I have to get back to work on the website for Zeke’s Gallery, a little commercial gallery that a friend of mine started just over a year ago. He specializes in first solo exhibitions, which is great cause he displays work by artists who are just starting to make their way in the world – at least as artists who make their living doing art work. Of course, it goes without saying that I’m basically doing the site for free, as is my pattern. As I used to have on an old personal site (and on my CV), “I do websites for worthwhile projects, usually for free.” [Consider this entry here a little self-prodding, self-motivation.]
I recently came across
an interesting site called artengine, which is an online gallery based in Ottawa. My friend Julien’s sister is showing her work, the reliquarium. She does text/object associations, one a day all year. The primary medium is email, but the pair is placed on the website as well on the day it is sent. In a way, it reminds me of Placing, but it’s less linear and less overtly making a particular statement.
Beyond the work itself, I was really happy to see a project (and a gallery) like that originating in Ottawa. The city isn’t known as a hub of the arts, but it has a long tradition of very grassroots, almost activist, arts work centered around facilities like the SAW Gallery and others. The web and the internet more broadly seems like a perfect extension of that.
Happy Independence day
Happy Independence day to all my American friends!
Writ, FindLaw’s new
Writ, FindLaw’s online magazine, published an article about lessons to be learned from the Microsoft case. If your company is suddenly brought to court by the US Justice Dep’t, you should read it as a sort of primer. It’s plenty interesting for other folks too though. I should also add that an old high school friend of mine is the Senior Editor – which is really cool.
Two things happening
this weekend.
- I’m doing the bulk of my move. I’m doing the furniture and stuff with some friends next week, but this weekend I’m going to behave like a drone and shuttle all my books and the other contents of my apartment that can fit in my car over to the new place.
- The St-Laurent Street Festival is on. In my neighbourhood, this is a big highlight. We marvel and feel superior that, twice each summer, they close down the main North-South street for about 10 blocks. For 4 days straight. So people can have fun. Really, it’s just a bunch of the local businesses selling junk off folding tables, and every bar and resto sets up on the street. Very much fun, and very “Montreal”. Today I bought socks (the street sale is also known as the socks and underwear sale) and two classic CDs – the Jayhawks first and Sloan’s first, Smeared. A classic of Canadian east coast pop that somehow I’d lost along the way. Oh, and I had a beer with a couple friends I bumped into and an oyster and a shot with some other friends I met.
