As described on the official  St. Louie festival site, “The “Main” mixes arts in the street that it will make your head spin! Free shows, talented artists wait for you to party before the rentrée!  And don’t forget the incredible open-air market with goods and services on offer from more than 300 merchants.  So let’s get down!”

YUP…  …  …that pretty much sums it up!  The good folks from Moniker and a loose group of EN MASSE participants hit the blazing hot streets over the weekend to take part in the head spinning, and drop some of these bad boys:

clouds/ask me about chemtrails

john coltrane

goat girl

a seriously great guy commissioned this one on the spot...couple hours later, VOILA! Dood got laid (we're sure of it) later that night.

Lvcile goin' solo...killer piece!!

lightening girl

this young lady too bought one of these bad boys...jimi to be exact...she also receives our UNDYING GRATITUDE!!!

totem/valley front

totem/valley back

makin' us all jealous!

don't look close...katie green

fred caron's dog...team mascot for the day

Special thanks to Duy Thang Nguyen for this image of the St-Ambroise final piece…see the following post for more goodness.

BIG WEEKEND for the EM team as we cooked up a couple of spicy dishes in a very informal celebration of  the last days of summer!  The first, and here featured event was a casual excuse to get together and draw under the sun for the Funk N’ Jazz Festival, hosted at the Terrasse St-Ambroise. The results, through the eyes of  a few participants:

Rupert (photo: Fred Caron)

(photo: Eville)

(photo: Chris Dyer)

(photo: Chris Dyer)

The posting feels a bit incomplete without a full list of the day’s participants…my apologies to all involved…will update this post asap with full details!!

Under Pressure event…always dope!  A weekend festival of all things graf and urban culture, smack in the heart of downtown Montreal!  Featuring the work of a dozen or so EM artists.

This year  Kirsten McCrea was approached to create the graphics for UP… Kirsten is a Montreal-based artist and illustrator, as well as the founder and publisher of Papirmasse, Canada’s only broadsheet art subscription. (www.hellokirsten.com), as well as a recent EM participant.

Pushups, pull-ups, sit-ups…getting ready for a greuling day with (from left to right) Tyson Bodnarchuk, Philippe Descoteaux, Regimental Oneton (our immediate neighbor and partner in crime, working spray/stencil MAGIC), Duy Thang Nguyen.  Work began round noon, and at full speed in a thick haze of spray-can-mist, ended when the sun’s light gave out on us, at which point the sky opened up and poured fourth torrential rain!

A before shot of the site, with Raphaele Bard holding fort on the curb.

Amazing to work white on black for this event…always great effects, though we had to work around some serious architectual/textural elements to get these images lookin’ tight…nooks n’ crannies, pipes, wires, wire mesh, bird shite…the works in other words.

Dan Buller came in and dropped some phat ZARDOZ …gives me shivers, even without the puking guns…oh gosh

View with scaffold…gives nice scale to the wall…pretty big space

PICTURE TELLS A THOUSAND WORDS!

Stay tuned…the Saints come marchin’ home…a bientot!

We got a couple of great events to announce, but first, we’re proud to announce  the arrival of some serious shwag for the people!

In collaboration with Moniker Designs, and with GENEROUS  support from Blank Apparel, EM presents a couple of new screen printed designs on t-shirts, hot off the press, and ready to wear (in all sizes)!

For a measly $25, get your hands on one of these bad boys (or girls) today, in case of emergency preparedness.  SHOP HERE.

[EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS BELOW PICS...HEAD'S UP!]

'Collective' design

'Viking' design

In other news, this coming weekend (28-29 Aug 2010), the EM initiative will be doing works at two locations in Montreal.  The first event on Saturday,  is at the Saint-Ambroise Funk N’ Jazz Festival, located at the St A’s incredible brewery location along the Lachine canal (follow link for details and map).

Also come show love, buy some T’s, draw with us, or simply sit around and soak up the street fair vibes as we attend the annual St. Laurent Weekend Street Fair as part of the Blank Apparel presentation (4276, boul Saint-Laurent).  The main is closed to traffic, as the  stores and restaurants spill onto the sidewalks, and thousands of people come out for the party, people watching, and generally good times for collaborative art making.

For the second consecutive year, the EN MASSE initiative was to participate in the Osheaga Arts and Music Festival, 2010 edition.

Having commandeered a bright orange shopping cart (a la Home Depot), nearly a baker’s dozen packed up paints, inks, brushes and t-shirts (SOON to be posted!) in order to travel to 3 different highly visible festival locations.

The following pics were lovingly captured/crafted by the all seeing eye of Fred Caron…check out a larger stash of his excellent work here.

Featuring the work of:

• Raphaele Bard
• Tyson Bodnarchuk
• Jason Botkin
• Rupert Bottenberg
• Dan Buller
• Fred Casia
• Fred Caron
• Sara Guindon
• Dale Hayward
• Lea Heinrich
• Lateef Martin
• Omen
• Gene Pendon
• Peru
• Tyler Rauman
• Pascal Rodrigue

Sara Guindon priming

Peru -- EM man servant

Mr. Rauman's head

Peru and Raphaele Bard (aka soon-too-be-super-drawin'-mom!)

Dan Buller tackling Orson

Tyson B and Fred C...like peanut butter and chocolate...

Rodz and Dale Hayward...into the evening

Rupert Bottenberg...yes

it never stops...

in the immortal words of the gov'ner

All of the panels featured at the festival are now sitting in my studio, awaiting their next assignment…I’ll be posting pics of them in the next couple of weeks, as I get them formatted.  If YOU’VE got any pics of the event, please pass em’ on…we’d love to post them round the interweb.  Stay tuned!

A tight little team of a half-dozen En Massers was assembled for two late-nite sessions at the chic but friendly Petit Hôtel in Old Montreal, just a few blocks from Galerie Pangée, where En Masse was born. Operating under the rubric of “joie de vivre” and contending with a few odd and hard-to-reach corners, the team livened up the walls and ewntryway of the hotel’s charming little café.

Raphaële Bard
Tim Barnard
Rupert Bottenberg
Sara Guindon
Lea Heinrich
Tyler Rauman

Located in the heart of the historic District, it is surrounded by picturesque streets, art galleries, boutiques and cafés, and housed in a 19th century building.

drawing yoga...good for the back (or not)...an awkward space, but the impact on the space is amazing!

the coffee is good...if in the area, don't hesitate to drop in and refresh, basking in the black and white illuminations!

This beautiful little project was commissioned by Jean-Aymeri de Magistris, acting on behalf of the hotel.  Jean-Aymeri is a local creative multidisciplinary designer, marketing strategist, and blogger master-mind behind Montreal State of Mind and Arts and Design Montreal, two highly bookmarkable sites…check em out!

As promised, nearly a dozen, “hot-off-the-press” ORIGINAL EM t-shirts!!

These bad boys (and some for girls) were created at Headquarters Gallery during the production of the ‘Dice Show‘, by participant artists.

This joint EM/Moniker Designs project was made possible by a generous donation from Blank Apparel Company.

Buy one of these original, collaborative works of wearable art now at the EM shop by clicking on the MERCHlink up top!

MAY 28, 2010

Finished up the final touches on the INCREDIBLE piece at Headquarters Gallery on Friday evening, celebrating the accomplishment with a hot and sweaty party.

From Tyson’s blog…

“The Dice show will be a unique experience for the viewer and the participants as the show will literally evolve and shift throughout the month. Teaming up with local design mega-stars, Furni, the main piece consist of forty-five 2′ x 2′ panels mounted on the wall. There will be 3 evening sessions throughout May (the 6th. 13th & 20th), which everyone is invited to drop by, say hello and watch as the piece grows. At the end of each session, dice will be rolled and the results dictate the placement of the panels, mixing up the the work and morphing the overall piece into something new each week.”

We  teamed up with Blank apparel & Moniker to create a series of one of a kind t-shirts that will also be available at HQ for the coming months.  These shirts are incredible, though sadly, I’ve not yet got any good quality pictures of these to show off, yet.  Soon…I promise.

Partcicpating artists include:

Tim Barnard
Jason Botkin
Rupert Bottenberg
Tyson Bodnarchuk
Sara Guindon
Tyler Rauman
Dale Hayward
BFour
Eville
Kevin Ledo
Caro caron
d. bilos
Fred Casia
Rodz32
Mireille B. Utcher
Flexib White
Omen
Peru Dyer
Raphaele Barde

Florent Fournier

Duy Thang Nguyen

Connor Willumsen

Philippe Descôteaux

and Fred Caron

new blood...Connor Willumsen

seriously new blood...Duy Thang Nguyen

the final product...INCREDIBLE

The Montreal Pool Room, a greasy Montreal institution, is moving over for EM

MAY 28, 2010

36 artists descended upon the ‘Main’ (boulevard Saint-Laurent, entre René-Lévesque et Sainte-Catherine), armed with spray paint, brushes and ink, attacking 365 feet of boarded up facade along the west side of the street.

The EM crew was given the old Montreal Pool Room store front to work on. From a 2009 Gazette story:

“One of the most popular night spots in the 1960s and ’70s was the Montreal Pool Room, at 1200 St. Laurent, where you could score a hot dog steamé and rub shoulders with the likes of a young Leonard Cohen or Michel Tremblay.

“Reeking of patates, steamies and lost innocence, this cheap Red Light institution has hands down the best hot dogs and inhale-the-grease fries,” is how one tourist guidebook writer described the Pool Room.

In spite of the date on the door that claims a Bulgarian immigrant, Filipoff Dakov, opened the Montreal Pool Room in 1912, city archives show Dakov obtained his first licence in 1921.

His was one of three billiards rooms on the block.

The Montreal Pool Room lost much of its legendary underground allure after it was gutted by fire in 1989. When it reopened, things weren’t quite the same.”

This incredible project was realized by le Quartier des spectacles, with des Escales Improbables.

Involving the following artists :

Collectif Crazy apes crew

Chris Dyer

EN MASSE

Zilon et Seaz

La Paria
Collectif K6A crew
Zeck et Herezy
Oneton
Arpi, DKae, Fleo et Tom Sydor
Péru et Cabin

old Pool Room, boarded up and ready to paint...Rupert in the corner

raphaelle bard hard at work, despite years of residual grease…

This piece was realized by Jason Botkin, Tim Barnard, Rupert Bottenberg, Raphaele Bard, Lea Heinrich, and Pascal Rodrigue...dream team

um... yum!

PERU...regular EM participant

Frank Lam, Zema, Patrick Avive, and Astro...La Paria killin it! More EM alumni

Chris Dyer...incredible...another favorite