Somebody Arted
Posted By:
Dani Stover
·
10/2/2012 9:40:00 AM
You know those weekends when you intend to catch up on some much-needed sleep, but instead you do the complete opposite?
Yea, this was one of those weekends.
But totally worth it.
Saturday night I took part in Nuit Blanche for the first time in a couple of years. Here's what I saw:
This is literally just me taking a picture of the moon. The purple light off the trees make it look intentionally artsy.
That "death star" was made up a bunch of old devices -- nintendo, phones, fax machines, etc. It was pretty interesting.
This next one was the full experience. The exhibit was set up as though you were waiting to get tested and vaccinated for a disease caused by new medication called ByoRenew, from a made-up company called ByoLogyc. Protestors were there with numbers to call to get the "truth" while representatives from the company giving out vaccines encouraged us waiting in line to call another number. Obviously both sides had very contradicting back stories, but it was up to us to decide whether we would take the vaccine (a blue pill), or not. We were put through a screening and tested by ByoLogyc officials.
As I'm writing this, I realize it's kind of difficult to follow. Think -- Contagion.
This exhibit was an excellent personal test, and the group that put on the installation, ZED.TO, didn't skip a detail while re-creating a pandemic situation.
What would YOU do?
A lot of disaster-themed exhibits. This one just played end-of-the-world movie scenes over and over, and over. Pretty awesome.
This one was also about end-of-days, AND it had a lot of cool aspects -- live performances, signs and displays. Plus it was underground at City Hall which made it even creepier.
I know a lot of people bitch and moan about Nuit Blanche being a drunken night of randomness, but I really had an amazing night. I feel lucky to be a part of something that has the power to captivate a city, make you think and encourage everyone (drunk students, art majors, and regular gals like me) to embrace art in a different and interactive way. Also, I would love to see something like Nuit Blanche here in Peterborough.