Lev's Nuit Blanche Report

2006’s Nuit Blanche was a surprisingly awesome and engaging artistic experience. I was really impressed with the overall notion that I could never be quite certain if something was an artwork, performance, or just coincidence. The factors of this year, Nuit Blanche, 2007 were all set up to make up for a successful, if not better, follow-up to last year. However, unseasonably warm September weather, and a positive word of mouth regarding last year’s event sparked the curiosity of thousands of GTA citizens enticing them to take to the streets and see what all the fuss was about. This caused a crowd that was overwhelming in its massiveness and added long line-ups to nearly every event. Though this may have hindered my hopes to attend as many installations as possible – I still managed to take in enough to end the night feeling sated. Part of the intrigue of Nuit Blanche is not following any set plan. It is in the discovery of great things quite by accident and seeing how artists and their installations adapt to the continuous flow of viewers.

Starting off in Yorkville was probably not the wisest decision but the description of the sound installation located at the old Lower Bay Subway Station struck me as too interesting not to attend. When we arrived there was already quite a large line-up. Throngs of people wandered the streets of Yorkville, the SUVS blaring music and pushing the crowd out of their way did little to add to the enjoyment. While my friends and I waited in line, we watched a stunt man (with no apparent safety harness ) descend one of the office towers using a cable. Not exactly my idea of thought provoking art, but the crowd sure liked it. When we finally entered the venue, it proved to be worth the wait. It was entitled the Ghost Station, and it was by British Colombia artist Kristen Roos. The Lower Bay station is normally closed to the public, but on Nuit Blanche it looked great. The lack of any advertisements created a certain ambience that allowed the sound installation to become really effective.

Making our way to the University of Toronto campus, we witnessed the dance party going on underneath the recently renovated ROM. Like the stunt man in Yorkville, I did not exactly understand the artistic merit of this, but the capacity crowd did not seem to care, as they danced away to eardrum shattering techno. The next event we came upon was the Area 51 exhibit. Due to the misty cloud that hovered around the U of T campus, I initially mistook this for a repeat of the fog installation that engulfed this area last year. Last year’s fog was a mess, kids running around and slipping in mud, but it was also surprisingly disorienting in that it obscured your sense of the familiar. This year’s fog was much more controlled, and had a different and more theatrical purpose; to give the illusion of an alien autopsy being performed. The setting looked great, but it still had that feeling of being a little too much like an amusement park and less like a compelling art installation.

Around this time I started to get a little restless and the urge to see something that had some integrity and depth - or at least something to get my mind going – became pretty strong. So in a serendipitous moment unique to Nuit Blanche, I received a phone call from my sister– Emily. She gave me hurried instructions to meet her as soon as possible at the base of Trinity Bellwoods Park near Queen St. West. The artist featured there was a mutual friend of ours; Christ De Castro, and he required assistance from volunteers to construct giant paper cranes out of cardboard. It was fun to see something like this featured at Nuit Blanche - getting a lot of mileage out of a basically inexpensive idea. Everybody who was involved had a great time though. After the cranes where built - the artist and some friends proceeded to carry them down Queen St. - but myself, distracted by the events of the night and didn't follow them any further. By the time I had made it to the 6^th floor at OCAD, where the Second Life installation was set up, all of the computer monitors where turned off in the lab, except the large projection screen, which was being controlled by the Pilate’s ball. I had a go at it and enjoyed myself immensely. It was a relaxing alternative to the intensity of the crowds outside.

The events I have highlighted are only a few of the significant moments I experienced at this year’s Nuit Blanche. Although, in my opinion, this year’s event failed to live up to high standard set last year, I look forward to Nuit Blanche becoming a staple of Toronto’s art culture.