Utopia Moment sketches and writing by Jack Ruttan and friends

The Park party is happening Saturday, Sept. 11. The website for it is here – http://parcmedericmartin.wordpress.com/

I enjoyed doing these pictures of the Old Port, painting away while people on wheels and feet sailed past me. I’m the crazy hairy guy with the paint box, which is all right with me. Funny, though, how when you sit down, suddenly 400 school kids on lunch break sit in the same area you are. I was focused enough, they didn’t bother me.

Noticed that doing less detail on the background (ie. doing it last) helps the picture. Also, the figures here are larger.

Then some thing with rock and roll people I did later. Sorry, I can do better on the jacket folds!

Something I don’t usually do on this blog. A acquaintance of mine e-mailed me a very unpleasant hospital story. I just find it upsetting, but he wants to spread it around. His name is Robert M.Smith. A long-time Montrealer, and a good writer & poet, he feels intimidated by blogs and the web. Even so, you can check out his work on his site,. And here’s a sketch of his I stole from that site:

Here’s his story:

I would like to make public and protest against the brutality against the mentally ill and elderly people with Alzheimer’s in our Montreal hospitals. I was in the Emergency of the Montreal General on the night of June 11-12 for a heart problem. I must say I was treated very professionally, but I witnessed an entire episode lasting an hour or two and involving an elderly gentleman called George G., who was disoriented as to time and place.

Now I suppose the hospital Ombudsman would tell me this is a normal procedure. Imagine if that old man was your father. Do you think it is normal to bully people like this in a care-giving environment?
- Robert Smith

One of the pleasures of living in this little neighbourhood here (whether it’s called “Centre Sud” or “Les Faubourgs” –I’m really not so sure) is the now annual urban art event L`Écho d’un Fleuve, taking place on rue Dufresne, just below my front door here on Rouen. Who’d have thought there were so many artists living here? But it is that kind of area, even though it’s changed over the 20 years I’ve lived in this little apartment I love so much.

Not much else to say, except to present snaps, sketches, and video I took over the weekend. Didn’t get everyone’s name, and not so happy typing all of this French, what with accents, and all, but I’ll give it a go.

Friday night was an evening ghost tour, in search of Marguerite-Ida, a woman who vanished in this area during the 1930s. With neighbours and their kids, we tramped past installations, and even into people’s apartments, as below:

Since this was taking place at night, things were appropriately spooky. But then, even I’ve got tales to tell about murders and shady dealings in this low-rent area!

Shot some video, too. Sometimes it’s hard to see, because it was dark out, and it was only my pocket camera, but there is the sound.

This was a great performance, but I can’t quite find out the names of the performers. Happened a couple of blocks away from here.

The next day saw rue Dufresne blocked off, and lots of art events happening. Here’s gumboot dancing, and a robot man.

My other shots I’m presenting as a slideshow. But, you can click on it, and get what info I could scrounge up.

It was a fun time. I didn’t do a lot of painting, except for the view that heads up this piece, and the page of sketches of cool types below.

A cute little girl was watching me paint that. So, I let her have a go with the paints, and she made the pretty little drawing below. She was about 9 or 10 years old, but kept a perfect point on my Chinese brush. So, I’m expecting great things from her in later years. Let her keep the drawing, of course, after I snapped it.

In all, a very pleasant weekend.

I did one of my now-rare political cartoons, about this story.

I was mad at the time, and wondering if the drawing would be too harsh, but now it seems kind of mild. Ink seems to soak up a lot of the anger.

I’m not even that big a pot person, but think the laws against it are stupid.

Didn’t see many of my usual English language blogging buddies at the special Yulblog event last Tuesday. That might have been because it was a day earlier than the usual monthly get-together, and also in a special venue, L’Assoimoir on Notre Dame, just West of the Cathedral in Old Montreal. Might also have been because I was a little late in arriving. Still, had a great time, in my stumbling French, with a different gang.

Wasn’t too late, however, to sample the beer that was being launched there by Unibroue. Sylvain Bouchard (pictured) was on hand to uncap the bottles, and talk about the brew, Blonde de Chambly. You can hear a lot more from Sylvain about all aspects of the company’s beer, and brewing on his company’s site, http://unibroue.com

I don’t mind giving the plug, because of all the free beer. It was also cool that Unibroue takes blogging seriously enough that it wanted to incorporate our get-together into their launch. I chatted with Sylvain about the beer, and my own involvement with brewing, which was writing an episode of the TV show What’s That About? entitled The Brewery.

I’ve been in a bit of a mood lately, and not posting much. But still drawing things. Some of which are clever, or all right. I’ve actually got 3 comic strips on the go, which I’d like to finish. Those, of course, are all brilliant. We’ll see.

In the meantime, because Easter weekend was warm, I sketched some animals and other things I saw from my balcony. These you see here (some are a little exaggerated). Also played with my graphics tablet. Those you won’t see! At least not now.

In the meantime, check out my Good Friday Window Cats.

Saw a cute cat downstairs when I went out to get groceries. So I pledged that I would snap every cat I encountered on the trip to the supermarket. The last one is my girl cat, in the window. The toughest one to get was the orange cat, cause a beefy guy was sitting on his step when I took out the camera. But I pretended he wasn’t there, and snapped the cat, and that was that.

I’ve gotten in trouble for some of my street snapping. But that’s part of the game.

I haven’t been posting very much! Sorry. Haven’t been in the mood. I like this drawing of a woman and her pug, however.

Something extra. I’ve been seeing these little cutouts of this skeleton dude and his toaster around the neighbourhood. Snapping them with my camera, before they get taken down, because these things don’t last long. They’re not mine, but I like them. Hope you do, too!

…Was better attended than you would think, considering the icy weather.

Still, stacks of comics have been drawn, but people (yours truly included) haven’t gotten it together to scan them, or try to print them in a zine.

I bet that that zine would have some sort of currency, since we’re a fixture at L’Escalier bar, once every month.

Here’s a shot of the gang. Our numbers only got greater as the night drew on:

I drew a surreptitious picture of one of the jamsters, and she seemed pretty happy with it.

Going to miss Lhasa de Sela. Not that I played her music a lot around here, but I always paused when La Lorona or one of her other haunting numbers came on the radio, or played at a friend’s place. Kind of a female version of Leonard Cohen, at least in the sultry romantic aspect of her music. She was the only person I met and chatted with in Montreal who later became famous. Trying to remember now, but we had drinks in the Cheval Blanc, and maybe one other place. She was a friend of a friend’s girlfriend, and had interesting stories to tell.

Her family was with “the circus,” maybe something to do with the military also, so her early life was spent travelling from place to place. She was an American/Mexican, so was worried about being able to stay in Montreal. She went to school in California with Alice Walker’s daughter, who, it seemed was a little snooty. We talked about books and things. She really didn’t talk about her singing.

I’d see her around town sometimes, because she was like me, one of those rootless Montreal artsy types. Then she got well-known. I’d still see her once in a while, when she popped into Welch’s, the used bookstore where I worked for 5 years in the early 90s. She’d say “hi,” don’t know if she really remembered me. Very shy and soft spoken.

When I had met her, she had shaved her head. I don’t think that had anything to do with the cancer that killed her, so early in life with such a great career. She just had a new album out this season, so I was thinking about her again. Now she joins that pantheon, in one’s memory. The good thing about being an artist is that you affect a lot of people, and can leave something behind. Though it’s a shame she didn’t have many years in which to sing and record more of her music.

I used to write for art journals, and about art, in newspapers. I’ve been out of that world for a while. It seems a little different when you’ve been on the outside, though I still feel at home in a gallery or museum. Not everyone feels that way!

Maybe I’m getting a little back into writing about art through these blog postings, and by visiting events. Even the comic convention. They’re all artists, striving, creating stuff that doesn’t have practical utility, and doing it for reasons they might not always understand. You can talk about the kind of art, whether it’s pleasing or not, and how much money it sells for, but all of it’s similar in some ways. Though the artists would never be able to agree on that.

Anyhow, here’s a yard I walk by often, on my way to the metro. It’s on my street, rue de Rouen, between Iberville and Frontenac streets in Montreal. There’s sometimes an angry dog barking at me from behind the fence, but also some funny things to see, made out of bits of welded junk, and other scraps.

It’s more pretty in the summer, when there’s a fountain running out of the rocking horse’s nose. Sometimes there are Christmas lights around, even during the summer. The gentleman who built the place was in the back, and I got him to pose for a picture.

Here’s a news flash. He tells me he’s turning this shed next door, which used to be a rehearsal space for some heavy metal bands, into a café, next year. I’ll keep you posted on how that turns out! The Café Touski was a bit of a run-down place when it started, and now it’s quite popular. The neighbourhood continues to change.

Speaking of changes, when I moved into the neighbourhood, this building used to be a “Value Explosion” kind of dollar store. Now it’s apartments, with big display windows. That’s where I found this chair, and window cat.

And then finally, speaking of art in the wild, here’s a great painting on the wall inside the Frontenac Metro!

Didn’t I just do one of these in September? And then there was Expozine last month. So, many of these artist seemed like old friends. It was fun brandishing around my little Lumix DMC-FS3 and talking to artists. Sound was a little off (and some interviews are in French), but I think things are audible if you turn up the volume.

I think I’ve managed to upload a playlist of 10, count ‘em 10 short videos. First up, two of the organizers talking about the Montreal Comic Con:

I also took still shots. I’m just making these into a slide show, because I’m lazy. However, if you click on one of the photos, you might get website information where you can see that person’s work. (not for the cosplayers, sorry!)

So, that was fun. Again, I didn’t do any sketches, but bought a few comics. Nothing special. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I kind of like amassing a gallery of Montreal-based comic artists. Maybe next year I’ll have editing software. Yay!

Off to the Monthly Montreal Comic Jam the other night. But first there was a big event happening across the street. I took some video with my little camera:

Got one of the volunteers in the information booth to explain what was going on. Nice siren in the background, which fits with the name of the festival.
Unfortunately, I held the camera sideways, thinking, I guess, that this was like a still photo you could “rotate” right side up. No such luck, so you’re going to have to turn your monitor on its side, or have a very flexible neck:

Off then to the jam, which was upstairs at a bar called L’Utopik. Nice crowd at the table.

That’s Éric Theriault, centre, Richard Gagnon, right, and I’ll get the name of the guy on the left, I promise.

Sirkowski, far left, Nicolas Plamondon, centre, and that guy again.

Marr, and Jeff Leblanc.

Éric had found, under the bed, or something, a pile of finished cartoons no one had seen for years. I’m hoping that these get published in a book soon, with the rest of the cartoons we do at the jam. Maybe someone can scan them, and put them up for all to enjoy.

I drew a bunch of little things. Wish I’d made a record of them, somehow. Well, still fun to hobnob with one’s fellow cartoonists.

There were a number of art-related events happening right under my nose here in Centre Sud Montreal. So I snapped a few pictures, dutiful type that I am. It’s a chance to see what one’s arty neighbours are doing.

Just a few steps from my front door, I happened on the sign above.

(As usual, more shots are available, if you click on the picture)

It was a temporary show by a Quebec artist, Julien Froment. At least it got me into this building, the Carrefour St-Eusébe. I’ve wondered what goes on in it, besides a day-care, but rarely get an excuse to step inside. Not quite my scene, but great that such things are going on.

Then, off down the street to rue Parthenais, and the open house at Le Chat Des Artistes, a former industrial building converted into low-cost artists’ and artisan’s studios. Saw this potato masher made in the form of our Prime Minister’s face:

Not sure about the political statement being made, but it was funny. Another studio had objects made from recycled umbrella handles, and other wooden objects.

(please click on the photos to find out contact info for the artists)

He gets his raw material out of stuff thrown out by the various manufacturers. Often, he’s amazed at the stuff he finds.

It’s nice to be able to prowl around studios, like this one of artist Julie Desmarais. Rather reminds me of my days as a visual arts journalist. I get to ask silly questions, too!

These hat maker’s forms remind me of asian lingams:

The studio doors were painted to be used as chalkboards:

Then I went down the street to the nearby Grover Building, which was also having kind of an open studio day. Took fewer pictures here, but had some interesting chats. Ran into Pink Pam, whom I had also seen at the recent Expozine:

This was also a cool display, from Marlène Ferrari: an artist who works with typography and graphics:

Had some more conversations, with artist David Edwards, and a glass artist I didn’t get the name of.