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

Text/Image

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.

Burlington Book Festival 2017
September 15-17
Three days of authorized activity

Output-Input/EMMEDIA (2017)

Our (Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel H. Dugas) collaborative videos Illumination (2016) and Work and Love (1990 – part of Slices of Life) have been selected for the Output-Input exhibition. EMMEDIA Member’s Retrospective Exhibition runs: July 14 – August 26, 2017.

EMMEDIA has been a place where media arts lives for almost 40 years! Having recently moved into our new location with two new presentation spaces, we will be featuring work by past and current members and artists, showcasing the rich history of media arts at EMMEDIA. A group exhibition will be featuring established media artists who have laid the groundwork and foundation, alongside emerging media artists that will be shaping the future of EMMEDIA. A formal screening will be presented during the opening reception featuring works from the 1980s – present, with some produced right here at EMMEDIA. We end the night with live performances by prominent audio artists in our community. The exhibition runs until August 26 with the screening available for viewing on the digital screens at EMMEDIA. Come celebrate the media arts community in our new location!

Opening Reception Schedule:
Doors @ 7PM
Screening @ 7:30PM
Artist Q&A @ 8:30PM
Live Performances @ 9:30PM

Peformances by:
Chris Dadge + TBA
Whitney Ota + TBA

Installations by:
Tom Andriuk
Noel Bégin
faxingmyfriends (Teresa Tam, Jadda Tsui, and Sandrine Weltzin)
Lowell Smith
Sandra Vida

Screenings by:
Daniel Dugas & Valerie LeBlanc
Colleen Kerr
Greg Marshall
Lon Parker
Aran Wilkinson-Blanc

http://emmedia.ca/2017/07/output-input-2017/

Illumination / MIX conference (2017)

Our collaborative (Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel H. Dugas) video Illumination has been selected for screening at the MIX Conference, Bath, UK.
Date: 10th -12th July 2017

Poetry Film Screenings at Mix

This selection has been curated by Lucy English, Reader in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, co- founder of Liberated Words which creates, curates and screens poetry films and Zata Banks, founder of PoetryFilm, an influential research arts project and film screening series.

The selected films reveal the energy and commitment to the poetry film genre by its practitioners, and explore the different approaches to combining words with moving image. Some of our filmmakers are well known and have received many accolades; others are new to the field.

Rendez-vous vidéopoésie (2017)

Mon vidéopoème Sablier a été sélectionné aux Rendez-vous vidéopoésie 2017. Les oeuvres sélectionnées seront projetées le jeudi 1er juin, à 19h, au O Patro Vys à Montréal !

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