Nuit Blanche 2010 photos

Mr Lanois was Fantastic too!!

Hate to say it but I gotta agree with AV. Last year's was so busy and alive--and involved so much audience participation-- I didn't think I would be able to finish it all (I stayed up right until 7:00.)

This years? Meh...another projection on a wall.

I completely agree. I only had enough time to cover Zone B, but was very disappointed. Like Bzine said....another projection on a wall. Very little audience participation, with the exception of "Dancing with Strangers" at Atrium on the Bay.

Uninspiring and too commercial. What does a night market and GM Chevy have to do with Nuit Blanche? So sad - the first couple of years were amazing.

The financial district really impressed me this year. Especially the installations at Commerce Court.

I agree with others that it wasn't as good as previous years. Maybe having a lot of stuff right on Yonge took away the "exploration" aspect of it, but, also, I didn't appreciate the "art" as much. Not hugely into video installations, maybe that is why.

Was funny to see that long line up on Yonge south of Dundas when the description made it sound like the line up was for the sake of the line up. What was actually behind the curtains? I am guessing a video screen with a live broadcast of the line up... Imagine waiting 30 minutes to see that.

Some HUGE lines to get into lower bay, was cool , but not worth more than the 10 minutes we waited after 6am..

My first Nuit Blanche experience: I turned a corner and saw the lacy van. It made me indescribably happy. I had the most fun at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Grind Box exhibit. After all, who wouldn't grin broadly at seeing the trailer for Cannonball Run, in all of its grainy, 1970s star-studded glory?

Companies think this is the time to advertise because they paid for all the art you're enjoying. Funny how that works!

Is it just me or did the number of bad drunks increase this year?

I love Nuit Blanche, and look forward to it every year. I thought the organization this year (the closed-off streets, closer-together exhibits) was excellent, but the art was decidedly sub-par. There were hardly more than a few remarkable exhibits in all.
And all the stupid drunken, screeching skanks being propped up by their boyfriends...ugh. (At least this year they were, suitably, shivering in their skimpy attire.)

i really wonder if capitalist knows the actually funding formula. most of the money from scotia bank goes to marketing and signage (which is also marketing). the city kicks in the major allotment for the actual art.

i think you are dumb for being a proud capitalist but i think your uninformed viewpoints make you consistent at least.

yeh I witnessed that drifting car hit the cab in all it's glory, and was happy to see that none of the passengers in the cab were hurt. as interesting as it was, it was pretty lame seeing people dance and jump around the two cars, as much as the idiot in the infinity deserved to be mocked.

but even worse was watching two cops on bikes straight chillin for a good 3 minutes talking to eachother, looking away from the accident, before they even reacted.

This was our fourth NB. We're new parents this year and thought it would be cool to take the little guy out, though we knew we wouldn't make it all night.

Verdict? We started out at the Gladstone and should have stayed on Queen W., which is more intimate, less crowded and has fewer drunks.

Downtown was a big disappointment. We saw the pinecones at Campbell House (cool), Lanois (boring), Dances with Strangers (unimaginative), a bonfire at Dundas Sq. (this is art?), the (outside of) the Night Market (looked interesting, but was inaccessible), and we heard Allegory to a Rock from across the street (it sounded cool) and the lacy Chevy at Yonge & Queen (a spectacle). We also saw a lot of underage kids acting like jackasses and carrying barely concealed bottles of hard liquor. This aspect of the night really detracts from the experience, in our opinion. We were home by 12:30. We'll go next year, but avoid downtown. Agree with everyone who thought there was too much projection art.

It works like this: Scotiabank pays lots of money, the city pays a lot more money. Other corporations (HP, Amp, Chevy, and 5react gum) pay the city smaller amounts to put some of their offensive logos on some booths and exhibits. You can pretend these corporations aren't sponsoring the event and are merely intruders, but that's silly.

In a perfect world, the city could pay 100% of the cost of Nuit Blanche (~$1,000,000+ for one night) and you could then safely enjoy art unsullied by corporate sponsorship, but instead the cost to the taxpayer is defrayed by corporations. This is what most people want because they don't get so offended by an HP booth. They can avert their eyes.

Here's another way to look at it: the corporations you saw last night are at least supporting the arts. Isn't that the best possible use of advertising dollars?

People can shove their whining about corporate sponsorship up their as.s.

Les Rues des Refuses(http://lesruesdesrefuses.com/) was where it was at this year. Morpheus’ Bondage Extravaganza! was pure awesome.

KL; you, are a moron. Learn how to read a map.

Sponsorship of this kind is necessary, unfortunately. It's the sad, sad state of the arts in the city/country. Did ANYONE go to the Mayor debates on the arts?!?!?!?!

That being said, since this year was nothing more than a glorified booze bash with a few (too many) projections and a blip here and there of genius (lace van. 'nough said) it's astonishing to me that there was an obvious increase in sponsorship and an even more obvious decrease in inventive/push the boundaries/let your imagination run wild- art. "the bon fire at Younge and Dundas was an insult to not only artists but fire bugs and smokey the bears everywhere. (and you know they jumped through hoops for ever to get permits for that)
But, given how much of all that money actually makes it into the pockets of the artists, it's not a surprise all they came up with was a few projections and a couple sticks on fire.
And the whole affair is incredibly controlled, line ups for hours, gates keeping you in/out/away from the art...
I've been to previous Nuit Blanches, I've even performed in one and was blown away by the whole experience. this year? Would have rather stayed home and watched re-runs of Criminal Minds in front of my own art instilation- i mean fire place.
Which next year, i just might do..

Perhaps we need to remove the fine art pretence from Nuit Blanche. Few people I think were out to discover deep nuanced insight into the human experience as expressed in esoteric art installations. Baffelgab writeups justifying collections of projections or blinking lights do little more than confirm the public's suspicion that "Fine art" is a con being foisted upon us; a tax the rich and powerful extract in order to arbitrarily differentiate themselves from the rest of us.

The majority of attendees clearly are looking for spectacle and personal interaction regardless of whether it has any "deep meaning" or not. Let's commission a few fine art installations for those few who truly appreciate them, but let's put most of the public's budget into ideas from anyone, non-artists who are willing to make something that large groups of people can play with.

Let's encourage the general public to participate, perhaps have a giant "bring your own costume-ball", public painting & sculpture showcases, zombie walks, etc... Toronto is starving for a nocturnal street festival as is evidenced by the great turn out. Let's drop the artistic pretences and create the party replete with playful spectacles that clearly the majority want.

(BTW. nice to see more porta-potties out there)

If you look at the map on their website, it indicates Zone A perimeter meets at Yonge/St.Clair. They screwed up. Nearly a week after the event, it has been confirmed that there is no reason for them to mention this intersection.