Arts
Nuit Blanche in Photos - Zone A
Nuit Blanche 2009 offered a variety of unique installations located in the Downtown North area (Zone A): from giant inflatable rabbits to hallucination-inducing light machines.
Last year, the lights at City Hall flickered on and off one half of the building battled the other in an epic, all-night game of Pong. This year I saw a plethora of four letter words suspended in the air illuminate the crowds at Nathan Phillips Square.
Jeff Koons' Rabbit Balloon was stuffed inside the north side of the Eaton Centre. I felt that this exhibit was anticlimactic, as no lights or sounds were used to accentuate the giant, reflective silver bunny.
The men and women hidden beneath a thin, white veil could barely contain their laughter as photographers circled the chorus of ghosts.
The line-up to get into the AGO was massive. A number of artists contributed to a beautiful, spray-painted mural, reminiscent of the ones set up at Manifesto in the last couple of years. Personally, this was one of my favourite projects this year, but I'm a sucker for good grafitti.
McCaul Street was engulfed in smoke as inflatable white cloud-like elements were scattered along the sidewalks. A few of the clouds managed to climb their way up to the roof of OCAD, and the ones that remained on the ground somewhat resembled the Michelin Man.
The surrealist, glow-in-the-dark sculptures of elongated bodies and babies definitely channeled the visual imagery seen at Carnival celebrations across the world.
Lead photo by Donnay on Flickr. Words and other photos by Matthew McAndrew.
Got photos of Zone A? Please add them to the blogTO Flickr pool, with the tag: nuitblanche2009zoneA and they'll appear here:
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It got a bit scary for a bit right after last call when the bar crowd added a fighty element, but it calmed back down and I had a great time!
However, if I have to hear "How is this art?" or "That's not art" one more time I will spit.
One of the greatest things about Nuit Blanche is that it attracts all kinds, not just those who are part of the usual art scene.
This is also the problem here, since many people who don't care about contemporary art still believe they know what art is or is not. Add some alcohol to the mix and you have a few people very interested in very loudly letting everyone know that the art sucks.
With that said, I had an installation this year, which I babysat all night. The response I got -- both direct and eavesdropped -- was overwhelmingly positive. The "it's not art" criticism is coming from a very small but very vocal minority.
While everyone is entitled to their opinion, yours may be respected more if it had any weight to the argument. If you are going to embark on a discussion about art, may I suggest you at least make sure you have some experience so you can appear to know what you are talking about?
I for one had a great time this year. I didn't like everything I saw, but in no way do I think of myself as expert enough to criticize the ones I felt were uninspired.
You are everything that is wrong with this city.
And yes, it has nothing to do with art.
Clowns like this should put up or shut up!!
No lining up next year, always lead to disappointment, I'll check the guide and only plan to see outdoor exhibits.
And TTC service was horrible, the silly day pass was a waste, we waited more than half an hour for the King street car before getting a cab.
Hope next year the restaurants will realize all the money they are missing out on too.
Must be because they no longer drive - they all ride bikes and take the train. And drink heavily.
The drinking thing is to much of a caricature
(btw i'm canadian, and very proud one)