CATHERINE PRÉFONTAINE / EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE / POSTILLONS - INTEMPÉRIES DU LANGUAGE

CATHERINE PRÉFONTAINE
16.01 — 02.03 / 2013

Opening reception : Wednesday, January 16, 2013

17h

Spraying saliva is the inclement weather of language” – Jules Renard

Catherine Préfontaine creates visual schemas of non-visual natural phenomena. Through the implied filter of the body as barrier and receptacle she plumbs the entire human body as it runs up against the world‚ a sensory overflow.

Préfontaine proceeds by scraping, perforating and recovering walls. Improvisation is her preferred strategy for exploring corporeal memories and physical and emotional states. For the past year she has repeatedly created holes in the walls of her studio. The groups of holes that have emerged through this process made her think of sprays of saliva (postillons) and the holes in the dial of old telephones.

In preparation for this exhibition at Sporobole, she photographed and created multiple transparencies of them. In the gallery, she exhibits them alongside drawings. The resulting constellations circumscribe and punctuate the room like a body shot through with holes.

The installation Postillons/Intempéries du langage shows the artist engaging through the practice of drawing with an in situ work. The space is treated like a recording of sensorial perceptions. The installation may be seen as an amplified field of the tormented clamour of a deafened world.

C.P., K.T.

The artist thanks Karen Trask and Myriam Yates.

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Sporobole invites you to Catherine Préfontaine’s artist presentation on Saturday, March 2 from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.

Catherine Préfontaine is interested in visually schematizing phenomena of a non-visual nature. It is through the implied filter of the body as a barrier and as a receptacle that the integrity of the human being is probed as he or she encounters the sensory invasions of the world.

The artist proceeds by actions on the surface of the walls that she scratches, perforates and covers. Improvisation is privileged as a strategy to explore body memories, physical and emotional states. For the past year, she has been repeatedly drilling holes in the walls of her studio. The sets of holes that have emerged from this process make her think of sputtering, as well as the holes in old telephone handsets.

Catherine Préfontaine’s presentation will be followed by a visit to the research laboratories of the Groupe de Recherche en Acoustique de l’Université de Sherbrooke (GAUS) with André Berry.

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NOISE POLLUTION / Presentation & 5 to 7

Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 4pm

Noise pollution presentation by Alain Berry, Co-Chair of the NSERC Industrial Research Chair (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) in acoustics applied to aviation and Professor at the Université de Sherbrooke.

Followed by a 5 to 7 with Eastern Bloc, a production and exhibition centre dedicated to the promotion of new media and interdisciplinary arts (Mtl).

Free entrance

The presentation will focus on noise pollution, and will address sound as a physical and perceived object. Some examples of recent research in noise reduction will be presented.

Alain Berry is a titular professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Sherbrooke University. He is a member of the GAUS (Groupe d’Acoustique de l’Université de Sherbrooke) and currently holds an NSERC Industrial Chair in Aviation Acoustics.

His research areas are vibro-acoustics, active noise and vibration control, sound field reproduction and acoustic imaging. He currently collaborates with several companies in the aerospace and automotive sectors on environmental acoustics and internal acoustic comfort issues.

Link to the GAUS

 

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Visit of Sherbrooke University Acoustics Group laboratories at 3:00 p. m.

Following the conference on noise pollution given in Sporobole by researcher Alain Berry, professor of mechanical engineering at Sherbrooke University, the laboratories of the Groupe d’Acoustique de l’Université de Sherbrooke (GAUS) exceptionally open their doors to us to present their research and installations.

Visitors will be able to discover and experience the possibly quietest space in Sherbrooke: the anechoic chamber of the GAUS. This unique acoustic space is both isolated from the noises of the outside world by tons of materials and isolated from itself since the interior surfaces prohibit any sound reflection: it is echo-free. It is, in principle, a free, neutral and silent acoustic environment. This type of laboratory space has had a remarkable influence on John Cage and his understanding of sound and music. An experience to live.

Free admission: Limited number of places: Please book at: programmation@sporobole.com Please book by next Wednesday, the address of the laboratories will then be communicated to you.

This visit is part of our peripheral activities *
Note that the last day of Catherine Préfontaine’s indoor exhibition will be Saturday, March 2 (instead of Sunday, March 3).

* Peripheral activities respond to our desire to break down the barriers between artistic practice and contact with the immediate community through a transdisciplinary approach. A theme from the work presented in the room is extracted and discussed in the form of conferences, round tables or other types of activities bringing together researchers and speakers from various disciplines.

 

Photos: Jocelyn Riendeau