LEITMOTIF Artist Profiles: Lee Blalock & Cecilia Berkovic

For its fifth year participating in Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, The Parkdale Village BIA is proud to present LEITMOTIF: Experiments in Public Space, curated by Stuart Keeler. On the night of October 1, 2011, 15 enigmatic rental trucks will appear in Parkdale - each one transformed by a LEITMOTIF artist. (for more info, visit our 'what's on' page!) In addition, 5 site-specific projects grouped as “Associations” will be revealed during the 12 hour Nuit Blanche event. Each of these artist projects will be the result of integrated community collaboration. An artist project – LEITMOTIF is a platform for experimentation in urban public space. Is your interest piqued?  Here are two of our LEITMOTIF artist profiles for you to explore; stay tuned to our website to find out more about the talented individuals involved in this project! CECILIA BERKOVIC | ceciliaberkovic.com WWJMD? Made in response to Jeremy Deller's What Would Neil Young Do? poster, this work shifts the viewer's focus to another great Canadian icon, Joni Mitchell. Berkovic is a Toronto-based visual artist who uses strategies of collecting and displaying to explore aspects of feminism, consumer culture, leisure and queer identity. Not bound to a single medium, her work includes poster projects, limited edition objects, photography and installation. She is currently pursuing her MFA from The Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College in New York. LEE BLALOCK | www.leeblalock.com Render: Loop 1 is a durational performance. The artist will perform an original composition as a looping sample, played via a music box outfitted with accompanying electronics. The residual puddle of music box strips from which the melody is played will provide sculptural documentation of the performance loop. Blalock is an interdisciplinary artist and musician who uses her background in science and design to inform projects dealing with concepts of self-similarity and future history. She employs sound, electronics, digital art, choreography, and performance as her communicative media. Lee has performed at Le Flash, Atlanta; the inaugural Impact Performance Festival, Chicago; was on the sound and processing team for Jan Tichy's Project Cabrini Green in Chicago; and she performs electro-acoustic music in venues throughout Chicago.  Lee recently received her MFA from The School at the Art Institute of Chicago. ### LEITMOTIF on Facebook [Leitmotif | Scotiabank Nuit Blanche] LEITMOTIF on twitter [Leitmotif2011] Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for their support of LEITMOTIF LEITMOTIF is possible with good spirited collaborative support by Advantage Car & Truck Rentals - www.advantagecarrentals.com LEITMOTIF is also appreciative of the support we are receiving from the following community sponsors: Advantage Car & Truck Rentals, Barton Floor Coverings, Belle Optical, Brock Carpet, Capital Espresso, City of Toronto Public Library - Parkdale Branch, Common Sort, Free Radio Berkeley, Future Cinema Lab at York University, Gladstone Café, The Gladstone Hotel, Hope Neon, Ltd., Imagine8, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Mangez, Mascot Café, Misfit Studio, São Paulo Biennial Foundation, OCADU, PARC, Parkdale Village BIA, Public Butter, Queen West Antique Centre, Queen West Subscape Inc, Rhino, Shop Girls, Studio Brilliante, Toronto Public Space Initiative, The Workroom and the spirited community of Parkdale Village.