Nuit Blanche Toronto, 2009 - Part 2

Rescue Bubble
This one was better from a distance. I found out later that there was a man sleeping inside; I had looked inside, but hadn't seen him.


Galactic Tides by Night
Interesting stories/dialogue; I would have been willing to stop and stay a while, but there was so much more to see...






The Lost and Found Forest
This was another one that looked better in the event guide. I've seen great pics of it, though. I still don't know how to use my camera to full advantage.


Bicitycle
Amusing!




Fire and Sausage: Small Mercies
Free sausages, hot chocolate, and blankets. I regret not having gotten a blanket (with "mercy" stamped on it), which might have been useful to a street person.


Live piano entertainment...


...and a poker game...


...and wood sculptures (?).


The Apology Project
Possibly my favourite installation this year. You run the gauntlet of... people in giant paper bags, who apologize to you.




Surrounded in Tears
Suspended loudspeakers broadcast 100 different recordings of people crying. Fascinating concept. Half of the recordings I heard didn't sound like crying at all.


Dance of the Cranes
Two construction cranes dance in unison. We arrived at 3:30 am to find that this was another installation with hourly performances, and we'd missed the last live performance at 3:00. Boo.


Take Shelter
Participants were invited to build shelters out of cardboard boxes and cans of food. We found cardboard strewn all over and cans in stacks or shapes of letters.


Catastrophe Theory
Another of the highlights of the night. At the entrance, some tv screens...


...and then a video...


...but the best for last: "archaeological ruin and long forgotten apocalypse, a vision of a lost ground zero from some unknown cataclysmic event".














Invade
Shopping break! Actually, an installation set inside the Liberty Village Metro supermarket.

Looking for the installation


It's in aisle 3, along with the wellness snacks.


Just go to the supermarket and look for the aisle which has security guards and people sitting on the floor at 4:00 am.


This must be art.


Fruit by the Foot, and a loudspeaker




Interesting, except that the sound of the plane precedes the shadow flying overhead by about half a minute. I think somebody needs to brush up on their physics.


twofold
Nice use of coloured light.






Nite Lites
Giant Lite Brite! Another of my favourites. Aside from looking great, everyone was having fun pulling out the "pegs" (coloured water bottles) and moving them around.

The only sour note in the night was the increasing number of yahoos causing trouble. One guy was pulling out as many pegs as possible until the artist herself stepped in and stopped him. I'm sorry I hadn't done so, but I helped put a lot of the pegs back.










dance like no one is watching
These dancers were roaming throughout all three zones, so although I'd wanted to see them, there was no way to know where to find them. I figured the chance of seeing them was next to nil. And then, as we went back to my Craig's car to move on to another area, there they were, right beside the car.


Music Inside/Out
Ok - I confess: we were really here to see the architecture of the Royal Conservatory of Music's new Koerner Hall. It was gorgeous - a true work of art, and the entire building was beautifully lit for the event. Arriving so late in the night, the musicians had gone home, but recorded music provided nice accompaniment to the lighting.






The ceiling of the hall:












Battle Royal
Wrestling in the Toronto Bus Terminal! Earlier in the night, there had been a long line-up, so we returned in the wee hours to find the crowds had gone... and so had the performers. It was funny to see travellers arriving and wondering wtf was going on.




Pwn the Wall - Graffiti Research Lab
Creating graffiti with light. Nice idea; not so original, I think. Not too too impressive.




Space Becomes the Instrument
And as the end of Nuit Blanche approached, we lined up for the first and only time. 20 minutes in line to get into Massey Hall, which was transformed into a giant instrument with piano wire strung across the theatre. The performer played the wires as the audience watched from the stage. Earlier in the night, the installation had involved more performers, but our experience with NB has been that many events wind down from about 4:00 am or even earlier. As with so many installations: in concept, great; in execution, not so much. I am glad I had a chance to see it, though.


As Could Be
Another exhibit that was too crowded early in the evening. We arrived just moments before 7:00 am, which was fine, because we only needed a minute or so to look at it.


And with that, off to bed. The sum of experiences was greater than the parts. Looking forward to next year.