Elsewhat

By Neale Van Fleet on June 25th, 2023

Alley piece by Chado.

By Neale Van Fleet on June 25th, 2023

I spotted some random streaks of colour from the end of the loading dock. I had to walk down a long ramp with dog in tow to see what it actually was. I’m not sure if this is an accident or the work of an artist, but I like it a lot.

By Neale Van Fleet on June 25th, 2023

Spanish artist Isaac Cordal, previously mentioned here, has a wonderful little show at C.O.A. Gallery in Montréal until July 15. The show is quick and sweet, and can be done in 15 or so minutes.

As part of the Mural festival, Cordal has hidden upwards of 20 pieces of street sculpture along Montréal’s St-Laurent Boulevard, including this one in the gallery’s own sign:

Show Details Here →

By Neale Van Fleet on June 24th, 2023

It’s the time of year where the sun sets very close to “Montréal North”, which is actually North-West, and so shines perfectly down many streets and even narrow alleys.

By Neale Van Fleet on June 24th, 2023

French artist Tristan Blondeau makes these wonderful little Petit Prince-esque planet sculptures for what he calls his ‘Planetarium’ series.

See them all here →

By Neale Van Fleet on June 23rd, 2023

Found in Montréal’s Mile Ex.

By Neale Van Fleet on June 23rd, 2023

Friend of Elsewhat Sean Michaels has a piece up in The New Yorker this week about the intersection of AI and the music industry. It touches on tech, music sharing, sampling, and lots more.

Meanwhile, the pace of A.I. research has recalled the work of West Yorkshire rhubarb farmers, whose stalks grow so fast that they can hear the sound of them stretching. Tools with names like So-Vits-SVC, which has been used to generate A.I. facsimiles of Drake’s, Eminem’s, and Jay-Z’s voices, are introducing a new set of challenges to an industry that has barely recovered from covid-era concert restrictions. Musical artists, confronted by Big Tech’s tempo, influence, and affluence, have shown an understandable willingness to line up behind Big Media. Given a very real fear that generative tools will further erode, or permanently cripple, the already precarious economics of artists’ lives, why not allow globe-straddling labels, studios, and publishers to stand on their behalf?

Read it here →

By Neale Van Fleet on June 22nd, 2023

This stunning piece was done by Moroccan artist Tima for the Montréal Mural Festival.

By Neale Van Fleet on June 22nd, 2023

Kottke had a great little excerpt from an interview with musician Perfume Genius, which I’m sharing for this little piece I really relate to:

I’m good at making things, but not talking about why. I made them because I don’t know how to talk about why. The explanation is the thing I made

and

I essentially have to get back to feeling like I’m a little baby to make things that are good. A baby with really good taste.

Read the whole Interview →

By Neale Van Fleet on June 21st, 2023

This piece by Menashe Kadishman was absolutely stunning in person.

Viewed up close, the massive scale of the steel work becomes apparent and its structural viability even more difficult to comprehend. With no visible evidence of the engineering holding the sculpture up…

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