I love this series of portraits by Katai Stienstra – although they all were taken in similarly snowy places, she captured completely different (and sometimes slightly creepy) scenes. Murder, insanity, rituals and eeriness all collide throughout this great photography series. Having also lived in Montreal myself, I’m also curious to know how Katai convinced her models to walk around barefoot or naked in the snow too :)
AMAMAK Photography consists of Michelle Karpman (as photographer) and Aviva Artzy (as model). Together these two Montrealers have created a wonderful portfolio – I love the soft natural tones of these photos and the subtly sensual poses by the stunning Aviva Artzy.
I noticed Tim’s photography when reading this great article on one of my favorites music/visual artists: Tycho. The first two shots are from Tim’s editorial shoot with Scott Hansen, and he definitely captured an atmosphere reminiscent of Tycho’s world (most of which you can find on Scott’s well-known blog ISO50). The other shots are from Tim’s personal work; beautiful overlays of pictures with similar lush and warm tones.
a side-note for Montrealers: Tycho & Beacon will be playing on January 16th at Il Motore. I’m so bummed I won’t be here for it, hopefully they’ll play in Europe someday…
Above you’ll find a video of the latest performance of M83 on “Jimmy Fallon”. As much as I like watching shows on Jimmy Fallon, this performance is really a stripped-down and almost bland version of their show I saw here in Montreal last Saturday, which was utterly mind-blowing.
The M83 concert I saw on Saturday was an experience beyond most gigs I’ve been to (with maybe the exception of Fever Ray, James Blake and Suuns). Initially I wasn’t going to post on the show because I’m camera-less these days and it wouldn’t be much fun to read a concert review without some pictures. Luckily I came across these great shots by Andrew Colvin that really capture the visual atmosphere that was going on.
There really was no better place for such a band to play than the newly re-opened S.A.T (Société des Arts Technologiques). The space is huge, unlike the stage which stands almost isolated in the back of the room. What’s great about this is that it added to the overall feeling of being in some inter-galactic dance rave, with the band lifting off a UFO. This might sound a bit exaggerated, but just have a look at the first band appearance:
Honestly, I’m not too sure where this creature comes from (although I like to think it came up with that scream in the background of Midnight City), but it marked the lift-off of the show with the first track appropriately named “Intro”.
I would have been more-than-satisfied if the band had just played any songs from their repertoire without deviating from the studio recordings, but of course M83 did more than that. They expanded upon all their songs– driving the build-ups with epic drumming, and layering more sounds leading to incredibly exhilarating climaxes– always keeping us in an epic dream-like state.
If you haven’t heard Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83′s new album, there are a couple songs on our music player on the sidebar.
Local blogger Acquiesce To… wrote a great song-by-song review of the show, check it out.
I’m pleased to present to you a great small press founded here in Montreal and led by my friend Jack Allen. Trapshot Archives solicit and distribute short fiction, collections of poetry, and artist books with an interest in contemporary practices.
Here’s one of their publications I’m particularly fond of:
“Prolix” is a selection of photos shot by David Zilber, a young artist working and living in Vancouver. Insisting on the idea that ‘meaning, or lack thereof, is more important in my artistic process than any subject,’ Zilber presents a series that avoids discussion. And yet flipping through the pages it cannot go unsaid that something dark—something of alienation and anonymity—emerges. “Prolix” is a collection of images that neglects the subject: instead of looking at people, looking for people, we are encouraged to focus on what people look at, what people look for. This shift, however slight, in what is presented to us, attempts to void all meaning from each photograph. The subjects, seemingly caught between the viewer and their own desires, take on new roles—each more hollow than the last—acting only as entryways into a world where most important are focal points and dreams, not sincerity or dreamers.
To say Grant’s work is strange would be an understatement. This Montreal-based artist creates worlds with crazy colors and patterns, in which live weird and twisted creatures. Yep, this is dark eerie stuff, and yes it’s amazing.
You may understand Grant’s process more by reading this. Here’s an excerpt:
“Art has always been my way to process and filter what I come across, what I am subjected to, or what I subject myself to each day; a way for me to exorcise the demons on my shoulder. The paintings are empathic, often inspired by the individual’s strength in the face of their own weakness. The common thread in all of my works is survival of self.”
My friend Alex is originally from Vancouver but presently residing in Montreal (where I’ve had the immense pleasure of getting to know him). His pictures have many different moods and styles. Always with his Rolleiflex in hand, Alex captures spontaneous street photography as well as more conceptual shoots, producing a nice eclectic mix of awesome pictures.
Beautiful photography by a Hervé Demers, coincidentally also living in Montreal !!
I chose these pictures from his photostream because they represent a farewell to Winter for me. The sun is sticking around longer each day, the sky is blue but it’s not freezing… the snow is evaporating to let the green grass grow.
Hervé’s great work was found on the Flickr group.
