shine bright, white night!

I'm an aesthete. Or so I've been told. The truth is, I'm usually only an aesthete when I'm feeling lazy. Oscar Wilde is an example of a super hard core aesthete - he thought there didn't need to be any reason at all behind art and it should be loved for no other reason than the fact that it's art. (When you boil it down, the notion is beauty for the sake of beauty.) Sometimes I agree with his stance, other times I really like relating art to life, so I see a practicality in it.

The great thing about nuit blanche is that there is art there for all types of people. Art with a purpose, like exposing issues, and art whose only purpose is to be enjoyed - however that looks.

I went downtown last night with a group of about ten friends just to see what all the fuss was about. I had heard a wide range of opinions about the night, so I wanted to see it for myself. And at first I was not impressed.

Let's begin with the fact that driving into Toronto always causes a little bit of tension, so trying to relax after finally finding a parking space was a little difficult, but we managed. Once the group had re-gathered (we'd travelled in two different cars) we set out on our adventure.

It took longer than I had expected for the evening to turn into a truly artsy one, but it did eventually. It wasn't really until we went to the distillery district that the experience began. We went into galleries, saw some live dancers, took a quick two minute dance class (and failed miserably - all of us), and discussed our various opinions about art with anyone willing to listen. I saw some really interesting stuff.

Disclaimer: the following photos were not taken by me because I, like an idiot, forgot to bring my camera. My friends didn't however. Unfortunately, they're slow to upload them on their computers so I took images from scotiabanknuitblanche.ca. I've only included pictures from the exhibits I actually saw.

Auto Lamp

Arrivals/Departures

Endgame (Coulrophobia)

1850

The best part of the night was definitely the bubble wrap part, though. We were strolling along a cobblestone road (within the dist. district) when we heard what sounded like wild yet sparse applause. The five of us (Our numbers had dropped by then) looked up to see an enormous line of people jumping and the mob was growing by the second.

"Is that bubble wrap?" Sharon asked in confusion. That caught everyone's attention, even the people within earshot of our group.

"BUBBLE WRAP!!" We all screamed as we ran towards the mob. I didn't look back, but I could see in my peripheral that I definitely wasn't alone. Tons of people were running with me, screaming about bubble wrap, anxious to get in on the fun.

And then we jumped around on bubble wrap for at least three or four minutes. There was a long, long strip of it, so everyone had a spot. I felt like a three year old again which was great. But what made it even better were all the other adults around me screaming and laughing rambunctiously like three year olds too. I love what something as simple as bubble wrap can awake in a person. That was definitely art.

After examining a few more art exhibits we decided it was time to head home. As luck would have it, just as we turned the corner to begin our 45 minute walk back to the car, the free shuttle bus (which happened to be a double decker bus) arrived at its stop by the curb so we gratefully jumped on. That was probably the second best moment of the night. You haven't really experienced a bus ride until you've driven through Toronto on the second (roofless) floor of a bus. Toronto's beautiful at night and the bus ride was icing on the cake.

"No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist."
-Oscar Wilde.

All in all, my white night was great fun and so much better than I'd hoped it to be. Every time I get an experience like that under my belt, I feel like my life has become just a little more enriched. It's a good feeling. If you didn't get a chance to go this year, I'd highly recommend trying to make it out next year. (It lasts all night, so you hardly have an excuse!)

Anyway, I have to get back to reading some books for my American Lit class... side bar: Benjamin Franklin was a pretty impressive person - I'm just starting to realize it now with this week's reading material... but that's a subject for another blog entirely... or maybe a thesis for bigger and better educational aspirations... So I'll just leave it alone for now...

Keep it real!