nuit blanche...

i found nuit blanche to be such a let down this year. while i think it's great that art is getting more and more people out to enjoy the city for a night, it's becoming too much. i felt there was much less art this year, and the number of people is just getting to be unbearable. anything i really wanted to see had a lineup, which is unfortunate, because we definitely didn't feel like waiting. overall, we lasted maybe 2 hours and then called it quits and went for ice cream and then a pitcher of sangria.

'i dont get it' - you heard that a lot through the night from the people in the crowds at the various installations. 

 thousands of beach balls made to be globes. each globe represented 1 million people and together represented the first and third worlds.

 getting "infected".

these people in hazmat-like suits 'indected' you with a pen that shows up in black light. they then gave you a small pen to go and 'infect' others. at midnight, everyone was to meet at a specific location to be cured. obviously, we didn't make it there, but it's a good thing because we were the idiots drawing inappropriate things on each other and they would have showed up for all to see when we were standing under giant black lights.

 the screaming booth. where one goes to release their frustrations in a crowded city.

 note: it was most definitely not sound proof like advertised!

 forest in the city. or something like that.

last stop - ice cream.

we tried, but in the end, ice cream wins over art. even if it was only 6 degrees that night.

nuit blanche...

nuit blanche was held this past weekend, which is an all-night art show held all over the city. since we didn't get back to our place from dinner at my parents until 7:50, and dylan had to leave for work at 9pm, we had very little time.we only managed to see a few things and then headed back. on friday, i decided to get off the subway after class and make a pit stop at the mall and i'm glad i did because i saw them setting up for one of the more popular installations; ai weiwei's forever bicycles. 3,144 bikes are all interconnected to make a pretty cool visual.

lots of bikes. putting on the final touches

"the rose is without why, it blooms because it blooms, it cares not for itself, asks not whether it is seen."

the lightbridge

the lights 'danced' along with the music playing.

other years we have seen far more (see here) but i've heard that this year was kind of a letdown anyways. toronto; always something going on.

all night art show..except not all night for us...

on saturday night, the rain held off for Scotiabank's Nuit Blanche. it was off and on all day and then around 6 or so, it seemed to stop, the sky cleared up and the dampness went away. it called for rain all night, but luckily, it just never came. although, it was still cold. it was like 7 or 8 degrees; i was wearing toasty socks and converse (my feet were warm at least!), jeans, sweater, jacket and gloves, and i was shivering!! ahhhh. but it was so crisp and such a perfect night. a lot of main streets were shut down and it really takes over the whole downtown core.

via

i know people who aren't familiar with toronto won't think this covers a lot, but it really does. i think they said about a million people came out last year, and i'm sure this year was the same, if not more. we headed out around 8:30pm and got home just after 12:30am. 

 first things first, dylan had to get a cheeseburger springroll..

photographs of toronto people projecting on Holt Renfrew.

 fire in yonge dundas square

 this was actually cool, he was squirting paint on the small canvas and then spinning it and letting it do its own thing

 an elephant i named 'amy' in the distillery district

a lot of pennies...people were just throwing them in

renegade parade; an illegal parade with thousands of followers blocking the streets (including the ttc we were on, grrr!)

we saw a lot of cool things, but as you can see, my camera doesn't work too well at night. the last installment we saw before going home? naked people. yep. 2 girls were  facing each other in a doorway, standing quite closely to each other, and you had to walk through them. so close each person had to go through sideways. and yes, we actually waited in line to do this. interesting to say the least. there's so much we didn't see, but we kind of just go with the flow and we didn't look at the pamphlet good enough to see all the good stuff and make sure we got there. well, there's always next year. and maybe next year we'll be able to stay out until it's over, ie sunrise..ha, ya right.

geeez louis!

school is taking over my life! i have no time for anything, except a little free time on the weekends...i came home to my parents this weekend (well last night) for the weekend *thanksgiving!!* yummmm...of course, i had to bring a whole backpack worth of texts and notebooks..sigh....damn you higher education!! haha but its all good...i suppose..

anyways, nuit blanche last saturday was OK...i mean, there was far to many people around, and we certainly didnt see enough "art", but it was fun to get out and walk around the city late at night.

blurry, but you get the idea-it was neat to see a huge slide right in the middle of the financial district..it was there, along with another ride, to simulte the 'ups and downs of the market/economy'and the other ride...us*