit / Hope restored (2014)

Key Words: New Brunswick, debt, marijuana, traffic code, zombies, marketing

“Time to rebound is running out”, it’s a “financial disaster”[1], it’s “very concerning”[2], “our regional economy is flat-lining and we are depopulating… it’s a death spiral”[3], it’s a “perfect fiscal storm”[4] and so on. We’ve all heard the song. It’s terrible and it seems that there isn’t much we can do. We are doomed, but are we really?

Here are a few ideas, of what we might be able to do.

P as in POT
The first idea is a simple one: New Brunswick could legalize marijuana (medical and recreational). Our province has vast fields of uncultivated land, which always makes me wonder where have the farmers gone? In addition, our climate is mainly humid continental with warm summers, which is excellent for growing stuff. By decriminalizing marijuana, our province would be the first in the country, and this alone would be an incredible business opportunity.This prospect that has already created waves: in the aim of defining target markets and customers, market research professionals have begun asking Canadians what they think of marijuana. When the questions start flying, you can assume that the product is on its way. Even the Globe and Mail is writing about the future of cannabis in Canada.[5]

I like this idea because it has a two-fold potential: to generate tax revenues, and to become a fountain of youth. Legalize it and they will come. They, the young people from all over the country might consider New Brunswick as a place to live and to settle. This could be the true golden age of New Brunswick. For those who might say that marijuana falls into federal legislation (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act), I would point out that it is the provinces that control the “administration of justice.”[6] Moreover I would invoke the right to economic dignity. I believe that every province has a right to create an environment where its citizens can flourish and to deny New Brunswick the possibility of improved economic revenue would be criminal.

T as in TRAFFIC
The second idea concerns the drivers and the police departments of all towns and cities in New Brunswick. As a pedestrian I can attest to the danger of walking on our streets. There are many factors that make walking a dangerous activity: car culture, changing weather, darkness in winter, cultural misunderstanding on the meaning of yellow lights, etc. The fact is that there is a potential gold mine at every corner and maybe we should be exploiting these open pit deposits. A officer could monitor a crosswalk and give as many fines as necessary to drivers who see the flashing lights, see the pedestrians but don’t think they should slow down.

Z as in ZOMBIES
They are currently hot on TV with; Z Nation, The Returned, The Walking Dead, and of course, there are zombie walks all over the world. We are fascinated by their relentless stamina and as Angela Becerra Vidergar pointed out in a recent article “Zombies are important as a reflection of ourselves.”[7]

The question here is what can these tireless workers do for us? The motto for the city of Moncton is Resurgo, Latin for “To rise up again.” That is zombie speak and is awesome. The province should quickly seize Moncton’s motto, make it its own and market itself as a global hub for anything zombies. Here again, two birds with one stone, during the zombie walks, police could dispense tickets to zombie drivers.

Daniel Dugas
November 27 2014

[1] Richard Saillant, director general of the Canadian Institute for Research on Public Policy and Public Administration in “New Brunswick barrelling toward bankruptcy, analyst warns”, CBC News, April 29, 2014.

[2] Auditor General Kim MacPherson in “Auditor General troubled by debt growth”, CBC NEWS, Dec 05, 2013.

[3] Frank McKenna in, ‘Good governments do not allow mob rule”, The Chronicle Herald, November 4, 2014.

[4] Donald Savoie in “Paying the piper”, Atlantic Business Magazine, February 23, 2012

[5] Jeffrey Simpson, ‘Should Canada do a Uruguay on pot?’ Dec 3 2014.

See also, Jeffrey Simpson, ‘A marijuana measure worth watching‘. Dec 5, 2014.

[6] Sensible BC, Canada’s largest marijuana reform group in Frequently Asked Questions.

[7] Angela Becerra Vidergar in “Stanford scholar explains why zombie fascination is very much alive“, Stanford Report, February 20, 2013.

Zombie Silhouettes by SymbiopticStudios

Spem reduxit / Hope restored is New Brunswick ‘s motto

Click here to read part 1: Home of the New Balance: Nota bene published on August 26 2014.

International Film Poetry Festival (2014)

International Film
Poetry Festival 2014
friday 28/11/2014 / starts 20.00

Video artists:

D.H Dugas CAN | M. Dickes USA | D. Wotton FR
M. Piatek POL | J. Solomko UKR | I. Shevchenko UKR
S. Wiegner GER. |
J. Brok & A.Marseille HOL 
T. Bentley UK | Visto Desde el Zaguán IRE
K. Polischuk UKR | MAI ΙT | Κ. Καρβέλη GR
A. Anderfuren HUNG | Γ.Πατεράκης GR | S. San GER
V. LeBlanc CAN | E.Tsymbalyuk UKR | E.Στάμου GR
M. Craven AUSTR | P. Gialis GR | L. Kalyadin RUS
N.Κωστόπουλος GR | M. Mullins USA
T. Granot ISR | Orquesta de Poetas SP
E. Al-Ansari UK | D. Dirgela LTH |V. Giourousis USA
P. Müller GER | M. Lland UK | Bobye FR
K. Sargent UK | D. Fiori & O. Pohankova AUS
I. Andreevski HOL | Θ. Σπυριδάκη GR | G. Pryor USA
Didi SUD | E. Vinogradova UKR | Θ. Πάνου GR
Aγγ. Φραντζής, Ν. Πάστρας GR | S. Brova, P. Lypa RUM
J. D. Scott USA | I. Oravin FNL | S. Samyi GER

programme: http://issuu.com/sissydoutsiou/docs/artists_2014/6?e=0%2F10281417


Performance:

Whitney Sparks (USA) | Iωάννα Λιούτσια


Live Concerts:

AΓΓΕΛΟΣ ΚΥΡΙΟΥ

PAN PAN

KTIΡΙΑ ΤΗ ΝΥΧΤΑ


Μulti Media Poetry Show:

T. Σαγρής | Σ. Δουτσίου | Γ. Ραουζαίος | 
Ο. Μπατάκης | Κ. Ζησάκη

Fr. Avenbach | Στ. Καλογήρου | 
I. Γαϊτανάρου | MattaBee

Πηνελόπη Δ. + TripmakerYoung | 
Δ. Αναλυτής | Xρ. Συριοπούλου

Soundtrack: 
Junior X . War

Visual Art: 
Void Optical Art Laboratory


Produced by
Void Network-Κενο Δίκτυο
http://voidnetwork.blogspot.com/ and
+the Institute [for Experimental Arts]
http://theinstituteinfo.blogspot.com/


Occupied theatre
EMBROS
R.Palimidou 2 Psiri.
athens. greece
FREE ADMISSION / EIΣΟΔΟΣ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΗ

The yearly International Film Poetry Festival will be held for third time in Greece on Friday 28/11/2014 2014 in Athens. Approximately 1000 people attended the festival last year.

There will be two different zones of the festival. The first zone will include video poems, visual poems, short film poems and cinematic poetry by artists from all over the world (America, Asia, Europe, Africa). The second zone will include cross-platform collaborations of sound producers and music groups with poets and visual artists in live improvisations.

The International Film Poetry Festival 2014 attempts to create an open public space for the creative expression of all tendencies and streams of contemporary visual poetry.

It is very important to notice that this festival is a part of the counter-culture activities of Void Network and + the Institute [for Experimental Arts] and will be non-sponsored, free entrance, non commercial and non profit event. The festival will cover the costs (2000 posters, 15.000 flyers, high quality technical equipment e.t.c.) from the incomes of the bar of the festival.

All the participating artists and the organizing groups will participate voluntary to the festival.

Void Network started organizing multi media poetry nights in 1990. Void Network and +the Institute [for Experimental Arts] believe that multi media Poetry Nights and Video Poetry shows can vibrate in the heart of Metropolis, bring new audiences in contact with contemporary poetry and open new creative dimensions for this ancient art. To achieve this, we respect the aspirations and the objectives of the artists, create high quality self organized exhibition areas and show rooms, we work with professional technicians and we offer meeting points and fields of expression for artists and people that tend to stand antagonistically to the mainstream culture.

AIRIE Panel @ MBFI (2014)

Vidéopoésie GSN (2014)

Text(e) Image Beat

La Galerie Sans Nom organise avec les commissaires Daniel Dugas et Valerie LeBlanc une exposition de vidéos poésie qui sera présentée du 20 mars au 1 mai 2015.

Les œuvres recherchées sont des poèmes sur écran où le texte, l’image et le son s’entremêlent. La durée des vidéos ne doit pas excéder 5 minutes. Les œuvres doivent avoir été réalisées après janvier 2013. Sans sous-titres si la langue originale du film est le français ou l’anglais. Avec des sous-titres en français ou en anglais pour les autres langues. Une courte biographie et un synopsis doivent accompagner chaque soumission. Les vidéos sont acceptées en ligne via DropBox ou Vimeo.

L’inscription est gratuite. Les artistes sélectionnés recevront des droits d’exposition suivant les normes du CARFAC.

Appel de dossier
Date limite: 15 décembre 2014

The Galerie Sans Nom is organizing a screening of videopoetry with the curators Daniel Dugas and Valerie LeBlanc. The exhibition will be presented from March 20 – May 1, 2015.

The work should be screen-based poems where the text, image and sound intermingle. The maximum duration of the work cannot exceed 5 minutes and must have been realized after January 2013. The works must be in either French or English. If the language in the video poem is other than French or English, the artist is required to submit a version that is subtitled in French or English.

All video poems must be received by the December 15 deadline through a file hosting service (Dropbox )or through Vimeo. A short artist bio and synopsis of the video poem must accompany each submission. No entry fee, CARFAC rates will be paid.

Call for submission
Deadline: December 15th, 2014

————— (2014)

Miami Book Fair International (2014)

An Evening with AIRIE (Artists in Residence in Everglades)

Miami Bookfair International 2014

Tuesday, November 18th @ 7pm at The Swamp Pavillion

Look for the big tent at the southeast corner of N.E. 3rd Street and 2nd Avenue.

Science + Art:  Transformative Experiences in the Everglades

Despite its importance, abundance of wildlife, and great natural beauty, many people have never visited  the Everglades and only have a vague idea of it as a tangled swamp rife with pythons, mosquitoes and alligators.  AIRIE executive director and artist Deborah Mitchell and biologist Skip Snow will co-moderate a panel of five AIRIE artists on the transformative experience their residency in the Everglades has had on their work.  Audio composer Gustavo Matamoros, Visual artist Reed Van Brunschot, author Anne McCrary Sullivan, and multi-disciplinary Canadian artists Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel Dugas will share their recent experiences with the audience while a slide show of AIRIE art provides visual support for their moving narratives.

About the artists

LeBlanc and Dugas will debut their new project FLOW- BIG WATERS with a program of video poems. Based upon their research in the Everglades National Park, the project will continue through 2015 and will also include a series of sound walks and photographs. Researching and recording several aspects of this unique biosphere, this dynamic duo continues working on various aspects of this multi-facetted project. Using tools of writing, still and moving images and audio, the root of their desire is to share the aesthetic joy of being there in the moment. When completed, the project will be available online.

Matamoros will present Bats & Insects, a sound-scape audio composition on exhibit September 19-November 5th at the critically acclaimed Common Ground:  Artists in the Everglades at Florida Atlantic University. This Venezuelan composer is the driving force behind ISaw + Subtropics, the leading proponent of experiential music and sound art in the Southeast.

McCrary Sullivan has had poems widely published in literary and academic journals including The Gettysburg Review, the Southern Review, and Harvard Educational Review.  During and after her AIRIE residency, she accumulated thousands of hours paddling the waters of the Everglades National Park, which resulted in two books:   Ecology II: Throat Song from the Everglades and Paddling the Everglades Wilderness Waterway.

Van Brunschot is a visual artist who uses multiple mediums including sculpture, painting, performance and video.   Based on evoking memories of childhood, home life and a general commonality found in nostalgic experiences, her work examines transitions and places them in the public sphere.  Van Brunschot will discuss how her recent transformative residency experience has affected her studio practice.

About the Moderators

Biologist Skip Snow worked for the National Park Service for 38 years, the last 25 at Everglades National Park. He has evaluated the effects of water management on park wildlife, worked to reintroduce native species, and spent considerable time working on eradicating the Burmese python.  Since retiring in 2013, Skip has been pursuing a keen interest in the intersection of art and science, and continues to volunteer for the park as an emeritus wildlife biologist.

Artist and Executive Director of AIRIE, Deborah Mitchell, participated in the Artist-in-Residence program in Big Cypress in 2007.  Since then, environmental awareness and community outreach has been the focus of her multi-disciplinary work.  In addition to working with AIRIE fellows and organizing cultural programs, she curated The Preserve in 2012 and Flight: Aloft in the Everglades in 2014. Mitchell’s photographs can be seen in Swamplife, (Minnesota Press).

An evening with AIRIE in the Swamp Pavilion at the Bookfair will be an informative program which presents a nuanced look at the Everglades by letting AIRIE Fellows share their work and perspectives on the park with both local and international book lovers.

http://airie.org/2014/save-the-date-airie-at-the-book-fair-nov-18/

Glissement (2012)

Glissement (2012) from Daniel H. Dugas on Vimeo.

My uncle Camille was a gifted organist, photographer and a very private man. When he died, his photographs and slides were distributed to family members, but there was little context for the material. I received images of Madrid, Rome and Paris. While most of them had a touristic quality, others were more personal. I noticed that some of the colors were starting to fade away. His past, that no one could explain, was slowly disappearing. Soon there would be nothing left.
I started to superimpose the images. Doubling them up gave hope that memories embedded there would gather new strength.
Camille Melanson (1917-2003) – My uncle, a priest, was granted permission to pursue doctoral studies in Paris by his church, in the early 1960’s. After 4 years, when it was time to finalize his thesis, his congregation decided that they could no longer pay his way. Faced with a demand to return to his small parish in Canada, Camille decided to leave the priesthood and moved to Montréal to rebuild his life. After a few years he bought a small house. He had the chance to purchase the massive organ from the Parc Jarry and installed it in his basement. This organ had been played during the Montréal Expos home games and it became one of the many keyboards that he owned. At the time of his death, the organ was sold with the house, as it was impossible to remove.

2014 La Galerie d’art Louise et Reuben-Cohen, Université de Moncton, NB
2013 International Film Poetry Festival, EMPROS Theatre, Athens, GR
2013 Co-Kisser Festival, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis St-Paul, MN
2013 Filmpoem Festival, Dunbar, SCT

Évanescence (2012)

Évanescence (2012) from Daniel H. Dugas on Vimeo.

Evanescencia (2012) version espagnol from Daniel H. Dugas on Vimeo.

Quelle est cette épouvante, cette épouvantable époque d’évanescence dans laquelle nous vivons ? Tout s’efface rapidement, brusquement. Ce qui s’était posé devant le regard avec tant d’effervescence s’est enfui presque instantanément, a disparu en nous touchant.

2014 La Galerie d’art Louise et Reuben-Cohen, Université de Moncton, NB
2012 IV Festival Internacional de Videopoesía “por la Tierra”, Buenos Aires, AR