The bus route (2017)

Sometimes waiting for a bus in a small town takes courage. That day, we were the only ones at the bus stop, which is not a good sign. The size of the crowd is like a measuring cup. The more people at the shelter, the closer the bus and inversely, the fewer people, the farther the bus, the longer the wait. On that day we were the only ones and we were hoping for the best: for the exception to the rule. The sun went down and the northern night came with her big coat. Just as we were wondering if buses were still coming to this bus stop, a pickup truck stopped in front of us with its window sliding down. A quick glance at the truck door revealed that it belonged to the City’s transit department. The driver was leaning toward us, his body language was telling us that he wanted to say something. We approached. The man explained that an accident on a main street was blocking any buses from coming to our location. To our surprise, he offered to drive us home.

John was his name. He had been a bus driver with the City for 35 years and was now in charge of the logistics of moving people. He said that the accident had happened hours ago and police were still busy at the scene. He said that his job was to try to keep the system on time and picking people here and there at any congestion points was actually the best thing to do. John was driving very slowly. The heat was on. It was definitely a comfortable ride. We followed the same route as the bus would have taken and stopped near our home. We thanked our driver for his help.

Sometimes waiting for a bus in a small town takes a lot of courage, but occasionally something unexpected happens, something that could only happen in such a place.

Daniel H. Dugas
November 2, 2017

Image: By Stu pendousmat at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13114323

Des œuvres de Daniel H. Dugas et Valérie LeBlanc exposées en Floride (2017)

Par SYLVIE MOUSSEAU vendredi 6 octobre 2017

Avec des œuvres médiatiques en montre dans divers pays, Daniel H. Dugas et Valérie LeBlanc traversent actuellement une période qu’ils estiment floridienne. Des vidéos poétiques tirés de leur projet Flow: Big Waters font partie d’une exposition collective internationale présentée au Parc national des Everglades en Floride.

Couples dans la vie comme dans la création, ces deux artistes de Moncton ont une démarche singulière. Ils oeuvrent en art médiatique en se servant souvent du numérique comme outils de création.

Ils réalisent des vidéos qui proposent des réflexions poétiques sur des enjeux de société notamment sur l’environnement et l’avenir de l’humanité.

En 2014, ils ont effectué une première résidence d’artiste au Parc national des Everglades. Daniel H. Dugas raconte qu’ils ont parcouru l’ensemble du parc, reconnu pour sa faune et sa flore spectaculaires, afin de s’inspirer du territoire pour réaliser 12 vidéos poèmes et des marches sonores. Trois vidéos tirées de cette série qui se rapporte à la Baie de Floride ont été choisies pour l’exposition About Florida Bay.

Le vernissage de l’exposition se tient le 8 octobre. Ils sont les seuls artistes canadiens du groupe de neuf créateurs à participer à cette exposition qui est présentée à la Nest Gallery dans les locaux du Parc national.

«Il y a des artistes dans cette exposition qui sont quand même assez importants. Ce sont toutes des personnes qui ont fait des résidences d’artistes au Parc national avec l’association Artists in residence in Everglades. Il y a des peintures, des sculptures, des vidéos. Nous on présente une série de vidéos qu’on a fait au parc», a-t-il expliqué.

Leurs vidéos portent notamment sur Guy Bradley; premier garde-forestier pour l’environnement aux États-Unis. Il est décédé en 1905 pendant ses fonctions alors qu’il tentait de protéger les oiseaux contre le braconnage.

La seconde vidéo s’inspire du combat entre les espèces envahissantes dans le Parc national et la troisième œuvre se veut une réflexion sur la fragilité.

Valérie LeBlanc souligne que le parc des Everglades, qui a subi des dommages à la suite du passage de l’ouragan Irma, a été relativement épargné. Pour ces deux artistes, la Floride est presque devenue un deuxième foyer.

«On est super contents de faire partie de l’exposition. C’est une belle occasion pour nous de réaffirmer des liens qu’on a avec les gens là-bas. En plus du projet des Everglades, nous avons entrepris des projets parallèles à Miami et sur la biosphère du Parc Fundy.»

Ils retournent donc très bientôt en Floride. Appréciant le climat subtropical de la Floride, Daniel H. Dugas estime qu’il y a des liens à tisser entre cet État du sud des États-Unis et la région Atlantique. Il cite en exemple l’itinéraire des oiseaux migrateurs qui passe par les Maritimes. Le projet Flow: Big Waters devrait paraître aussi sous la forme d’un livre qui sera publié aux Éditions Prise de Parole, au printemps prochain.

Par ailleurs, Valérie LeBlanc a une vidéo qui était à l’affiche du Festival Silencio au Portugal cette semaine. Une œuvre intitulée Sablier de Daniel H. Dugas figure à la sélection du 30e Festival Les Instants Vidéo à Marseille. Ce sera présenté le 12 novembre.

Acadie Nouvelle, 7 octobre, p. 32

Everything is relative, connected or disconnected (2017)

In September 1986, while in Vancouver for the Expo ‘86, I went to see Le Déclin de l’empire américain. [1] The theater was half full and the audience was comprised mainly of young people in their 20’s, like me. ‘A spontaneously Funny Sex Comedy!’ was the then tantalizing tagline for the movie’s Canadian release in June. As the movie progressed, the young people started to leave the theatre, one by one, two by two. I also wanted to leave, but stayed until the end, as I became more interested in witnessing the mass evacuation than seeing the conclusion of the movie itself. What I witnessed was a profound lack of interest. It did not matter because the movie went on to be shortlisted at the Oscars for best foreign film. Nor does it matter that it has remained one of the great films realized by Québec Director Denis Arcand. Many years later, I saw the movie again. The images of the exodus I witnessed during its debut still stood out for me as stronger than the film itself.

Blade Runner 2049 seems to have something in common with Le Déclin that I saw. On the opening weekend 2049 it became a box office flop. Commentators are saying that something didn’t click with audiences. [2] It reminds me of the crowd of young people in the Vancouver cinema. But, everything is relative, and Blade Runner 2049, like Le déclin will not rely on reactions of audiences to gauge its greatness. It could still become a cult favorite.

[1] The Decline of the American Empire – On this occasion in Vancouver, the film was presented in French with English subtitles.

[2] Why Blade Runner 2049 is a box office flop
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11930950

Atticus Review (2017)

Matt Mullins from the Atticus Review just published a piece on Valerie LeBlanc’s Land of Shepherds and my video In Kisii. For more info: https://atticusreview.org/two-from-abroad/

Atticus Review is a daily online journal that publishes fiction, flash, poems, creative nonfiction, video, music, book reviews, cartoons, animation, and whatever else we find worthy of eyes.

The Power of Outrage – ‘Anger is an Energy’ (2017)

I was invited through the Regroupement des éditeurs canadiens-français (RECF) to take part in two events in this year’s Burlington Book Festival. The first event Text(e)/Image was a performance with Herménégilde Chiasson at the Contois auditorium. The second event was called The Power of Outrage, a panel discussion with Shenaaz Nanji, Mary Dingee Fillmore, Leda Schubert, Melissa Febos and myself. It was moderated by Cora Siré. The discussion was centered around the question of ‘What fuels writers to take on burning issues? How do they handle the political? Does writing give them refuge from despair?’

I think that writing is a way to make sense of the world that exists around us. That is probably the main reason why I write and because the world is always moving, always transforming, the situation is always new and the need to understand it never-ending. My practice is multidisciplinary but economy and the political economy of our world is something that I continue to visit and to revisit. I believe that this is the foundation of societies; an uneven field. During the panel, I spoke about the vast empire created by Irving and our dependencies as citizens in New Brunswick, Canada. I spoke about glyphosate, ‘an herbicide sprayed throughout New Brunswick’s forests to kill hardwood growth’ [1] and the surrealistic battle forcing citizens of Moncton to demand that the spraying by J.D. Irving near Greater Moncton’s drinking water supply be halted. [2] The chemical itself is actually paid by the Province of New Brunswick, a practice that maximizes the profit margin of Irving. To me, this is a proof of whom is in charge. Obviously, the taxpayers are not, because we are forced to demand for the discontinuation of a practice that is polluting our forests, our groundwater and our very drinking water itself.

On my way back home, driving through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, I had time to think more about the panel. There are a few things that I wanted to say but they did not surface. In the last few years, our feelings as a society towards outrage have changed. Even Facebook now recognizes the importance of anger as normal, or at least a possible reaction.

If, for Facebook, anger is data to tailor a more personalize experience for its users, it can be form of energy to others.[3]

Anger Is An Energy, like the lyrics of Johnny Rotten’s song states. It can force someone to take a stand, to make a point in the hope of making something better. But anger can be a difficult road and sometimes, it can only take you so far. To be angry is to give out sparks, to shed light where it is often needed. The outrage must be voiced but it demands an enormous amount of energy. It can suck the light out of the room, the sanity out of an individual. To be distressed and in pain all the time cannot be healthy for anyone. This is why it has to be dealt with extreme care.

Driving through the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and into the forests of Maine gave me enough time to ponder about anger, its potential and its drawbacks. Yes, anger is an energy with dangerous currents, but it can also be a form of resistance that can protect individuals from getting electrocuted by the aberrations of the world.

[1] California places popular N.B. herbicide on list of cancer-causing chemicals http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/gylphosate-herbice-new-brunswick-california-1.4182805

[2] Moncton mayor calls for halt to glyphosate spraying inside city’s watershed https://globalnews.ca/news/3694180/moncton-mayor-calls-for-halt-to-glyphosate-spraying-inside-citys-watershed/

[3] Facebook’s Five New Reaction Buttons: Data, Data, Data and Data http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/02/24/facebook_s_5_new_reactions_
buttons_are_all_about_data_data_data.html

About Florida Bay (2017)

Airie Nest Exhibition: About Florida Bay
October 2017 – January 2018

We (Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel H. Dugas) are very happy that three of our Flow: Big Waters videos will be shown in the About Florida Bay exhibition.

The Florida Bay, located between the Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys, has undergone a series of ecological changes that have severely altered its natural ecosystem and resulted in a critical loss of native wildlife. This exhibition features select works which address the significance of this contested area and its precarious future, while recapturing its splendid past. AIRIE Fellows featured include Mark Dion, Valerie LeBlanc & Daniel H Dugas, Valerie George, Nick Gilmore, Jason Hedges and Magnus Sodamin.

http://airie.org/event/airie-nest-exhibition-about-florida-bay/

Instants Video / Sablier (2017)

Très content d’apprendre que mon vidéo-poème Sablier a été sélectionné pour la 30e édition du festival des Instants Vidéo. La projection aura lieu le 12 novembre 2017 à La Fosse (Marseille, FR).

http://www.instantsvideo.com/

Dimanche 12 de 19h30 à 23h30
LA FOSSE 63 rue Jean Cristofol 13003 Marseille

L’art vidéo et la performance sont des sports de combat à condition de ne pas prendre de gants pour déclarer ses amitiés.

Vidéo et Performances en trois rounds, des entr’actes pour exciter nos papilles et une prolongation pour ne pas oublier les amis disparus Phil Spectrum et Jean-Paul Curnier.

19h30
1er round à poings déliés
Retournement, performance d’Esmeralda Da Costa (Portugal)
Projection d’œuvres de Sara Simeoni (Italie), Esmeralda Da Costa (Portugal)

20h30
2e round Est-ce passe-temps de désirer l’impossible ?
Projection d’œuvres de Franck H Perrot (France), Jean-Michel Rolland (France), Johannes Christopher Gérard (Pays-Bas/Allemagne), Marck Emaya (Palestine), Dalila Dalléas Bouzar (France / Algérie)
Performance de Doriane Souilhol (France)

22h
3e round La lumière est une vibration qui fait sourire les ombres chatouilleuses
Projection d’œuvres de Mark Freeman (USA), Stéphen Urani (France), Daniel H. Dugas (Canada), Jack Williams (GB), Zak Spor & Marios Tsagkaris (Grèce / France)
Venomous Master (20′ – 2017) /Performance de Naoyuki Tanaka (Japon)

23h
Prolongation pour ne pas oublier nos amis disparus cet été Phil Spectrum et Jean-Paul Curnier
Projection autour d’un verre pour que la joie demeure de la conférence musicale Je vois, par instants… (IV 2007) offerte par le groupe Léda Atomica Musique et le philosophe Jean-Paul Curnier.

http://www.instantsvideo.com/blog/fr/archives/3023

Burlington Book Festival (2017)

September 16, 2017

4:30 pm
Text(e)/Image: Herménégide Chiasson and Daniel H. Dugas are two Canadian authors and visual artists. Both studied in the US, both are francophone, both have published books and participated in numerous exhibitions and art projects. In this improvised performance, they will explore dimensions of words and images to bridge informal and unusual dialogue about the written word, visual statements and spoken word.

https://www.facebook.com/BurlingtonBookFestival/

Fonds Cohen (2017)

Insomnie (édition limitée à 10 exemplaires, numérotés et signés) a été sélectionnée par le comité du Fonds Cohen pour la collection de la Galerie d’art Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen. Voici la chose en images :

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La Galerie d’art Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen est située au Pavillon Clément-Cormier. On y offre une programmation annuelle d’expositions d’art contemporain, des visites guidées, des conférences, des acitvités de création, des films, des conférences et des performances d’artistes. La Galerie met de l’avant une production résolument contemporaine, contribuant à la formation d’une identité acadienne ancrée dans la modernité et ouverte sur le monde. La collection compte aujourd’hui plus de 900 œuvres mises à la disposition de d’autres institutions et du personnel universitaire par l’entremise d’un service de prêt.

http://www.umoncton.ca/umcm-ga/

Insomnie – English subtitles (2012) from Daniel H. Dugas on Vimeo.

We all want the same thing: to leave our children and our children’s children a better community. (2017)

We all want the same thing: to leave our children and our children’s children a better community: Environment/ City of Moncton: Reducing our environmental footprint [1]

The City of Moncton can do great things. The new Rabbit Brook Trail that goes from Mapleton Road to Reade Street Park is a perfect example of this desire to create a better community.[2] Moncton even has a plan to reduce our environmental footprint. The page on the City of Moncton’s website states that ‘Moncton is a city whose residents believe in sustainability, creativity, and leadership …’ and ‘that fewer cars on the roads mean cleaner air.’ The obvious question is how we are going to achieve this lofty goal with events glorifying vehicles that are notorious for polluting the atmosphere? The cars in the Atlantic National, which is happening right now, are known polluters with extremely high emissions. What is the toxic legacy that is left by the 2000 + cars coming into town every year for this event? Is this part of the ‘children’s children’s better community’? As a pedestrian in the city, I can attest to the difficulty of walking in noxious fumes during this celebration.

And it is not just the Atlantic Nationals filling the air with this rich fuel mixture. Moncton is also home of the Greater Moncton Corvette Club Show & Shine; the Annual Mustang Club Car Show and, of course, the Atlanticade Motorcycle Festival. How many motors will it take for our city to be truly green?

I understand the importance of commerce and having a place where everyone can live their lives, but if we continue to host such damaging environmental events, we should be conscious of our actions. First, we should cross out the line on the City’s website that states ‘… fewer cars on the roads mean cleaner air’, as this is a misleading statement in view of these featured auto events. The second thing that we could do is to perhaps invite one of the Volkswagen executives who ‘pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges to get around US pollution rules on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles by using software to suppress emissions of nitrogen oxide during tests’[3] to be the grand marshal of one of the car exhaust festivals.

Daniel H. Dugas
7 July 2017

[1] ‘We all want the same thing: to leave our children and our children’s children a better community.’ from:  Environment/ City of Moncton: Reducing our environmental footprint
https://www.moncton.ca/Residents/Environment.htm

[2] Google Maps

[3] Volkswagen pleads guilty to all criminal charges in emissions cheating scandal, The Guardian, 10 March 2017.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/10/volkswagen-vw-pleads-guilty-criminal-charges-emissions-cheating