Almost Everything (2018)

Brock University (2018)

I am very happy to have been invited to Brock University for two events. If you are around St-Catherines, Ontario, January 25 and 26, please drop by. I would be delighted to see you!

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The programs Etudes en français (Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures), Interdisciplinary Humanities, Studies in Arts and Culture (Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts) and Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts of Brock University are pleased to welcome Canadian author/artist Daniel H. Dugas for two public lectures!

Dugas writes and creates art in a variety of forms. Technology, ecology, and economy are recurrent themes often explored in his work; poetry and video poetry are two favourite platforms. Whether his projects are first accomplished in French or English, Dugas’ motivations remain similar.

Public lecture in English: Thursday January 25, 2018

Time: 2-3 pm

Location: MW 156 (Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, 15 Artists’ Common, downtown St. Catharines)

Dugas will talk about his individual and collaborative practice with a focus on the ecological work created in partnership with Valerie LeBlanc over several years.

The artist’s talk will be in English.

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Conférence en français : vendredi 26 janvier 2018

horaire : 1-2 pm

lieu : PL 410, Campus principal (Brock University)

Artiste numérique, poète et musicien, Daniel Dugas a participé à des expositions individuelles et de groupe ainsi qu’à plusieurs festivals et événements de poésie en Amérique du Nord, en Europe, au Mexique et en Australie. Son neuvième recueil de poésie L’esprit du temps / The Spirit of the Time vient de paraître aux Éditions Prise de parole.

La présentation se fera en français.

This is a free community event. Tickets are not required.

For more information contact Professor Catherine Parayre, cparayre@brocku.ca

https://brocku.ca/miwsfpa/stac/2018/01/08/canadian-authorartist-daniel-h-dugas-delivers-public-lectures-at-brock/

6th International Video Poetry Festival ATHENS (2018)

6th International Video Poetry Festival ATHENS 2018
Self Organised Theatre Embros
Riga Pallamidi 2 Psirri

FR.19 + SAT.20 JANUARY 2018 STARTS 17.00
134 video artists and poets from 25 countries. 5 performances
21 live poets + 3 djs. 4 live concerts. 2 video art installations + BookFair

FRIDAY 19 JANUARY VIDEO POETRY DAY starts at 17.00

GREECE: Yiannis Deliveis . Evi Stamou. George Zafiriou. Αngel Ballas & Katerina Bakagianni. Stellios Oikonomidis.Christine Papanicola Τziadora. Κarina Verdi & GlitchA. Lokatola ITALY: Francesca Bonfatti. Puccio Chiesa & Roberto Moroni SPAIN: Eduardo Yague. Hernán Talavera. Igor Luna. Cristina Ruberte París. Adriana Páramo Pérez FINLAND: Hanna Ojala PORTUGAL: Mario Henrique Leiria. Takis Panas. Andre Birken IRAN: Niyaz Saghari UNITED KINGDOM: Eleonore Dambre. Amber Agha AUSTRIA: Lisa Seidenberg SCOTLAND: Susannah Ramsay ALBANIA: Eni Derhemi GERMANY: Julian Weinert Justine Bauer & Andre Patten. mmmmmfilms: Adrian Fisher. Ginés Olivares . Luna Montenegro. Kuesti Fraun. Vera Sebert Soar FRANCE: Suki USA: Adrian Frost. Ellen Evjen Matt Mullins. Outlier Moving Pictures: Pam Falkenberg. Jack Cochran. Mark Freeman CANADA: James Pomeroy. Daniel H. Dugas. Valerie LeBlanc ISRAEL: Jasmin Even AUSTRALIA: Ian Gibbins. Rose Staff. Nick Azidis. Lisa Greenway. Elena Knox. Radheya Jegatheva. Marie Craven URUGUAY: Martín Klein BRAZIL: bagadefente COLOMBIA: Alejandro Fernández Mouján RUSSIA: Inga Shepeleva. Maria Terentieva. Dima Anikin ARGENTINA: Yanin Lorey. Paloma Violeta Gonzalez Santos MEXICO: Cristina Bustamante. Guillermo Fuentes SOUTH KOREA: Finn Harvor CHINA / NEW ZELAND: Chen Chen

http://theinstitute.info/?p=2600

The Ghost in the Machine (2018)

While the airwaves are filled with news that computers are vulnerable to the Meltdown and Spectre attacks, something incredible happened deep inside my own Yamaha synthesizer.

I have been playing on this keyboard since 2002 without a glitch. Last year, after a gig, I mentioned to someone that my synth was a workhorse; after fifteen years of composing and playing music, it was still going strong. That must have been the signal for something to go wrong. Suddenly, the up and down arrows stopped working. Without these, I lost access to crucial functions in my workstation. I contacted a local electronic service center and brought the keyboard in for an emergency visit. The technician found that one of the PCM boards was not working and a replacement part was purchased from Japan. After weeks of waiting, the part finally arrived and the keyboard was healed. This renewed vitality was more like a short remission as the arrows soon lost their power for a second time. I brought the keyboard back to the shop but nothing else could be done. My beloved sound-making machine looked like it would never be the same.

The keyboard still worked, it just wasn’t what it used to be. As time went on, I learned how to live within its reduced capabilities. Then a few days ago, I turned it on, selected the piano voice and started to play, but the machine seemed to have another idea in mind. It kept cycling through voices and parameters. The yellow, red and green lights on the controls were flashing on their own. I tried to regain control but was unable. In desperation, I hit the surface of the keyboard with my fist to power it off. I thought this could be the death rattle of it, the end of music.

I waited a few seconds and turned it on again. The lights flashed once more, the names of voices on the LED window kept cycling around and around. And then, all of a sudden, all of that madness stopped. I looked at the keyboard as if it was a wild animal, unsure if it was going to jump at me or burst into flames, but nothing happened. I touched the keys; the piano was there. I played a little something. Everything sounded okay. Then I noticed that the up and down arrows were working! I played some more, accessing things that were not optional since the breakdown. I was shocked. I thought that these reemerging sounds might be the last to come out of my machine; if I closed it, it might die. I was afraid to power it off, so I played all day thinking that it was the last day.

Then, at some point, when I was ready, I shut it down. I waited a few minutes and put it on again. It was still working, and it is still working now, days after the incident. I don’t know what happened, maybe the ghost in the machine decided to make a move, or a speck of micro dust stuck under something fell off when I hit the keyboard. What do I know of the secret lives of microprocessors? Maybe I will never know, but for the time being I am ecstatic, enjoying the return of the way things were.

The Mountain – Prime Number Magazine (2018)

I am very happy to have one of my texts included in the excellent @PrimeNumberMag.
Issue #127 is now live!

https://www.press53.com/issue-127-daniel-dugas

About Florida Bay, exhibit + panel (2017)

Panel discussion ‘Issues surrounding About Florida Bay’ Left to right: Naturalist Steven Tennis; Interpretive Park Ranger Leon Howell; Dana Wildsmith; Valerie LeBlanc; Daniel H. Dugas; Nathaniel Sandler; Houston Cypress; Jason Hedges; Nick Gilmore. Not seen: Jason Hedges.

On view at AIRIE Nest Gallery from October 1, 2017 – January 15, 2018: About Florida Bay, featuring work by Houston Cypress / Mark Dion / Valerie George / Nick Gilmore / Jason Hedges / Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel H. Dugas / Nathaniel Sandler / Magnus Sodamin

About Florida Bay: 95% of Florida Bay is located in the Everglades National Park, and has undergone a series of ecological changes that have severely altered the natural ecosystem. To support the state’s agricultural water needs, the water was rerouted and no longer flows into the Bay, causing severe environmental issues and loss of native wildlife. About Florida Bay is a group exhibition in response to the unpredictability of this environmental dilemma, in which nine artists strive to capture the historical significance of this contested area while also featuring a sense of nostalgia and raising concerns about the future.

In addition to new work form our artists, this exhibition contains archival photographs are on loan courtesy of the South Florida Collections Management Center. In a unique partnership with AIRIE, Miccosukee Reverend Houston Cypress of Love the Everglades Movement presents sacred waters borrowed from the water cycle. Gladesman Glen Simmons’ photographs, notebook and carving generously provided by anthropologist Laura Ogden and specimens courtesy of Deborah Mitchell.

About Florida Bay is curated by Deborah Mitchell, artist and Executive Director, AIRIE, Inc. About Florida Bay is the third exhibition held in the newly renovated AIRIE Nest, made possible by a grant from the Knight Arts Challenge. AIRIE programming is also supported by a Culture Builds Florida grant and by a Hannibal Cox grant from Miami-Dade County.Works contained in this exhibition do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the National Park Service.

Opening reception and informal tours are offered on Sunday, October 8th, 1-3pm

Sundays in the Park ecology discussion and sculpting workshop Sunday, October 22, 1-3pm

All events are free and open to the public, open daily from 9-5pm

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.