Acadia Woods (1994)

Statement
In 1844 when Samuel Morse sent the first telegram in the United States, he breathed life into communication technology. That first message between Washington and Baltimore read, “What hath God wrought.”

A few years later, Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden: …We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Main to Texas; but Main and Texas it may be, have nothing important to communicate. …

In the sound track of Acadia Woods, we have extracted portions of actual telephone conversations between family and friends. Through these everyday conversation, distances become lessened; the separations created through time and space shrink. Under these circumstances, the mundane crosses over into the profound.

The re-creation of telephone lines with tin cans (the sound track plays inside headphones installed in the cans) is an attempt to relocate the technology in its context of a tool, second in nature to communication.

Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel Dugas
Calgary, AB

Excerpt form Broad Casting for reels (1996)

The tape Acadia Woods 1995 was also designed as an audio work complete in itself. It is a patchwork of stories and sounds with the Acadian anthem ‘Ave Marie Stella’ running throughout. Portions of long distance telephone conversations between family and friends change speed with the different energy levels of the people talking and according to their concerns. Seasons and the passage of time are indicated in the conversations and sound effects. Everyday philosophies take on added significance through the link of the telephone, which is sometimes the only way to really feel out what is happening at a distance.

This audio portion of the project was realized at the Banff Centre through a grant from Chameleon Arts Society, Calgary, AB (Spring 1994)

Two versions of the project were realized:
Acadia Woods (east), CMARTS – exposition – retrospective, August 12 – August 21, 1994 (using the telephone pole installation format)

Acadia Wood (west), Muttart Public Art Gallery, during the exhibition ‘Impact of Technology’, January 2 – February 4, 1995 (using a shuffleboard-style high end table)

The project was also broadcast, presented at the following venues:
1994 Acadia Wood, CKUA – Radio Network, Edmonton, AB
1996 Broad Casting for reels 007, CKDU FM, Centre for Art Tapes Halifax, NS
1998 AUDIO / VIDEO, GAUM, Moncton, NB

Wood, tin cans, sound track48 in. h. X 20 in. w. X 96 in. d.

Transitory (1993)

• The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MFA Show, Chicago, IL, 1993

In Transit (1993)

• EMMEDIA, Calgary, AB, 1993
• The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MFA Show, Chicago, IL, 1993

In Transit offer a collection of daily life passages in ten parts. The visuals draw a wide range of locations. Gathered in cities, nature settings, carnival, various modes of public and private transport, they are sometimes ironically set to the voiceovers. The texts are observations and reactions presented in either a poetic or blunt manner. Amidst this travelogue of the times is a desire to weigh situations and to make decisions based on individual needs and directions in life.

NTSC Colour 24:30min
Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel Dugas -Limit(E) Productions

The Dahmer Tape (1992)

The same audio track is used with three separate tapes. Minimal visuals provide contemplative cues for the text. Pent up emotions surrounding the expose of a series of murders are released in one short breath.

This series of 3 tapes are intended to be screened simultaneously.

3 channel video by Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel Dugas under the name Limit(e) Productions in 1992

Slice of Life (1990)

• EMMEDIA, Calgary, AB, 1991
• Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, (médiathèque), Montréal, Qc, 1993

Basic philosophies of life evolve and are defined through common place events. The mind wanders when a person gets up in the morning to go to work. If the work is of a solitary nature, a person has a lot of time to think. If there are co-workers involved, the kinds of conversations that people engage in the workplace, reveal a lot about personal value systems. People who don’t work must find ways to occupy their minds and even in what appears to be bored, mundane activity, philosophies develop. The business of performing everyday chores and errands are also settings for the development of the thought process.

NTSC Colour 22min
Valerie LeBlanc and Daniel Dugas – Limit(E) Productions