about that custom toyshow @ camiondepompier in montreal (oct 4th)
VINYL FRENZY HITS MONTREAL!
camiondepompier, the new specialized art toy store that opened its doors last month, is holding its first event ever in October (starting Oct 4th) - with sixteen artists from the city invited to customize BUDs and Nades, including: NVC Crew [interviewed] (together with a retrospective of NVC Crew’s works) / graffiti artists Omen and Fantom / animators Fred Caron / Rémy Larochelle / Dale Hayward / Tyson / Frenchie / Dulciane Desautels and many others! DATE: October 4th
i've had a long chat with Olivier Petitpas (organizer of this shindig and owner of campiondepompier) for quite a while now, regarding the customizing scene in Montreal, the custom show and what "campiondepompier" really means = /// CLICK TO READ
TOYSREVIL: how did the custom show come about? why did you wanna organize this?
OLIVIER PETITPAS: well, there has been no space to showcase custom toys since the demise of madamedgar, an art toy store/gallery that existed for about a year before closing its doors last year. there are some great artists and customizers in town, starting with the nvc crew, and i thought my store would be a great place to make more people discover this kind of art. montreal is a hip city as far as music goes, but toy culture has been slow to penetrate. a lot of the clients at the store are from europe (mainly france) or the states and know about the scene - there are still surprisingly few locals and many have to be told what designer toys are all about!
of course, the event will also bring some press coverage, and it can't be harmful to my one-month old store! :)
TRE: congrats on the opening as well Olivier! how is the (toy) customizing scene in Montreal? i don't really read about them much (except for NVC Crew) - is it the case of not-enough international exposure? or not enough support for local talent?
OLIVIER: i have been discovering the scene myself with this exhibition (it was part of the goal, really). nvc crew are of course famous, and so are 123klan who just moved here (and were too busy to paint something this time), but not too many people have had any sort of exposure otherwise. montreal is a city known for its graffiti artists, tattoo artists and 2d and 3d animators (pretty much all the game studios have branches here), so it was easy to recruit people who had never worked on toys and wanted to try the experience. since we've started telling people about the event, we've been contacted by tons of people who wanted to join. we might do something else in december with an international line-up this time...
OLIVIER: as far as a lack of support goes, well, there was certainly a lack of space to exhibit this sort of thing here. there are a few clothing and graffiti stores along with some galleries that carry a few kidrobot items et al., but nothing really devoted to it before we opened. we'll now see if people actually accept this as art and purchase the customized items!
TRE: seems "space" is always a bugbear (a coupla steps below "funds", actually) especially in a Singaporean-context as well, IMHO, and sometimes it may not be due to a "lack of support"-per se, but moreso the lack of awareness of their existence in the first place! IMHO (that's why i luv the www and blogs LOL) - or maybe tis an inherent trait of "artists" to not blow their own horn (so to speak) to which i insist: **there's no point to being the best in what you're doing, but no one knows you exist*** LOL ... a shout out to you for making the effort, Olivier! what can we expect from the upcoming custom toy show?
OLIVIER: free booze! erm, wait. some vinyl too. i've only seen three finished pieces up to now, two great paint jobs (by Omen and Inksecticid) and one hollowed out, electrified customization by Rupert Bottenberg ... looks promising!
TRE: looking swish thus far tho! (looking forward to more as well LOL) - tell us about "camiondepompier" - what it does, wants to do and what does the name actually mean? (language-illiterate Singaporean staring dumbfounded into the Mac-screen LOL)
OLIVIER: camiondepompier means "firetruck" in french. i've always been into irony and postmodernism i suppose, so i thought i'd use a name that sounds very traditional instead of something hip. but then irony is hip. ah well. i get a surprisingly large quantity of people coming in and asking for firetrucks though. i really, really don't know what they expect. a store filled with them?
the same concept was used for "pittoresque", the name of the library i am opening inside the store. its closest english translation is probably "picturesque", but it actually qualifies something that is both very typical and very special. geisha in japan are very "pittoresque": they're part of the culture and thus not so special, but they're also unique to japan.
what it does and wants to do isn't very complicated: offer a space for people to get their toy fix, discover what's happening in the scene, and bring world peace.
the library has a more idealistic purpose i suppose: to archive international independent pop culture. but like all idealistic endeavours, it requires money and doesn't generate much, which is why it will start small (only japanese comics in japanese and some cds) and grow slowly.
TRE: we've had this online-convo a whiles back (when i had wanted to do a serial feature on shop-spaces, but that fell thru :p) where you mentioned the very interesting concept of a "library" ... do share with us it's genesis...
OLIVIER: the library is a project I've been working on for many years... in short, I want to archive international independent production of music, comics, and graffiti, toy and design related books. especially for music, it happens too often that small labels disappear and it becomes impossible to find their catalogue. i want to at first have a physical space to archive that production and then in the future maybe offer it online. the plan is to have a comprehesive database online, in English, French and Japanese, with maybe Chinese and other languages to come. my personal background is in music, comics and film journalism (i lived seven years in Asia - HK, Taiwan, China, Japan, but not Singapore!), and since i've done a fair bit of travelling in my life, i've realized there's much that isn't being distributed outside anglo-saxon production.
TRE: exactly! far be it we rely on public libraries (no offense) for some things as "alternative" (a term which has literary become an easy excuse for "off-mainstream-consciousness-but-too-elite-to-explain", IMHO :p) as pop-culture; for indepth-reference, which most times is "legitimized" by mainstream-masses anyways, IMHO (LOL) ... besides the smattering of online toy-news and forums, there really isn't a specific archiving entity as well (blog-archives not inclusive ;p), with the fine exception of Vinyl-Creep (by Catt) - all the more pity (especially) when im struggling to source out toy-info LOL - aaah but for the wonders of the www...
OLIVIER: the internet is a good tool for that distribution, and the concept of the long tail has indeed shown that it does much good to indie production, but while production and distribution have become easier, it doesn't mean that small labels and publishers don't fade away into oblivion every single day. my long term goal is to archive their production.
i understand the cult of the new and the need to support emerging artists, believe me, but at the same time, people need to know where it all came from, or at least to be offered the chance to learn where it did come from. as it is now, artists quote artists that themselves quoted artists that etc. etc. etc. you're a journalist and film teacher yourself, i'm sure you know that the more you listen/watch/read, the less genuinely "new" you discover.
TRE: which is quite a unique-quandary (or maybe tis a 'conundrum'? but i havent figured that one out yet meself :p) as well - specifically in the content-creation arena (of any genre or culture, mind), for the LESS you listen/watch/read, the MORE "original" you THINK your idea/concept to be, unfortunately by default - which always inevitably leaves it up to the altar of plagiarism-accusations for blood-sacrifice LOL (for which i've been trying to peddle to my students, but maybe i should go at it harder :p) ... what's the current status of the "Pittoresque"?
OLIVIER PETITPAS: well, if all goes well it will open just after the exhibition. i'm in the process of covering the books, building the database, etc. it will indeed start with japanese comics in japanese language (wide selection, from weird stuff like Nekojiru to mainstream One Piece with everything in between...) and a few cds. it will grow as time and money permits...
TOYSREVIL: best of luck with that, Olivier! cheers for your time and trouble (we'll have another long-chat soon) and have a fab show in October! ya know im gonna be bugging you for event & custom pics, yeh? LOL
camiondepompier, the new specialized art toy store that opened its doors last month, is holding its first event ever in October (starting Oct 4th) - with sixteen artists from the city invited to customize BUDs and Nades, including: NVC Crew [interviewed] (together with a retrospective of NVC Crew’s works) / graffiti artists Omen and Fantom / animators Fred Caron / Rémy Larochelle / Dale Hayward / Tyson / Frenchie / Dulciane Desautels and many others! DATE: October 4th
camiondepompier
317 Ontario E. #1,
Montreal, QC, Canada, H2X 1H7
+1-514-656-8311
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5777181635
i've had a long chat with Olivier Petitpas (organizer of this shindig and owner of campiondepompier) for quite a while now, regarding the customizing scene in Montreal, the custom show and what "campiondepompier" really means = /// CLICK TO READTOYSREVIL: how did the custom show come about? why did you wanna organize this?
OLIVIER PETITPAS: well, there has been no space to showcase custom toys since the demise of madamedgar, an art toy store/gallery that existed for about a year before closing its doors last year. there are some great artists and customizers in town, starting with the nvc crew, and i thought my store would be a great place to make more people discover this kind of art. montreal is a hip city as far as music goes, but toy culture has been slow to penetrate. a lot of the clients at the store are from europe (mainly france) or the states and know about the scene - there are still surprisingly few locals and many have to be told what designer toys are all about!
of course, the event will also bring some press coverage, and it can't be harmful to my one-month old store! :)
TRE: congrats on the opening as well Olivier! how is the (toy) customizing scene in Montreal? i don't really read about them much (except for NVC Crew) - is it the case of not-enough international exposure? or not enough support for local talent?
OLIVIER: i have been discovering the scene myself with this exhibition (it was part of the goal, really). nvc crew are of course famous, and so are 123klan who just moved here (and were too busy to paint something this time), but not too many people have had any sort of exposure otherwise. montreal is a city known for its graffiti artists, tattoo artists and 2d and 3d animators (pretty much all the game studios have branches here), so it was easy to recruit people who had never worked on toys and wanted to try the experience. since we've started telling people about the event, we've been contacted by tons of people who wanted to join. we might do something else in december with an international line-up this time...
OLIVIER: as far as a lack of support goes, well, there was certainly a lack of space to exhibit this sort of thing here. there are a few clothing and graffiti stores along with some galleries that carry a few kidrobot items et al., but nothing really devoted to it before we opened. we'll now see if people actually accept this as art and purchase the customized items!
TRE: seems "space" is always a bugbear (a coupla steps below "funds", actually) especially in a Singaporean-context as well, IMHO, and sometimes it may not be due to a "lack of support"-per se, but moreso the lack of awareness of their existence in the first place! IMHO (that's why i luv the www and blogs LOL) - or maybe tis an inherent trait of "artists" to not blow their own horn (so to speak) to which i insist: **there's no point to being the best in what you're doing, but no one knows you exist*** LOL ... a shout out to you for making the effort, Olivier! what can we expect from the upcoming custom toy show?
OLIVIER: free booze! erm, wait. some vinyl too. i've only seen three finished pieces up to now, two great paint jobs (by Omen and Inksecticid) and one hollowed out, electrified customization by Rupert Bottenberg ... looks promising!
TRE: looking swish thus far tho! (looking forward to more as well LOL) - tell us about "camiondepompier" - what it does, wants to do and what does the name actually mean? (language-illiterate Singaporean staring dumbfounded into the Mac-screen LOL)
OLIVIER: camiondepompier means "firetruck" in french. i've always been into irony and postmodernism i suppose, so i thought i'd use a name that sounds very traditional instead of something hip. but then irony is hip. ah well. i get a surprisingly large quantity of people coming in and asking for firetrucks though. i really, really don't know what they expect. a store filled with them?
the same concept was used for "pittoresque", the name of the library i am opening inside the store. its closest english translation is probably "picturesque", but it actually qualifies something that is both very typical and very special. geisha in japan are very "pittoresque": they're part of the culture and thus not so special, but they're also unique to japan.
what it does and wants to do isn't very complicated: offer a space for people to get their toy fix, discover what's happening in the scene, and bring world peace.
the library has a more idealistic purpose i suppose: to archive international independent pop culture. but like all idealistic endeavours, it requires money and doesn't generate much, which is why it will start small (only japanese comics in japanese and some cds) and grow slowly.
TRE: we've had this online-convo a whiles back (when i had wanted to do a serial feature on shop-spaces, but that fell thru :p) where you mentioned the very interesting concept of a "library" ... do share with us it's genesis...
OLIVIER: the library is a project I've been working on for many years... in short, I want to archive international independent production of music, comics, and graffiti, toy and design related books. especially for music, it happens too often that small labels disappear and it becomes impossible to find their catalogue. i want to at first have a physical space to archive that production and then in the future maybe offer it online. the plan is to have a comprehesive database online, in English, French and Japanese, with maybe Chinese and other languages to come. my personal background is in music, comics and film journalism (i lived seven years in Asia - HK, Taiwan, China, Japan, but not Singapore!), and since i've done a fair bit of travelling in my life, i've realized there's much that isn't being distributed outside anglo-saxon production. TRE: exactly! far be it we rely on public libraries (no offense) for some things as "alternative" (a term which has literary become an easy excuse for "off-mainstream-consciousness-but-too-elite-to-explain", IMHO :p) as pop-culture; for indepth-reference, which most times is "legitimized" by mainstream-masses anyways, IMHO (LOL) ... besides the smattering of online toy-news and forums, there really isn't a specific archiving entity as well (blog-archives not inclusive ;p), with the fine exception of Vinyl-Creep (by Catt) - all the more pity (especially) when im struggling to source out toy-info LOL - aaah but for the wonders of the www...
OLIVIER: the internet is a good tool for that distribution, and the concept of the long tail has indeed shown that it does much good to indie production, but while production and distribution have become easier, it doesn't mean that small labels and publishers don't fade away into oblivion every single day. my long term goal is to archive their production.
i understand the cult of the new and the need to support emerging artists, believe me, but at the same time, people need to know where it all came from, or at least to be offered the chance to learn where it did come from. as it is now, artists quote artists that themselves quoted artists that etc. etc. etc. you're a journalist and film teacher yourself, i'm sure you know that the more you listen/watch/read, the less genuinely "new" you discover.
TRE: which is quite a unique-quandary (or maybe tis a 'conundrum'? but i havent figured that one out yet meself :p) as well - specifically in the content-creation arena (of any genre or culture, mind), for the LESS you listen/watch/read, the MORE "original" you THINK your idea/concept to be, unfortunately by default - which always inevitably leaves it up to the altar of plagiarism-accusations for blood-sacrifice LOL (for which i've been trying to peddle to my students, but maybe i should go at it harder :p) ... what's the current status of the "Pittoresque"?
OLIVIER PETITPAS: well, if all goes well it will open just after the exhibition. i'm in the process of covering the books, building the database, etc. it will indeed start with japanese comics in japanese language (wide selection, from weird stuff like Nekojiru to mainstream One Piece with everything in between...) and a few cds. it will grow as time and money permits...
TOYSREVIL: best of luck with that, Olivier! cheers for your time and trouble (we'll have another long-chat soon) and have a fab show in October! ya know im gonna be bugging you for event & custom pics, yeh? LOL
