from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Sun, Feb 3, 2008 at 10:27 PM
subject Miracle baby and mom recovering well
Dear Stephen,
Taking advantage of both the snow and the mild temperature, as well as the fact that today is Sunday and we don’t have to go to work, we went out to the west island for some hiking with the snowshoes in a park. It was fun, though a little boring.
Last night we had Claudine’s parents, as well as Joanne, Phillippe and Nataniel, over for supper. Rose-Marie brought tortière and roasted vegetables; Joanne provided salted salmon; Gilles and I some wine. It was a fun evening; frenetic in the way it often is with family. The apartment had been cleaned and scrubbed of cat hair and dust, but now the kitchen has returned to a slightly debauched state. I made lentil-vegetable soup tonight. Clo and I read in the living room, and watched Tout le monde en parle. Stéphane Dion was a guest, trying to improve his image in Québec but unfortunately he just came across as a bit geeky and laclustre. You should go on as a guest, it might humanize you a bit.
Friday night I met Clo at Oboro and we took the metro to the MAC to meet Anne and Eric. It was a Vendredi Nocturne, featuring a popular band (unannounced due to previous Nocturnes being too popular), but we found it terribly organized. Too many different lineups, one small bar with tooo few bartenders doing too many time-consuming tricks, and in the end, even though we bought the Carte Branché, it didn’t include admission to the live show. And La Place de la Magie show is so boring and has been up already for three years or more so we basically paid ten bucks to stand in a slow-moving drinks line. Afterwards was fun though; we went to a fun little restaurant in the old port, then to Café Campus to see a Moncton band, Radio-Radio. There is nothing quite like Acadian hip-hop to light the night up! Overall it was a fun night though we spent a little too much money on cover charges and taxis.
Tomorrow I start work at DHC-Art for the Reconstitutions installation. It is supposed to last 3 weeks, right up to the opening. I’ll have more reports as the week progresses. Right now I’m off to have a shower and wash my hair; I bought new dandruff shampoo. I am in almost dire need of a haircut. Anne has suggested I grow a handlebar mustache. I think I will do just that. Have you ever had a mustache?
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Mon, Feb 4, 2008 at 10:52 PM
subject ‘Dr. Horror’ hunt leads to Toronto suburb
Dear Stephen,
I think commuting on the metro is fine, except during peak hours. Today was my first day at DHC and getting there and back wore me out more than the work. Actually, there wasn’t really much work to do, as there was still construction going on. A lot of unpacking, trying to figure out what was going to go where. It’ll come; I’m expecting to do a lot more tomorrow. I’m starting mostly with the Paul Pfeiffer pieces about Michael Jackson. In one piece two projectors wall-mounted in a corner project the same image, only one is inverted, of Michael Jackson performing in Bucharest. the piece is called Live Evil. The other piece features a large projection of a children’s choir chanting the words to Jackson’s address to the nation after his trial. We’re hoping to have it done tomorrow.
You wouldn’t believe the money DHC has already spent on cables, monitors, projectors, tools, and materials. It’s like the exact opposite of life at an ARC.
Speaking of which I have to finish my text for Decentre. But I’m procrastinating and would rather go to bed early and read. I’m working through my second David Adams Richards in as many weeks, this time tackling Mercy for the Children. I have to say, this guy needs to take more happy pills. Talk about dark! I’m trying to balance it by taking up again The upside of down. Despite his dire predictions for our society (the book is basically comparing the decline of the Roman empire to our own civilization), Thomas Homer Dixon still has more room for brevity and humour than Richards.
I tried for almost an hour tonight to dislodge the car from the snow; tomorrow morning is snow removal. I couldn’t find a place to park, so I have to move the car again tomorrow morning before work, because I can’t leave it where it is, on Papineau, after 4pm. Parking is the biggest hassle of having a car.
Tonight we watched a movie Clo had rented, Pars vite et reviens tard. It was about justice, served cold in the manner of the Black Plague. It starts out as a sort of typical cops n’ serial killer type thriller, but it has a little more intrigue and mystery. Nice views of contemporary Paris, too.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Wed, Feb 6, 2008 at 11:50 PM
subject Snowstorm smacks Southern Ontario
Dear Stephen,
Things have been progressing with the DHC install. I’ve been working mostly on the Harun Farucki installation called Deep Play and the two Paul Pfeiffer installations, Live Evil and Live from Neverland. The work thus far has consisted of unloading and loading, moving things from one place to another, installing brackets that will be dismantled shortly, painting bolts and washers, and installing added support plaques into the ceiling for the projector mounts for Deep Play. The work hasn’t been too strenuous and I think we’re a bit ahead of schedule. Of course, the amount of high tech gear and cables everywhere combined with precise artists can lead to problems down the road. We shall see. In any case, I’m trying to be more social and friendly with people, as I am realizing more and more that I have workaholic tendencies and I take things too seriously. Do you ever think you might have antisocial tendencies?
Aside from work, I’ve not been doing much. Have a few art proposals on the back burner, smoldering away now with some writing projects that aren’t moving anywhere fast. I have no energy in the evenings. Email, supper and an hour of TV chews up my whole night. I’ve become so domestic, and lazier than ever.
Tomorrow is Clos’ birthday. She is celebrating by taking the next two days off work and having a day at the spa. Friday night we’ll attend a little cocktail in the “the bunker” at DHC, then have supper at La Sala Rossa and attend le soirée Cabaret DADA, part of les voix d’Amériques festival. There is always a festival in Montréal. And then it is Tempête de Fête, our first big party. And then, hopefully, if all goes well, we’ll head to NYC for little break near Easter. Yeah!
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Fri, Feb 8, 2008 at 8:02 AM
subject Tories push crime bill confidence vote
Dear Stephen,
Yesterday was Claudine’s birthday. I worked at DHC all day and signed a contract and now I’m not allowed to talk about any aspect of the exhibition that won’t be apparent to the public once the show opens. But I’ll still probably tell you about things like painting the bolt heads that hold the projector mounts in place, or fixing additional plates to the ceiling for added support. Dull.
We went out to eat at one of the Indian restaurants on St. Laurent, then after we were sufficiently stuffed, waddled down the street to meet Caro and François and Pierrette at Casa del Popolo for drinks. Annie and her friends Lynne and Julie arrived soon after, then a poetry slam event was about to start but I was tired and went home early. Lame.
There is still lots to do to arrange the apartment for the party tomorrow. Stress.
So it seems more and more like you’re trying to spark an election; the confidence votes on the budget, the mission to Afghanistan, and now the violent-crime bill could all trigger an election. Uninspired.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 11:15 PM
subject Extreme weather warnings in effect
Dear Stephen,
I believe our party was a success. I ran a bunch of errands early in the day, including a trip to the marché aux puces on St. Michel to buy an old tape deck to play in the bathroom. I like to have different atmospheres and music in each room. Many people came, the apartment filled up, liquids were consumed and people seemed to enjoy themselves. It was an odd mix; some of Clo’s high school and university friends, including Fannie and her sister, who arrived first and we shared takeout from the nearby Belle Tonkinoise restaurant; my gang of Montréal Anglo friends, some of the AC crew, some of the Oboro crew, and even a bit of SJ, as Allison just moved here and she and her boyfriend came. François and Caro stayed the latest, we had a heady conversation about the relevance of Dada and open mic poetry readings until five in the morning. Courtney and Sarah came all the way from Toronto; we gave them some of the free admission tickets Claudine received from the MAC after she complained about the Vendredi Nocturne debacle.
This morning we had brunch with Kent and Eric at el Coyote in my old neighbourhood, then we tried to go see Borderline, the new film with Isabelle (drool) Blais, but there was a lineup around the block so we decided to go another time and came home and cleaned up instead. Out of the blue, I decided to paint our sound system speakers white. Why not?
Tonight we went to see a performance at Studio 303 by Aaron from Oboro and his partner Steven. Together they form a group called 2boys.tv. The piece was called Phobophilia, a blend of performance, projection, shadows and pop-up book. It played out with subtlety and finesse and effectively captured a Cocteau-inspired spirit. Have you seen any good multi-media, underground theatre recently?
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Tue, Feb 12, 2008 at 11:05 PM
subject U.S. and Canada on collision course over Arctic rights: U.S. official
dear stephen,
first off, i apologize for using all lower case; i cut my left index finger today at work. the past couple days have been so-so at work; a lot of random little jobs, and though things are slowly getting done, i’d feel better if i was seeing one particular job through to the end. which is starting to happen with the paul pfeiffer installation, as it was mostly simon and i helping out with aaron, the tech from nyc who arrived today. for the rest of the day i was crawling under floorboards passing audio cable for the kerry tribe piece, though steve and guy have take over projector leveling duties. I also cleaned the pp room, and organized a bit more the basement, and taped down some masonite for the carpet for anne lislegaard. then we all had a shot of scotch. it feels like i’ve known these guys for a long, long time. in a good way.
clo rented la brumante tonight. she also made supper, a nice salmon, roasted veggies and rice dish. we watched the movie on her computer as our tv picture tube finally died the other night. the movie was ok but not great, despite the presence of suzanne clément, one of my favourite quebecoise actresses. next to isabelle blais, of course, who we are planning to see shortly in borderline.
so we searched a bit on craigslist and found a tv for $100; a pretty good deal, i think, except i’ll have to drive to somewhere in lachine to get it. and we missed the last episode of les lavigeurs tonight, but i think i’ll survive.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Sat, Feb 16, 2008 at 12:10 AM
subject Investigators seek leg-up in mystery feet case
Dear Stephen,
Happy belated Valentine’s Day. To celebrate I treated myself to a haircut at my Montréal hairstylist, Karin. I foolishly accepted a ride from Todd in the big rental cube truck only to realize that traffic was terrible and it would have been quicker on the metro. I was only 15 minutes late; Todd drove with the kind of inflated confidence one can only get from driving a big truck, or perhaps a Hummer.
We’ve received more and more snow. Last night I met Claudine after my haircut, we had planned to go skating in Parc LaFontaine but I was hungry so we stopped to eat at La Selva. Luckily they received a cancellation just as we arrived as they were full; it was, after all, Valentine’s Day, one of the biggest nights of the year for restaurants. We each had the trout.
Lots happening at work. More carpet has arrived and been installed. I installed the Stan Douglas screen and speaker mounts, and cleaned and organized a bit. There was a bit of a crisis this afternoon when the electricians noticed that a couple of the braces holding the longest Harun Farocki screen had come out of the wall. We fixed the problem by drilling a larger hole and using butterfly bolts. The next crisis was a gas leak at the main building, luckily the building was only evacuated for a half hour.
After work the guys bought beer and ordered pizza and we hung out in the office / kitchen / tech room. They are a fun group of guys; François and James even host a weekly whiskey bar night at their studio.
Came home, found the car, and searched for a new parking spot. Tomorrow we are going to Joliette for the day for some hiking and gallery visits. The museum is featuring a show by Ed Pien and a work by Bill Viola.
You might think I’d be sick of art after working on the nuts and bolts of an exhibit for two weeks straight, but I quite enjoy it. Even my own current crisis of screwing up a show in SJ doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm.
Last year, after our selection committee met, they chose a work by Nathalie Daoust. We applied for project funding but weren’t successful, so the project was shelved. Then I got married and moved. I neglected to inform the artist; she contacted me the other day from China, in a panic about getting her work to SJ. So there is some delicate negotiations going on, but I think we’ll try to go ahead and mount the show, in some form or another. Do you ever just completely drop the ball?
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Tue, Feb 19, 2008 at 10:59 PM
subject Accused killer pleads not guilty
Dear Stephen,
I AM STILL ALIVE
Working hard, long days on the DHC-Art install. Had a great dinner party Sunday with Chris Flower, his wife Lauren, Peter and Donna and Rita McKeough, it was lots and lots of fun. Saturday was great fun in Joliette; snowshoes, a cute café, and the museum with Ed Pein and Bill Viola.
I can’t go into more detail at the moment: there is a Third Space crisis with a show I had booked but forgot to cancel, and the artist is in China and freaking out because her work is languishing at the Ottawa School of Art Gallery and they have no storage. Also I need to shave and shower and get back to work early tomorrow to lay some more carpet. Tomorrow is a press opening of the show so everything has to be ready.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 12:06 AM
subject Youth gun crime on the rise: StatsCan
Dear Stephen,
Spent this morning laying carpet tiles in the reception area of DHC, then the afternoon in a mad dash dragging boxes, cans, cardboard and debris from one building to another. We’ve collectively created a massive detritus pile in the bunker that is almost a piece of art in and of itself.
We had everything up and running and ready by 5pm, almost an hour to spare before the VIP tour. James treated us to a bottle of Veuve Clicquot to celebrate a job well done. After a quick glass he was off to buy a shirt and tie; all his clothes are at the cleaners and he really didn’t have time to go home anyway. Tomorrow morning is a press showing and the technicians will gather in the afternoon to go through operating procedures. The public opening is tomorrow night. The Stan Douglas piece has become my favourite.
After tomorrow I’ll have more time to concentrate on the next Third Space exhibition, as well as updating the website and preparing some grants. Judy met with the president of UNBSJ and they seem positive in giving the ATM space to the gallery, which will radically change how it operates.
Did you see the total eclipse of the moon tonight? I drove downtown to pick Claudine up from her choir practice and we went to the mountain and watched it for awhile, but it was too cold to stay for long. It’s almost completely finished by now.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 2:36 PM
subject An error has occurred on the page you are trying to view
Dear Stephen,
It has been a busy few days. Busy with art. The opening at DHC on Thursday was lots of fun; they had rented a third space nearby the galleries to hold a cocktail, again with an open bar, this time with a really good red wine in big glass glasses. Very chic. It took awhile for Clo and I to meet up; we didn’t have a set meeting place or time. I was able to sit through almost all the potential permutations of the Stan Douglas Inconsolable Memories piece, which is still my favourite in the show. Overall it is a pretty good show; all of the work is pretty strong, and the installation looks pretty damn sweet, if I do say so myself. Thomas’ projection booth is a piece in and of itself.
During the cocktail Claudine fell on the steps outside and bruised her leg quite badly; the bruise is now a deep purple and the shape of a large crescent moon. Her leg was bothering her so she didn’t come out last night to François and Pierrette’s birthday party at a dance hall called Do Re Mi, on Belanger. It is apparently the largest dance hall in Canada. It was quite something to watch the couples that knew how to dance properly glide as if on skates or little clouds. I tried a few line dances but just couldn’t keep up.
I had gone to the opening of Ehryn Torrel’s Pink House paintings at SKOL earlier in the night. She and Dil Hildebrand gave a walk-through tour and conversation. No problems finding things to talk about. Some of her paintings are quite nice, and it is pleasantly unusual to see paintings at an ARC. While there I ran into Michelle Bush, who is in town as part of a francophone artist conference, and we took a cab to La Centrale, for an opening by Sonia Haberstich of a bunch of little pom-poms, paintings on various materials, plastic, drips and swoops, corner floor-to-ceiling installations of accumulated and painted objects. I found it nice to look at, but a bit ordinary. The spinning bananas in the window were a nice touch.
So back to Thursday: At DHC we ran into Karen Tam and her boyfriend Luke, who is visiting from Manchester. It was fun to meet him and to hang out with her; we cornered John Zeppetelli with an idea to present a big Made in China show at DHC in the near future. He said it couldn’t happen until 2011 or 12. After DHC we went to Clark, sat in and amongst the big wooden platform holding mannequins and plastic fingers, drinking beer. Afterwards we went to the infamous after-hour whiskey bar that James and François (DHC François, not Caro’s François) run from their studio. Their studio is the whiskey bar, and vice versa. Lots of fun there, too, especially when Todd took to the drums, François on saxophone and Simon on keyboards and yeowling lyrics. When we left we took our third cab of the night to get home, and in the morning we entertained Rose-Marie, who stayed overnight at our apartment and was spending Friday in Montréal with Mimi. Clo went to work late and I worked on 3Space stuff from home. Then, as now, the vernissage cycle repeats itself. I’m on my way to a Jinny Yu opening at Art Mûr. I met her in Ottawa at the Arts Summit, then ran into her at the DHC and Skol openings; it’s a small world. After that it is Oboro for the vernissage of Erick Dorion’s six pianos sans pianists.
Been to any good art openings recently?
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 11:36 AM
subject Teen dies after falling from school roof
Dear Stephen,
Did you watch the Oscars last night? Clo and I were invited to Jo and Philippe’s to take part in an Oscar party. We filled out forms beforehand to guess who would win which categories. Jo made a lasagna and we watched a DVD Philippe had made of all the previews for all the nominated films, since most of us hadn’t seen even half of them. Nathaniel is getting big, he is walking by himself and crawling up on furniture and is quite animated. Clo and I decided that as godparents we want to start taking him on gallery and museum visits. I figure he’s old enough to start experiencing art. He’s certainly not going to get much of an education in art in the public school system, is he?
How often do you take your kids to museums? It doesn’t have to be a competition with Tim Hortons or hockey. Saturday, after an opening at Art Mûr, I went to the MAC to see the Geoffrey Farmer show. I actually quite enjoyed it, the accumulated bits of detritus, crumpled paper, various random shapes and holes. His sound piece was great and the bell piece was a hoot. I added a crumpled piece of paper of my own to his massive interpretation of the past 2-million years of human history, only to realize that it is a receipt I need for Oboro for some of the refreshments I bought for the opening. I’ll just have to go back and get it.
The opening at Oboro was fun, mostly because the Taupe gang of Acadian artists from Moncton, including Nisk and Mathieu, arrived. They are in town for the l’AGAF conference: l’association des galeries d’art francophone (unintentionally humourous acronym). They are a fun gang. Erick Dorion’s pianos alternatively blasted earthly-sounding sonic sounds, and his crew stayed late for a supper at the gallery. Clo was feeling a little under the weather as a result of the massive bruise on her leg so we rented a movie and went home. We watched Le bonheur d’Emma. Not the most uplifting film I’ve ever seen, but it was well-made, quirky and unique.
Have you managed to visit my aunt Margo’s blog lately? She’s currently undergoing all sorts of treatments at a clinic in Shenyang, China. She is having some bone marrow and stem cell treatment, acupuncture and lots of physiotherapy. Maybe you could drop her a line of encouragement or maybe even donation.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 10:03 PM
subject Bank robbery foiled in Toronto
Dear Stephen,
Happy Budget Day. To tell you the truth I haven’t been paying that much attention. It all seems like so much hot air, political posturing and the like.
According to Mr. Layton, you seem to have a firm friend in Mr. Dion. I guess we both know he doesn’t want to risk an election as his popularity isn’t that hot. We saw him on Tout le monde en parle a few weeks ago, in an attempt to raise his image, but he’s really not that charismatic. At least he’s trying; when was the last time YOU did anything unscripted?
This was in the email I received from the NDP today:
* Harper rewarded his corporate friends with massive tax giveaways while Dion sat on his hands during a key vote;
* Harper yesterday received Dion’s approval to extend his failed war in Afghanistan (one of the biggest flip-flops in Canadian history);
* And now Harper has Dion’s consent to pass a budget that puts the priorities of big banks and big polluters ahead of hard-working Canadians.
You go Jack!
Today was another work-from-home day, preparing applications, email, planning events for 3Space and slowly catching a cold. I went to an opening at the FOFA gallery, a nice drawing/installation show, then struggled to get up to Drawn & Quarterly on Bernard for a presentation by the cartoonist Adrian Tomine. Missed buses, a forgotten rental movie, a snowstorm and finally a packed house. Hot and humid; I didn’t stay long, his talk was a little on the monotone, post-interesting side. Luckily I arrived home just as Claudine finished preparing a veggie omelet.
We’re going to watch some TV and/or a movie; I bought another Universal remote control today and actually got this one to work.
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 1:00 PM
subject Canada resumes transfer of detainees
I’ve been getting a fair bit of work done from home these past few days. And I don’t mean housework! Well, OK, a little housework. Mostly just watering plants and basic tidying.
Dates have been set for the next three exhibitions at Third Space, providing the new ATM space donation from UNBSJ goes through.
I spoke with Jane Fullerton on the phone yesterday about a possible curator of contemporary art position with the NBM. If we come to an agreement over salary and time, I just might take the job. There could be some exciting possibilities in programming contemporary art there. I’d have a real position, a real job. I could still oversea Third Space programming but hopefully we’ll find another coordinator this summer.
And hopefully some of my own art projects will get underway.
Recent rejection: Action Art Actuel declined my project for Utopias.
While on the subject of Utopia, I went to the opening of a show called Utopia’s Ghost at the CCA. Got lost on the way there, I thought the CCA was further south. It was a cold night to be wandering around aimlessly. By the time I got there the vernissage was over. The show is interesting in its investigation of post-modern architecture and utopia, but is probably mostly interesting to students of architecture.
Clo and I had supper at a quaint little spot on Henri-Julien called l’enchanteur, though the meals weren’t that good. We talked about possibly moving into separate apartments, or me finding a studio/apartment. We think it might help alleviate our depressed libidos. Living together is comforting but does tend to suppress passion. Do you find this?
Of course, the massive bruise on Clo’s leg and my ugly handlebar mustache might also have something to do with it as well. Or I could blame climate change.
I have a couple suggestions for you. Please consider pushing forward bill M431, which was introduced by Winnipeg MP Pat Martin (NDP) on January 24 and reads as follows: “That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize and acknowledge that artists contribute greatly to the social, cultural and economic well-being of Canada; (b) take note that, in other countries such as Ireland, income earned by artists, writers, performers and creators of art is exempt from income tax; and (c) give consideration to exempting up to $50,000 of annual income earned by artists, writers, creators, and performers who work in Canada’s cultural industries.”
I don’t think I’ve earned $50,000 in the past three years combined.
-chris
—
Chris Lloyd Projects
http://chrislloydprojects.googlepages.com
A Division of ADD Painters:
“we’re here to swerve”
DEAR PM 