from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Dec 2, 2008 at 8:54 PM
subject PM may suspend Parliament; Duceppe croit que la coalition fera avancer le Québec
Dear Stephen,
Wow, what a difference a week can make. I just haven’t had the time to write as we were putting in fifty-plus hour weeks to get the Marclay installation ready in time, then there was the opening on Saturday, and I’ve been working straight through and exhausted when not working, and all the while you presented a faux-economic plan, riled up the opposition parties who have all but taken over Parliament by forming a coalition. Wow! Your head must be spinning from all this unusual excitement. And whoever said Canadian Politics was a dull affair!
I wrote to the GG at the request of the Liberals, here is the instantaneous reply:
“Thank you for writing to the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. We appreciate hearing your views and suggestions. Responses to specific inquiries can be expected within two to three weeks. Please note that many of the e-mails we receive are in the form of comments or opinions and do not receive a reply. Content that is of an offensive or commercial nature will not receive a response.
Due to the large quantity of incoming correspondence, we also cannot reply to e-mails inquiring about the status of a previous request. Thank you for your understanding.
Merci d’avoir écrit au Bureau du Secrétaire du Gouverneur général. Nous apprécions vos points de vue et vos suggestions. Il faut prévoir deux ou trois semaines pour une réponse à une demande précise. Veuillez noter que dans bon nombre de cas, les courriels reçus consistent en commentaires ou opinions qui ne nécessitent pas de réponse. Pour les courriels dont le contenu est de mauvais goût ou de nature commerciale, il n’y aura aucune réponse.
À cause du nombre élevé de la correspondance, nous ne pouvons répondre aux courriels s’enquérant de l’état d’une demande antécédente. Merci de votre compréhension.”
What did I write, exactly? Not much, just that I support the idea of a Coalition. In times of “economic uncertainty” what could be a better fit than a completely unusual coalition?
In other news, I learned recently that sperm take 100 days to form, and so am taking steps to improve by cutting down on coffee (only 1 allongé today), alcohol (only 3 beer after work) and cigarettes (only 3 at work and I plan to quit as of today). Today therefore marks Day 1 of the 100-day dash to new and improved healthy sperm. Our plan is to try to conceive after March 12. Clo is already taking folic acid supplements (which are also good for sperm, did you know?)
So what are you going to do about the whole coalition thing? Resign, and let them take power? (responsible) Try to prorogue Parliament to January? (lame) Push for an election? (even lamer) Or completely re-tool your approach to the economy and stop playing partisan politics? (unlikely). In any case, and though you may not have intended it, you’ve helped make Canadian Politics more interesting to watch or participate in from the sidelines.
Si Stéphane prendra pouvoir comme Premier Ministre, je vais lui ecrire en français seulement. Sera un defi pour moi!
-chris
PS I managed to send off a Canada Council grant application yesterday morning, basically a cut-and-paste from my rejection of last year. We’ll find out in four months how it turns out!
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 8:05 PM
subject Harper, coalition take battle to Canadians; Harper s’adressera à la nation
Dear Stephen,
Wow, it seems more and more like your days are numbered. The discussions are getting so nuanced and heated at the same time, but the more it is discussed, the more the idea grows and takes form and soon, Monday, you’ll likely find yourself voted out of the PM seat. Unless, of course, your advertising war chest achieves some results and your propaganda brings up some sort of groundswell from the populace this weekend. I’d hazard a guess that average Canadians who wouldn’t ordinarily vote Conservative will feel somewhat insulted that you’ll be spending all these ad dollars to stay in power and continue to push against the opposition parties. Meanwhile, these “uncertain economic times” that you love t talk about just keep on going. Let’s face it Stephen, c’est l’heurre que je commence de ecrirer à Stéphane.
Here’s what I wrote to Justin Trudeau, my MP, from the “Make Parliament Work” website:
Dear Justin,
I didn’t vote Liberal, Bloc, Green or Conservative in the recent election, I voted NPD. My heart is with the Greens, but I support a Coalition Government of the Liberals and NDP with the Bloc support until 2010.
17 million Canadians voted AGAINST Harper and the Conservatives in the last election. Please stand up for the majority of Canadians, who want a Parliament that works.
Sincerely,
Chris Lloyd
And then I received a letter from the Conservative Party of Canada all about Parizeau and his dream of a weak, unstable government in Ottawa. Your party is reduced to fear-mongering and presenting the Bloc as a serious threat to Canada, when in reality they work for the interests of Québec. Separatism is at an all-time low, as I’m sure we’ll see next week when the PQ is again reduced to opposition status. Maybe your threats will work, but I think your support level is maxed out, and more and more, people will see through your strategies. Here is what I wrote back to your party:
Actually, I don’t believe that what the Conservatives introduced in the “economic update” of last week was in the best interests of all Canadians.
I think the Coalition is the best approach to governance in these uncertain economic times.
I think Harper should step aside and save us all an unnecessary election campaign or a costly publicity war.
Thanks for the message, but I’ll concentrate my efforts elsewhere, supporting the Coalition.
Sincerely,
Chris Lloyd
While waiting for your exceptional, emergency address to the nation I realize I forgot to tell you about Neil Young. We went to the concert at Centre Bell Monday Night. Wilco opened, and were awesome, and the old man himself has quite the energy. We left before the concert was over! We might have left a bit early, but we were more than satisfied. He sang some oldies, some new songs, and played the heck out of every guitar. In the end it was a little too much Rock, and we had forgotten earplugs.
So I’ve watched the speeches, and I have to say I’m not too impressed. You said nothing new, and all in a mildly condescending voice. Your attempts to paint the coalition as antithetical to democratic principles and the Bloc as a separatist threat won’t fool anyone who knows their history or who has half a brain.
My advice: let the confidence vote happen, and bide your time in the opposition for the next 18 months preparing for another election.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 12:23 AM
subject Political power struggle scaring Canadians: Poll; Le Parlement est prorogé dans la polémique
Dear Stephen,
Thanks, I received a reply from the PMO today. Same as all the others, but still appreciated.
What is not so appreciated is that you somehow managed to convince the GG into proroguing Parliament until the end of January 2009. How is any work on the so-called economic crisis supposed to happen between now and then? Other than what I assume will be your attempts to woo one or more of the opposition parties to support your budget, which I guess falls in line with your definition of “working together”.
I have to say, as I was driving to SJ today and listening to the CBC reports, I was most impressed with Bob Rae’s unequivocal position on you and your government. You are indeed not to be trusted.
I made the drive safe and sound, listening to an audio book of Hemingway’s Moveable Feast. Stopped at Happinez briefly, then met up with Kate ad Jess at Churchill’s. I’m spending the night at Kate and Rich’s and meeting John tomorrow morning to set up Donna’s sculptures for the Gallery Hop on Saturday.
And lo and behold the Canadiens have managed to win another game.
And I’m 2 days into no smoking, 98 to go for healthy sperm.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 10:35 AM
subject Anti-coalition rally to send opposition ‘loud, clear’ message; Pas de budget tout de suite pour la coalition
Dear Stephen,
Helped John unload and install Donna’s sculptures in the window, picked up Claudine from the airport, and had lunch with Jess and Kate at Thandi’s. Had the lunch special, which was Butter Chicken, and it was good.
We had Loonieland + Stock installed by mid-afternoon (John had already built the shelves), and we drove out to my parents’ house. Trevor, Tamara and Aaron were already there. We had lobster for supper (a surprise; we were expecting turkey or ham), and had some wines and beers and then opened gifts and then played the first round of la Boulette.
We had some heated political discussions, and though we are all undivided on the coalition (partly due to mis-information gleaned from you), we are all unequivocally upset with your dictatorial leanings.
We’re just cleaning up a bit today before heading into the city for an afternoon of Gallery Hop followed by, or interspersed with, Restaurant Hops, to be followed with dinner at Judith and Roberts’, then more Bar Hops, then possibly a small party chez Monica & Stephen.
Do you think the coalition will convince Stéphane to step down and be replaced by Michael Ignatieff? What will Bob Rae think? Is this just the sort of ‘divide and conquer” situation you were hoping for with the proroguement?
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sun, Dec 7, 2008 at 10:15 PM
subject Man convicted in fatal Boxing Day shootout; Rae et Ignatieff veulent un chef permanent avant la fin janvier
Dear Stephen,
We had a great weekend, short as it was. It included a somewhat subdued gallery hop, an impromptu gathering at happinez, a little dinner party at Judy & Robert’s with his daughter Alex and Mark and Janet, who is seven months pregnant. That didn’t stop her from joining us later at Sun Star Lounge for a rousing evening of Karaoke and dancing with Kate and Rich, Stephen and Monica, even Peter was there, as well as Jay McLean. Afterwards we grabbed some pad Thai from Terry’s, then a cab to S&M’s, where we watched slides Meghan had shot at their wedding. Guess what? Monica is talking about having kids, and we think we’ll be trying at about the same time, though Stephen seems to think sperm form in only four days, not 100 like I had read. Which is the truer number? We’re going to meet up with them in Mexico City in a few weeks.
This morning we slept in, had an omelet and good conversation, then Laticia drove us back Uptown to retrieve our vehicles. We had parking tickets because for some completely irrational reason one cannot park on Uptown streets after midnight. Either they don’t want people to party after midnight or they expect people to drink and drive, I don’t know. I do know I don’t plan to pay it, but I will mail it in with my reasons why.
I’ve just watched about three hours of CSI (my parents have cable) and now I’m off to bed before the long drive back to Montreal tomorrow. I plan to leave at 6:30am. It’s been snowing most of the afternoon and evening, so the roads are going to be messy. I’ll drive carefully, don’t you worry. You should perhaps be a little more worried over the presumed ousting of Stéphan this week and a potential new Liberal party leader before Parliament resumes in January.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 10:07 PM
subject Liberals take third-term majority in Quebec; Les corps des trois soldats canadiens rapatriés
Dear Stephen,
It was a long, long drive home today. The car was frozen over with ice and snow, the wind was sharp and strong, just scraping it off took close to half an hour. The roads through NB were slippery with snow and ice and high winds. It was much clearer in Québec. Until I hit the tunnel, which was all backed up due to construction; what else is new? Oh yes, the election. I voted after supper, just under an hour before the polls closed. Clo had made supper and Jess was visiting, briefly, before heading off to see Tina Turner. Or at least try to get tickets from a scalper. The provincial election was hard to follow, given all that was happening in Ottawa, and your “separatist-bashing” only seemed to give more steam to the PQ, who have re-surged into a strong second place, though Charest seems to have squeaked by with a slim majority. Perhaps this should be your strategy: claim the “uncertain economic times” require a strong mandate, a majority, and call an election when your budget goes down end of January. Now that Dion is gone, and it is just a matter of days perhaps before you face either Ignatieff or Dion as interim or even new Liberal Leader. Merry Christmas! BTW I voted Québec Solidaire, and even though François David lost, the co-spokesperson of the party, Amir Khadir, won their first seat. And their take of the popular vote grew. Warms the heart, to see the growth of a new party; a leftist, feminist, environmental party. And on that note, I’m off to bed, as I’m back at work early tomorrow morning.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 10:32 PM
subject Ignatieff’s rise may be end of coalition; Harper tend la main aux libéraux
Dear Stephen,
Wow, things are happening so quickly: Dion steps down, now Rae is out of the race so all of a sudden, Ignatieff is the new leader of the Liberal party and now you’re already playing toward his coolness to the coalition. Of course, this could just be part of his personality; Mark met him the other night in Saint John and said he seems cold, naturally. You’ve said you’ll consider proposals from other “national” parties (including the NDP and Greens?), but then again, you always say that. Of course, if you can woo Iggy, then maybe your government will survive the budget vote.
I have a question regarding the budget vote: if Parliament resumes on the 26th, and there is a vote on the 27th, when does everyone have a chance to actually see what’s in the budget?
I spent all day a the Fonderie. Drove to Dave’s, left my car and we picked up the straight truck, then materials at Villeneuve. Initially we were going to add on anad strengthen an existing wall, but it had been so shoddily built that we ended up removing the whole thing and straightening it. There was a snowstorm all day today so we were delayed getting work started, and I was even more delayed getting home, as the roads were far worse and it seemed that there were hardly any plows out. Hard to believe they weren’t expecting it. I had to drive around searching for a gas station that sold deisel, as the truck was almost out.
Clo had made supper, then we put up some Christmas lights around our plants and cleaned up the house a little more. Family visit this weekend.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 11:15 PM
subject Ignatieff se dit prêt à renverser les conservateurs; Harper poised to appoint 18 Senators
Dear Stephen,
Now that Ignatieff has been chosen Interim Liberal Party leader, will you please ask your MPs to stop insinuating to the press that the would-be Coalition Government is somehow un-democratic? Most of us are smart enough to know it is perfectly legal and actually a tad more democratic than having a party that only took 38% of the vote govern us all.
And also, ramming a bunch of Consevative senators into the senate, when you yourself are the most vocal regarding senate reform, seems a bit shifty. What’s the scoop?
It was another long afternoon at the Fonderie Darling, getting the wall in place for Sounds of Christmas. Did I mention to you that I almost ran out of gas last night in the big truck? I hunted around looking for a service station that sold diesel. This morning another catastrophe: I cracked the windshield while trying to remove the thick layer of ice that had formed over the entire truck in the night. I was smacking the ice with my plastic shovel and voila, a crack. And I got stuck twice on the way to work, once in the middle of busy Jean-Talon. Luckily I brought my shovel. Speaking of shovel I had to go and shovel out my car from in front of David’s house as the snow removal teams are now out in full force. David and Illiana helped me out, it went quickly. I must say, it is becoming a bit of a bother to try to manage parking for two vehicles, especially when one is over twenty feet long. I must add that I do enjoy driving the truck.
Tonight after work and after the snow-shovelling I drove to IKEA and bought a gift for Gilles, my secret Santa for the Hubert Family Christmas at our place this weekend. It will be a tight weekend: I have to work on Sunday, as it is the only day we have to actually install all the monitors, projector and sound gear for Sounds of Christmas. The Fonderie has rented the space for a Christmas party Saturday night.
I’m feeling tired, but not stressed, and really looking forward to Mexico, even if I haven’t had much time to prepare.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to chris lloyd <dearpmproject@yahoo.ca>,
pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 3:22 AM
subject Some Edmonton police abandoning Tasers; Conseil des ministres: Charest choisit la continuité
Dear Stephen,
Sorry I haven’t written lately. The Sounds of Christmas project had us back in last-minute installation mode early, early Sunday morning, this falling on the heels of a lovely in-law family get-together at our place Saturday. Then I foolishly went into work Monday and yesterday because those are our traditional tech days (the only days of the week the gallery is closed) and because I am slightly obsessed with rectifying certain sound and light issues before heading to Mexico. We leave on Friday morning, right after the Oboro Christmas Party Thursday night. Monday night Claudine had a choir presentation at a café in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, and last night James treated me to drinks and sushi and we talked more than ever about our personal lives. Things I cannot divulge, even to you.
You, however, will be the sounding board of my late night art inspiration, which I think was caused by indigestion or a touch of the stomach flu. Whatever it is, I can’t sleep, woke up in gassy hot sweats, but had an idea for my residency at Le Lobe that I need to get down on paper. Or at least get onto a computer screen and into an inbox/outbox for posterity, whether I follow through on the idea or not.
First, an ARC totem pole. Pictures of Canadian ARCS (my show is called Dear PM: I am Canadiana), adjusted for scale and location on a pole based on their Canada Council funding. That idea alone branched out to include vinyl graphs and lettering that I could order while in Chicoutimi based on events relating to art and politics, and then inserting my involvement (or lack therein), such as with political parties, NPOs, ARCs, museums etc. Then, incorporating my frottage works of various surfaces in and around the gallery as paintings that could cover some of the vinyl, which could then act as a stencil to be over traced on the canvases, or completely re-printed over top. The graphs could include daily reports on the financial markets, again with my connection (or lack therein) to certain companies (such as Tim Hortons, of course, but also perhaps Molsons, Moosehead, Irving, etc). Complete with the pulp-and-paper letter-sculptures project and the letter animation video, I can include the Tim Hortons project but perhaps expand on it, including more found imagery, stolen video from ads, maybe even actual frottages from a Tim Hortons in Chicoutimi.
That makes me wonder: is there a Tim Hortons in Chicoutimi?
Gotta love Google. There are in fact 6 Tim Hortons in the region within 10 km, one that is less that 1 km away, and then curious enough, three in a row: 1324, 1401 and 1494 boul. Talbot: 2.31, 2.41 and 2.55 km from Le Lobe, respectively.
Anyway, what do you think of the above idea?
Maybe I should include the actual proposal to Le Lobe, so you can see if it fits or not. Maybe it is already too much:
For the Le Lobe I am proposing a residency project based on my one-sided correspondence project with the Prime Minister of Canada. Since January 1, 2001 I have been writing daily email letters to the Prime Minister of Canada. I have yet to receive a personal response or acknowledgement of these letters from the PM.
The letters are casual, personal and diaristic in tone yet often touch on political issues, especially as they pertain to the role of art and artists in society. Much of the content of the letters focuses on my life as a practicing artist. In this sense I give the PM and the public an inside look at the economic challenges faced not only by myself but other artists. Arts advocacy, environmental concerns and anti-war sentiments are constant themes throughout the letters, through which I examine if and how the personal is political. The letters explore the divisions between a mediated reality and the reality we experience as individuals.
My attempt to communicate in this manner with the Prime Minister is both absurd and untenable. Still, I carry on with an approach that is both naïve and honest, even hopeful.
For the residency I would like to break away from the cycle of writing to the PM everyday to concentrate on other forms of daily traces: that of the frottage ( I experiment already with this process in painting) but moreso how it relates to object relational-object theories. I would like to explore this avenue further through the technique of installation. I would like to turn the PM project inwards on itself and use the act of writing letters form the basis of very physical, derivative artworks. Thus a block of time, as measured with letters, becomes a physical material linked to some other objects in the world, to elaborate on things that often go unsaid.
As an Anglophone who is learning French, I also welcome the opportunity to extend my learning through an immersive environment in Chicoutimi. The daily letters would continue, only in French, forcing myself to think and express myself in a different language.
Areas upon which I would welcome the time and flexibility to explore are:
• Create a video of single-frame sequences of each page of each letter in the project. By placing the letters in the same order and registration, the words “Dear Jean”, “Dear Paul” and “Dear Stephen” will appear in approximately the same space in the frame, though the surrounding text would become a complete unreadable blur. (If technical resources are available)
• Create a built environment which would represent an actual workspace as well as represent a home studio / artist atelier. Using discarded building materials found from around the Chicoutimi region, I will build a kitchy-kitchen space in which to make papier-mâché sculptural busts of the PM. The size of each bust would be representative of the amount of letters I have written to each PM. The constant factory-like process of making the pâte will result in me endlessly cleaning and messing the space, in a manner not unlike that of Paul McCarthy in his performance pieces. I would propose printing additional letters to reduce to pâte in order to create absurd sculptures that become morphed into various architectural spaces (as an unnecessary leg for a table, for example, or propped on a chair à la Joseph Beuys). This process-based installation would reference both the undervalued domestic labour market as well as the difficulties experienced by the pulp and paper industries.
• Other In-Situ works will be made during the residency, including but not limited to: posters, greeting cards and public burials of letters in the form of actual Time Capsules by placing letters in plastic water bottles and burying them and/or sending them into bodies of water. Public Presentations and / or guided tours of the exhibition can be performed as well as school visits and group activities with schoolchildren (ie as ‘helpers’ in papier-mâché sculptures)
• The above-mentioned installations and performances would give rise to 2-dimensional “traces” by way of various frottage techniques. I would like to experiment further with its application in 3-dimensional objects, as well as with mold-making and creating casts, using the letters (papier-pâte) as raw material.
So there you have lots to chew on! I’m going to try to get back to sleep. I hope I am not coming down with a flu or something. That would be a bit of a damper on the Mexico trip. Especially considering I haven’t really been sick all winter or fall.
-chris
DEAR PM 