Sur les Champs Électriques – Night 1 Recap


Swim Test. Catherine Richards. 2010.
…and me holding the necessary 3D glasses required to view it properly (Catherine got a kick out of this). 3D action & more at the Karsh-Masson Gallery!

So, what’s up, Internet? I am a photographer guest blogging during Electric Fields this week for Artengine & Apartment613. This adds to my ongoing daily duties as blog editor for the News Photographers Association of Canada (NPAC). This week, on NPAC, I’ve got Finn O’Hara sharing some of his experiences. Don’t miss any of this. It’s more enriching than bread and worth your undivided attention.

So, I am making time to maintain three blogs this week. If you have a minute, let me guide you through the murky waters that flood the Electric Fields. I may interject in French from time to time. Hope you don’t mind. C’est comme ça que je roll.

Oh also, if you’re on Twitter, follow the festival @effestival and share your experiences by hashtagging the crap out of it with #ef2010.

Another Twitter-related piece is Anthony Scavarelli’s The Philosopher Cube, which AS OF TONIGHT, you can interact with as it is projected onto the east wall of the Rideau Centre. So, don’t be a square…follow the @EFCube!

Alors! Au programme hier soir… Nichola Feldman-Kiss, Donna Legault, Gordon Monahan, Andrew O’Malley, Catherine Richards, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Adrian Göllner & Tim Olden .

Pas mal… click those links when you have time… There was one more opening last night at AXENÉ07 in Hull but I didn’t make it. It’s up until December 5. Don’t repeat my mistake. AXENÉ07 is seriously one of the best cultural venues in the area. Trop good.

Here are a few more photos.


Adrian Göllner speaks at the Creative Language talk last night. If you’ve spent any time in Ottawa (or Trinidad), you’ve definitely seen his public art installations. His work entitled The Shape of Luck has had a fairly healthy life span, culminating in a fun web-feature created thanks to Artengine.


Untitled. Donna Legault. 2010.
Besides my parents house, parquet flooring never looked so good. Long story short, this array of speakers was wired to chunks of graphite that, when touched, would conduct a mild current from our body to the speakers on the floor, resulting in a quiet cacophony of percussive thumping. I want to see what the graphite looks like in a few days. It is just begging you to visit the Karsh-Masson Gallery and touch it!


Tim Olden came from the Netherlands to tell us about WIXELS (wireless pixels), a type of LED orb he and his friend produced for use in interactive public art installations. I wish he had one for show and tell. Either way, totally cool.

Last photo for the day…


Dotklok. Andrew O’Malley. 2010.
Apparently this is a prototype. I find it looks awesome already. Andrew is constantly cooking up wild light-based art. He has a few more pieces in the window at Karsh-Masson. I might post photos of those later in the week but I urge you to visit the gallery anyway and see them in person!

One last thing: thanks to the Rideau BIA, the City of Ottawa, the Ontario Arts Council & the Canada Council for the Arts. I don’t think I’d be writing this if it weren’t for them.

Also, personal thanks to Ryan for keeping always making sure that the Artengine is well lubricated, imaginative and never far from a power source.

Bonus photo:

Ryan. Shake his hand and say thank you, dammit.

2 Responses to “Sur les Champs Électriques – Night 1 Recap”

  1. Great review of nite no. 1, Paul, looking forward to more!

  2. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Andrew+Deb O'Malley, Art Engine. Art Engine said: It's day 2 of #ef2010. Did you miss day 1? Check out photos and more from the Champion: http://artengine.ca/blog/?p=1544 […]

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