Declan Rankin Jardin - Drumming in the clouds

Declan Rankin Jardin is a drummer in Montreal. I caught up with him at a café in Saint-Henri and asked him about his life in music.

What's the first musical instrument you remember playing?

Piano

What are the instruments you prefer to play now?

Drums. I can't get music out any better way!

What kind of music do you like to play?

Hip hop, because of the stories

What's the role of the drummer in a group?

The drummer is the pulse. He keeps the pace. But it also depends on the song. In hip hop, the drummer is the canvas. But in jazz the drummer is the background, adding texture and effects. The best part of drumming is when you can sing and drum.

What's the place of music in the world?

Music is the clouds of the world. It's everywhere but it's hard to reach.

Who are the musicians you like to perform with?

Alex McLean on keyboards and Étienne Lapierre on saxophone

Where do you get gigs?

At Maisons de la culture, art openings, the Mount Stephen Club before it closed

Who are the musicians you like to listen to?

The Roots, 88 Gigs Worth, J Dilla, Nate Dogg, Michael Jackson

What are your musical projects for 2012?

I'm going to start a hip hop festival with Alex McLean. You can check us out at Art Mouvement.

Fear & paranoia - Sarah

Fear and paranoia diminish our presence in the world until we're almost invisible to others. My model for this image was Sarah, my sister-in-law's niece. I photographed her in the alley behind the Grande bibliothèque in Montreal while she was taking a short break from the student demonstrations against the tuition increase proposed by the Charest government.

Fear & paranoia - Maud

Our fears and paranoias can distance us from the world and make us less distinct in the eyes of others. My model for this ghostly vision was Maud, a member of my extended family. I took the photograph outside the Schulich School of Music at McGil University in Montreal.

Dominique Prigent - Friend

It's been a long time since I took casual portraits of friends and family. So I decided to pick up my camera and ask my friends and family to pose for me.

This portrait is of my friend Dominique Prigent, who lives in Montreal. After spending the morning with my cousin Nori Bortoluzzi making decisions about the renovations at my home in Mile End, Dominique and I had lunch at Cagibi, on the corner of St. Laurent Boulevard and St. Viateur Street. I took Dominique's portrait using the natural light coming through a big plate glass window.

Carved in stone - Shoreham Cemetery

I was in Vermont this weekend to attend a performance of Big Love by Charles Mee. The play was performed by students at Middlebury College and directed by my friend Cláudio Medeiros.

While I was in Vermont I stayed with my friends DeeDee and Paige at their home in Shoreham. On Sunday morning I visited the village cemetery and admired the beauty of the engraved headstones.

Searchlights - Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

As part of its Québec Triennial, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal commissioned artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer to create a light show outside the museum at the Places des festivals, part of Montreal's new Quartier des spectacles. The show is called Intersection articulée: Architecture relationnelle 18.

Lozano-Hemmer has installed nine searchlights on the roofs of the museum and neighboring buildings. The searchlights randomly shine beams of light into the night sky. The artist has also placed nine other searchlights at ground level. These searchlights can be manipulated by members of the public.

The searchlights operate Sunday to Wednesday from 7:30 to 11:00 PM and Thursday to Saturday from 7:30 PM to midnight at the Place des festivals. The show continues until November 6, 2011.

Fear & paranoia - Mike

Our insecurities are sometimes so strong that they color the way we see the world and the way others see us. For this vision of fear and paranoia my model was my friend Mike. I took the photograph at his home on St. Dominique Srtreet in Montreal.

SMCQ - Ana Sokolović

I took this photograph one night earlier this fall on Ontario Street in Montreal. It's a detail of a poster for the SMCQ, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec. The poster is a portrait of Ana Sokolović, the composer whose work is being highlighted by the SMCQ throughout their 2011-2012 season.

My photograph "Musical yarn" is in the current group show "Red Dot" at Ça décoiffe, a barber shop run by Daniel Haché on Papineau Avenue. You can see my photograph and the work of other Montreal photographers at Ça décoiffe until November 7, 2011.

Ça décoiffe is located at 4526 Papineau Avenue, just above Mont Royal Avenue. Business hours are Monday (9:00-6:00), Thursday (9:00-6:00), Friday (12:00-8:00), Saturday (9:00-4:00) and Sunday (10:00-5:00).

Drop in and take a look!

Fear & paranoia - Shane

We're all fearful at times. Sometimes we're even paranoid. Here's my vision of fear and paranoia as seen in the face of a single person. My friend Shane was my model in a doorway on Ste. Catherine Street in downtown Montreal.

Clouds over Commensal

View slideshow

I needed a quite place to correct my students' compostions earlier this week, so I went to the Commensal on St. Denis Street in Montreal and sat on the terrace behind the restaurant. When I glanced up at the sky I noticed that the clouds were constantly changing.

So for the next two hours I photographed the clouds in between corrections, always aiming my camera at the same area of the sky. The photographs in this series show the transition from bright afternoon sun to the artificial light of the city at night.

Maison symphonique - Inaugural concert

Earlier this week the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal inaugurated Montreal's new concert hall, the Maison symphonique. Conductor Kent Nagano led the orchestra in four pieces, including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The German composer's masterpiece was broadcast to the public outside the hall, with images of the performance projected onto the façade of the building.

While I was waiting for the broadcast to begin, I walked through the Quartier des spectacles and observed the neighborhood that surrounds the new concert hall.

2Fik as Abdel at St. Joseph's Oratory

View slideshow

This is the second in my series of 2Fik descending a staircase. 2Fik is an interdisciplinary artist who explores issues of identiy, culture and sexual orientation through visual media and performance art. Click here to see my series of 2Fik descending a staircase at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

On September 1, 2011, I photographed 2Fik descending a staircase at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal. 2Fik appears in the persona of Abdel, a Moroccan-Canadian property manager for whom Islam is more a social identity than a religion.

St. Joseph's Oratory was founded by Brother André, a devout member of the Congregation of Holy Cross who was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

To see all my images of 2Fik as Abdel descending a staircase, click on "View slideshow" above.

The roof kisses the sky

My photograph "Stone wall and clouds" is in the current group show "Architecture" at Ça décoiffe, a barber shop run by Daniel Haché on Papineau Avenue. I took the photograph in March on St. Denis Street in Montreal. The show at Ça décoiffe continues until September 11, 2011.

Ça décoiffe is located at 4526 Papineau Avenue, just above Mont Royal Avenue.

Business hours at Ça decoiffe are: Monday (9:00-6:00), Thursday (9:00-6:00), Friday (12:00-8:00), Saturday (9:00-4:00) and Sunday (10:00-5:00).

You can see my photograph and the work of other Montreal photographers in the show. Drop in and take a look!

Jean-Paul Gaultier - On the catwalk in Montreal

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is currently exhibiting the work of French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. Gaultier's imagination is limitless and the show is very accessible. I spent an afternoon photographing the show a couple of weeks ago. If you like fashion, design and the visual arts, make sure to see the exhibition. It continues until October 2, 2011.

Clinton Glenn - New perceptions of the world

Clinton Glenn is a Montreal photographer. I took his portrait on Park Avenue in Mile End and asked him about his work as an artist.

What was the first picture you took when you got your first pro camera?

A panoramic view of downtown Montreal from the 12th floor of an apartment building at the corner of Milton and University Streets.

What do you like about the medium of photography?

It trains the way I look at things. I look at the world more closely now and see things I had never noticed before. Photography has changed my perception of the world.

What's the photo series you're most satisfied with?

A series I took in Stockholm in April 2009. I stayed at a hostel and roamed the streets for four days photographing everything I saw. When I look at the series now it brings back all the sensations I felt in Stockholm.

What equipment do you use?

I use a Nikon D300 with a 50mm f1.8 lens. I'd like to get a 20mm f1.8 or 35mm f1.8 lens.

What photographer do you admire the most?

Rut Luxemburg. She's a professor at the Royal College of Art in London. She mostly does urban photography. 

What other media do you seek inspiration from?

Painting

You'll be the curator of Gallery X at Concordia University in 2011-2012. What do you hope to focus on?

I hope to put together different media that you don't usually think of as going together.

What social media do you use to promote your work?

I don't use any social media at the moment because I'm concerned about issues of ownership and copyright. You can see some of my earlier photographs at Flickr.

Chris Meecham - Whimsical graphic design

Chris Meecham is a Scottish graphic designer who lives in Montreal, Canada. I caught up with him in July to take his portrait and learn more about his work.

When did you develop your interest in graphic design?

My parents always pushed me into graphic design because I used to draw a lot when I was a kid. But I resisted for a long time. I finally got serious when I designed the cover for a CD for a band and discovered I actually liked doing it.

What's the project you've done that you're happiest with?

I designed the posters and tickets for the theater production of The Breakfast Club directed by Karen Firth in Montreal.

What other fields of visual arts do you work in?

Photography and drawing

Is there a style of graphic design you particularly admire?

Bauhaus

What are you working on at the moment?

I'm experimenting with whimsical posters of common objects like cheese, beer and eggs.

What social media do you use to promote your work?

Facebook. I'm also planning to set up an Etsy store.

Yoshinori Tagashira - Inspiration all around

Yoshinori Tagashira is a photographer in Hiroshima, Japan. I took his portrait in June near his home in the Koi neighborhood. I later asked him about his work in an email exchange.

What was the first photograph you ever took?

I can't remember because it's so far back. I was only three years old!

What are your preferred cameras?

 Currently my favorite camera is the Leica CL. It's a "compact" Leica.

What's your most recent project?

I had a photo exhibition last year.

What other media do you look to for inspiration?

I look to everything for inspiration: fashion mags, favorite photographers' books, going to the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art, drinking with my friends. There are tips everywhere, I believe.

Who are some of your favorite photographers?

Robert Mapplethorpe, Ansel Adams, Takashi Homma, Rinko Kawauchi, Orie Ichihashi, Gregory Colbert and more!

What's your next project?

I'm going to produce a new set of postcards!

What social media do you use for your photography?

I use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In the future I want to use Flicker.

Mariko Ono - Creating joy

Mariko Ono is a visual artist in Hiroshima, Japan. I met up with her in June at her home in the Honkawa district and asked her some questions about her career.

What was the first piece of artwork you made?

A line drawing in kindergarten

When did you decide to become an artist?

I saw Salvador Dalí on TV one day and I wanted to be like him. I was looking for a way not to work in an office.I saw Dalí talking on TV and I thought, "That's the job for me!" I was 13 or 14 years old at the time.

How does the public influence your artwork?

I don't want to make my artwork difficult. I don't want to make it for artists. I just want it to be clear and easy for people to understand. I want them to feel joy when they see my work.

What are your favorite media?

Oil, because it's expressive. And watercolor, because it's sensitive.

Who's an artist you particularly admire?

The American artist Wayne Thiebaud

What project are you working on at the moment?

I'm painting human figures again.

Where can people see your work?

Artkapsel

Fountain - Hiroshima Central Park

When the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, many of the injured called out for water. Some people were able to struggle to the banks of the Ota River and other sources of water, while others called out helplessly from where they lay. In almost all cases, water was insufficient for the needs of the severely injured and most succumbed to their terrible wounds.

While I was visiting friends in Hiroshima in June, I photographed a large fountain in the city's Central Park. The fountain's constant flow of water made me think of the many people who so desperately sought solace in a handful of water 66 years ago.

Hiroshima overexposed - Hijiyama to Aioi Bridge

While I was in Hiroshima in June I spent a morning walking from Hijiyama Park to the Aioi Bridge, a distance of about 2 km. The neighborhoods I walked through were destroyed by the atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Many of the people who were living in the area died in the moments following the explosion.

As I walked from Hijiyama Park to the Aioi Bridge, which was used as the target for the bomb, I photographed people I passed in the street. By overexposing each image, I imagined the people caught in their various activities at the precise moment of an atomic flash.

Sixty-six years later, the nuclear threat is still with us. The threat will only be lifted when we achieve full nuclear disarmament.