Steve Topping

Rimouski Aero-Glisseur/ Reflector

2011-01-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

Here is project I did in Rimouski through a residency at Caravanserail. Great town, wonderful people who are obsessed with ice, ice fishing and le banquise (ocean ice sheet) that forms every year. Le banquise acts as an extension of the public space of the city of Rimoiski. The ice sheet is moving up and down with the tide, sometimes by 4-5m so one must know what one is doing or at least listen to someone who does.

I made a machine that casts blocks of ice with one convex parabolic surface. The curve is accurately made by slowly spinning the form while the blocks freeze. Inter-cooled air from a blower lifts the form with 50kilos of water and helps the freezing process and aids in the formation of clear ice. Excess pressure from the blower is released by jets on the end of the form for the slow, even spin.

Once formed, the blocks can be stacked to create a low or a tall wall which can be used to reflect one's voice to another "transmitter" and to another person.

Thank you to:

leaf blower

2009-10-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures from the latest show here in Montreal's Art Pop; a part of Pop Montreal music festival.

I have been trying to harmonize my building practice with my artwork lately so when curators Kit Malo & Julien Ceccaldi first approached me about the show my response was to work in relation to what the show needed. I proposed I work with them and the artists to plan, layout and divide for the exhibition. The purpose was to resolve spacial and acoustic issues with the time line/ budget at the same time to use sculptural materials that could be reused when the show was done.

It went so smoothly I thought it necessary to plan another semi-functional sculpture in the form of work tables and seating. However the need was there to make it movable so I set out to resolve a longstanding peeve of mine: How to build large mobile furniture without wheels.

No wheels since the furniture moves when you don't want it to just as much as when you do.... unless you build in costly and laborious mechanisms to lock or retract them.

So I tried out the old hover trick and I am satisfied that it has not yet run out of uses. Each bench has an electric leaf blower or a vacuum machine blower and a rubber gasket and can float several people plus it's own weight.

Thanks to Jhave Johnson for the video.

Here are some images of the divisions we made.

Hot Seat

2009-02-25T19:38:00.001-08:00

Member show about food called "artartar."

My thing was this thermostat controlled heating device that challenged the prevailing wisdom with regards to efficiency and light bulbs during the winter by turning the exhibition into a Betty Crocker oven. 60x100watts makes a 6000w hot seat.

Substitute

2008-11-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

A1C has only one window in the gallery space. One of the two pane spaces in the window was covered with plywood so I decided to use the space for a glass sculpture. The window was at knee level on the side walk outside but on the ceiling in the gallery. The window was illuminated for most of the day and the light was intended to be blocked by passers-by. Thanks especially to Dave Hopley of Living Planet for donating most of the glass and St. Micheal's print shop for filling the remaining 3" at the end with scratched up old palates.

"Substitute" at A1C, StJohn's Nfld. A1C is a new Artist run initiative that spawned from the RCA at LSPU hall.

spYder at the Cinémathèque Québécois

2007-04-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here is my recent construction on show at the Cinematheque until April 30th.

The Great SpYder Steeple Chase, Super-8 Race

The armature for this exposition is designed to illuminate, provide power to each viewer’s motor and house all commissioned super-8 films.

It allows people of different heights to view them while keeping the scale of the armature as compact as possible. But importantly this structure is logical creation and it’s aesthetic is intended to read as such. It is also built to function as a kind of spectacle for exposition but the spectacle I hope remains firmly on the ground.

Steve

There were a great number of people who helped me out ......

Keith Pattington (electronics design and fabrication)

Anni Lawrence and Anni Lawrence Catering

Sergio Kirby

Kate Lawrence

Pierre Giroux

Janis Tiefenbach

Joakim Jasenovic

Jon Claude Bieschke

Wright Daniel

Quartier Éphémerè/ Foundry Darling

Main Film

Cinémathèque Québécois

Flatlander the film

2007-04-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

For the winter of 2005-6 I spent a total of two months up in the region of Labelle, Quebec. Boreal art/nature invited me to do an artist residency in the cabin on a few hundred acres of conserved forest. I produced these still images and shot a 16mm experimental film called Flatlander.

CV

2007-04-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

Steve Topping lives in Montreal and St.John's.

Solo Exhibitions

2007, Mar 07-Apr29 "Capsule Memoir" , Cinematheque Quebecois
An exhibition of 28 super-8 film-loops (30sec) in a machine of my creation.
http://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/affiche/expositions_en_cours.html

2006, Jan15-Mar 23 "Flatlander", Boreal Art Nature, Labelle, QC
Reflective thumbtacks were placed level in trees to turn the concept of
a contour line into a walking trail. The trail and tack markers were then filmed at
night to create a 16mm film (also called Flatlander): part of my residency at Boreal.

2005, Feb15-Mar 15 "Les Domes de Glaces", Lachine Cannal, Montreal
Construction of domes of ice 6mx 2.5m high as public pavilions.
The formwork was an inflated structure with custom automated misting/ defrost/ inflation system.
Coll. w/ Ana Rewakowicz. Co-produced and with Quartier Ephemere

2004, June 18-20 "SpliceThis!", International Super-8 Film Festival,
Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, ON
Featured artist, photo exposition, video installation, film

2003, May 1-29 "Box Expo" Gallerie Skol, Montreal QC
Continuously rotating Super-8 projector with film loop

2001, Feb 8-Mar 9 "Upstairs", Solo Exhibition gallery, 787 Queen St. West, Toronto, ON
Site-specific projection installation, including the "Stair House" film-loop

2000, Sept 03-31 "Rain Paintings", Rogue space, Eastern Edge Gallery, St John's Nfld.
Five paintings made in St.John's using rain and found (vernacular) materials

Group Exhibitions

2002, Oct 6-Mar 30 "Against Time" Armando Museum, Amersfoort, Netherlands
Reading Canada Backwards film

2002, Sept 13-Dec 7 "The Dwelling", Optica, 372 St-Catherine West, Montreal, QC
Installation of the loop projector w/ film and photos

2002, Winter "Heavy Weather Paintings", Gallery 303, Montreal, QC
Snow-crafted reflectors for the human voice, w/ Group of N

2001, Oct 2-Jan 20 "The Infinite Between" Confederation Art Centre, Charlottetown, PEI
and Mar 15-Apr 14 "The Infinite Between", Gallery 44, Toronto, ON
Reading Canada Backwards film.

1993 - 1998 "Symbiosis Collective", co-founder (w/ Micheal Alstad)
Site-specific exhibitions:
1998, June-November "The Hoarding Project" (9 artists)
Festival hall construction hoarding, Toronto, ON
1997, October "The Bank" (33 artists)
The Ontario Hydro building, Toronto, ON
*All Installation work

Interventions

2000, Mar/April "The Anti-Loft Symposium", Toronto, ON
Symposium on post studio practice organized by Marie-Paul Macdonald and Ken Hayes.
Interventions included was my Anti-loft living space in Montreal

1997-98, June "U-Haul Film Festival", Toronto, ON
U-haul truck w/ screen inset in the back door. Back projected S-8 films stopping at
different neighbourhoods/ communities.
Collaboration. w/ Eric Aurandt

1997, Nov-April "Snow Shack", Cartier, ON
The Snow Shack was constructed as a winter shelter on "Crown land"
near Cartier, Northern Ontario. It used only radiant heat and foil insulation.

Film Festivals

2004 "Splice This!" Toronto International S-8 Film Festival, Toronto, ON, Featured artist,
Reading Canada Backwards, Box Expo, photos
2002 Anti-Matter Film Festival World Tour, Victoria, BC, Reading Canada Backwards
2001+02 Blinding Light Film Festival, Vancouver, BC, Reading Canada Backwards
"Splice This!" Toronto International S-8 Film Festival, Toronto, ON,
Stair House
2000 Anthology Film Archive, New York, N.Y. (16mm),
Reading Canada Backwards
1999 Bandits-Mages, Bourges, France, Reading Canada Backwards
1998 Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Montreal, QC (16mm),
Reading Canada Backwards
"Splice This!" Toronto International S-8 Film Festival, Toronto, ON
U-Haul Film Festival
1997 Vancouver International Film Festival, Vancouver, BC,
Reading Canada Backwards, Premiere of 16mm version

Publications

2006 Fuse Magazine Vol. 29, pgs 24-35 (Collective Dab)
2005 Unboxed: Engagements in public space, Gallery 101, Ottawa, ON
ISBN 1-896183-13-1
2005 Super Super 8, Experimental Works for Educational Environments
DVD special edition published by Canadian Filmmaker's Distribution Center
(up-coming) LaDemeure, Optica, Montreal, QC
2002-2003 Skol (centre des arts actuel) 2002 - 2003
"On Box Expo" - Daniel Hall
"La Piece Cinetique" - Caroline Martel,
"224 Words/Minute" - Marie-Paul Macdonald
2000 Transportable Environments, Marie-Paul Macdonald, "Wearable Environments"
ISBN 0 419 24250 3

Articles

2003 On-Site, #10, "The Reality of an Inflated Utopia"
2003 On-Site, #10, Marie-Paul Macdonald, "Romantic Nomads"
2003, May Montreal Mirror, Christine Redfern
2000 Mix Magazine Vol.26 No.2 Fall Vince Tinguely "Interview w/ Anti-Loft artist"
2000 Anti-Loft Symposium, online publication, Michelle Marek, www.anti-loft.org

Artist Presentations

2004, Jan. Concordia University, Montreal, QC
2003, May Skol, Montreal, QC
2002, Oct. Optica, Montreal, QC
2002, Oct. Armando museum, Amerhestfort, Netherlands
2000, Mar The Anti-Loft Symposium, Toronto, ON
1997, June L' Hopital Ephemere, Paris, France

Other affiliations

Collective Dab A collective of architects and artists who practice urban planning jamming
to influence development interests toward more radical and creative solutions.
http://collectifdab.ca/#

Articule Artist run centre, Montreal, QC
Boreal Art/ Nature Artist run centre, L'Assomption, QC
Eastern Edge Artist run centre, St-John's, NL