This past Saturday, I attended Toronto’s 4th annual Nuit Blanche sponsored by Scotiabank. A celebration of contemporary art in the heart of the city. This year, the event was attended by over 130,000 people! (Some of them blotto) The event ran from 7PM Sat. to 7AM Sun.
I said to my wife, “I’m up for the challenge. 132 installations provided by 550 artist, spread out over three different sectors of downtown Toronto. (God knows how many square miles) Hell, we LIVE downtown! All we need do is to step outside our door, and partake in the festivities. Let’s do this. Let’s pull an all-nighter!”
After seeing only a handful exhibits, we sheepishly retired to our home at 3:00 AM. (Someone should have had a nappy-poo.)
Frankly, I’m not sure anyone could see everything unless it were carefully planned. Fortunately, the organizers provided an online digital guide. A paperless brochure, filled with artist names, statements, pictures and information.
Let’s say you’re looking at a work of contemporary art, but you have no idea who the artist is, the title of the piece or what the piece represents, or even if it’s art. WTF??? (The lines between contemporary art and reality are often blurred.) Simply take a digital snapshot of the icon next to the piece with your BlackBerry or iPhone camera, and all pertinent information will appear on screen.
If you want to locate that particular installation, you can use the GPS function on your portable smart phone device. Wow! I LIVE IN THE F@#$% FUTURE! People were excitedly texting and tweeting each other, voting for their favorite installations. It was very cool!
Here’s my final assessment of the evening… WE LOVED IT!
I would strongly encourage anyone thinking of visiting Toronto next fall, to include Nuit Blanche as part of their schedule. Hell, you’re going to see a lot of these landmarks anyway. Why not see them with drunk people?
Aside from a few novice art critics and some amateur drinkers who left behind their own versions of Jackson Pollock, I thoroughly enjoyed this all-night contemporary art thing.
You know what the best thing about it was? The price. Absolutely FREE!
“Hey honey, let’s go get pissed up and look at some modern art.
I will be posting more digital pictures and videos once they’re developed.
*Hats off to all the organizers and volunteers who helped the night run smoothly.
GREG MORTON 