Black Tie 2 Bondage V
as it appeared in The Ottawa Xpress, September 6th, 2001
article written by Alia Kellock Heward
Please see the easy to read text version below.
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press clipping for Black Tie 2 Bondage V as it appeared in The Ottawa Xpress, September 6th, 2001 article written by Alia Kellock Heward Please see the easy to read text version below. |
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| LIFT
OFF BLACK TIE 2 BONDAGE & BLAST TAKE THE CAPITAL BY STORM Black Tie 2 Bondage promises to be a blast. SAW Gallery's fifth annual fashion fundraiser extravaganza ignites at Barrymore's Music Hall this Friday. And BLAST is not just a play on words; it's an annual performance art conference that brings nearly 30 of Canada's top performance artists, plus curators, critics and other arts professionals to the capital. The conference and some performances take place at SAW and Gallery 101 this weekend. As for B2B "There's no particular theme this year," reports SAW administrative co-ordinator and emcee Laura Margita. Since it's being held in conjunction with BLAST, the performance aspect is really being hyped. SAW received several responses from artists and designers this year. As was the case last year, there are about 40 participants, not including models and performance artists. Black Tie has caught on like wild fire over the years and the phone has been ringing off the hook with designers begging to get involved to help out the artist run centre. Some of the more fascinating creations to hit the runway this year are outfits made of recycled wheelchair parts by Kerry Campbell and Mike Caffrey. "My partner Michael (Caffrey) and I use materials that other people have deemed useless," explains Campbell. You'll flip your lid over Candy Bondage by Sky Monkey - foam based headgear made to look like cartoon characters. Marie Pierre Kroetsch will have everyone hooked on her crocheted body ornaments. Even publicist Genny Landreville has made her mark with Dry Clean Only and Dr. Darcy's fashion brainchild is all about pubic hair. Christel Young's ideas on fashion have taken root with Seeds: A Reconstructed Collection. "My collection, Seeds, is clothing with conscience," says Young. She describes her clothing as simple and basic with lots of room for interpretation: "Old and boring is given an original personality." Last year's very sexy event raised about $9,000 and, of course, they hope to match or beat that this year. It has sold out in the past and should do so this time out. Advance ticket sales are off and running. "The level of entertainment is worth $50. You wouldn't see this kind of event anywhere else," Margita iinsists. "We have a really loyal crowd," she enthuses. "The same people come back and each time they bring more friends." Se is also quick to sing the praises of all the volunteers who come aboard for this blowout. To go hand in hand with BLAST, performance artists like Karen Bernard from New York and Karen Guttman of Le Groupe Dance Lab will be on hand at Black Tie. Bernard's subject matter deals with femininity and humour, Margita explains: "She's often thinking about women's bodies in a fashion show setting." Guttman will hit the stage with her dance piece entitled "Wobbling Woman." While the conference portion of BLAST lasts just this weekend, the performance portion goes until Sept. 28. "Since their very beginnings, both SAW and 101 have been strong advocates of action and time-based art," states a gallery press release. For 20 years, these two artist-run centres have presented the most interesting, experimental and individual performance acts in front of local enthusiastic audinces. All events, except for B2B, are free. Gallery president Jason St-Laurent and his twin brother Stefan have a first-time collaboration up their sleeve for BLAST. "I don't want to blow it; let's just say the performance is based on our identities and, by the end of the piece, we'll be radically different," he hints. See for yourself Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at SAW Gallery. The St-Laurent twins will also take their turns on the catwalk at B2B - Jason with his Damaged Goods USA, comprising mangled American flags; Stefan with white spherical stilettos under the moniker Globetrotters. Maureen Chaume of Wet Dreams Theatre Company will work a little old-time magic and both drag kings and queens will reign supreme. "There's not just one body type walking down the runway in one particular way," says Jason St-Laurent. "It's diverse people from Ottawa and the rest of Canada putting on a real show and really stretching the normal confines of fashion." The organizers really want to put forth the message that performance art is a living, breathing entity in Ottawa. "(B2B) is going to be a huge spectacle of 'fantasticness' ... all the fantasticness that we can muster up," Margita and Landreville chime in laughing. |
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