Adam and Dave RULE!

Adam and Dave are two friends of ours from Toronto that are hilarious comedians. They make hilarious short films that you should check out at here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Writing biographies

Through Switzerland CS, I write a ton of biographies for visual artists, musicians and companies. While I have consolidated my writing style, I still enjoy reading other biographies from time to time- it keeps me fresh and introduces me to different approaches. Anyway, I found a biography on the internet and it is the most hilarious biography I have ever read. Click on the image to enlarge the aforementioned biography. I cannot believe someone would have the guts to hand in something so absurd and offensive- bravo! Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Australian takeover of the Emporium Gallery

Well, it is still a ways off but Luke Shirlaw, Joel Birch and Elana Mullaly of Australia will be exhibiting at the Emporium Gallery later this year. They're an exceptionally talented bunch of visual artists and we cannot wait for their exhibition. Above are two hand painted skateboards that Joel (L) and Elana (R) produced for an Australian skateboard related exhibit. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Eva Michon updated her website- check it out

We have long been supporters of Eva's work. She's one of our favorite photographers. She just updated her website. You can check it out here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Ben Pobjoy's Land of America opens next week at The Emporium Gallery!

We are proud to announce that Ben Pobjoy's Land of America photo installation will show at the Emporium Gallery (3035 St. Antoine Ouest, studio #74) in Montreal from Friday, July 4th 2008 to Friday, July 11th 2008. Land of America is the outcome of Pobjoy's 7000 mile trek across America and Mexico which he did on nonstop bus rides from Montreal to Los Angeles and back in June 2007. Featuring over 150 photographs and supplemented by a memoir of the same name, Land of America is a candid examination of both bus travel and America itself.

The Land of America opening will take place on Friday, July 4th 2008 from 7PM to 11PM at the Emporium Gallery. It can also be viewed during regular gallery hours from 12PM to 6PM on Saturday, July 5th 2008 and Sunday, July 6th 2008. Land of America can be viewed thereafter until Friday, July 11th 2008 by appointment only. For more information, you can visit the Emporium Gallery website here.

The show will travel thereafter and the memoir will be available for purchase online in the coming weeks. We'll share more details when they become available.

The Emporium Gallery website updated

The Emporium Gallery website has been updated. If you live in the Montreal area or are interested in finding out about our programming, check out the website here. Thanks! Ben Pobjoy

R.I.P George Carlin

The reigning king of free speech / hilarious tirades has unfortunately passed away. Check out the video below. R.I.P George Carlin; you will be missed.

Shangri-Lost 5 is coming to the Emporium Gallery!

We're tremendously excited to announce that Shangri-Lost 5 will be opening at the Emporium Gallery next month. Shangri-Lost is a long running exhibition / bastard child of designer Jesse Harris, photographer Jimmy Limit and illustrator Shawn Kuruneru. Dark, demented and standoffish, Shangri-Lost is 5 is something you should not miss. You can check out the artist's websites below. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Jesse Haris
Jimmy Limit
Shawn Kuruneru

Agnes Thor

Well, stuff has been so busy with Switzerland CS and the Emporium Gallery that we have not been able to blog in a while; our apologies! It's been nothing but all nighter and feeling like death!

Anyway, I just wanted to promote the work of Agnes Thor. She is a Scandinavian photographer and is one of my favorite photographers- I try and plug her in every interview that I do.

Her work is unbelievably beautiful and intimate. You can see it here. Enjoy, Ben

Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III

Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III comes out next week. We've heard some of the tunes from the album and they're unbelievable. This is probably the most stacked hip hop record, producer and collaborator-wise, since The Game's 2005 album, The Documentary. I think Lil Wayne's on pace to overtake Jay-Z as the best rapper in the game. You can check out Lil Wayne's Myspace profile here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

La Blogotheque's the Take Away Shows

La Blogotheque is a French blog that posts amazing, intimate videos that they make of musicians (such as The Arcade Fire, Liars, Black Lips, etc.) playing their music mostly in Paris- in elevators, the street, stranger's bedrooms, etc. The videos are incredibly well shot and the sound is fantastic. Often quirky yet candid, the videos are always entertaining. You can check out the 'Take Away Shows' section of La Blogotheque's blog here. I'd highly recommend the Arcade Fire video! Ben Pobjoy

D-DAY is tomorrow!

Dave Arnold's D-DAY opens at The Emporium Gallery (3035 St. Antoine Ouest, studio #74) on Friday, June 6th from 7pm to 11PM. The show will also be open on Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8th from 12PM to 6PM. Private viewings will be available by appointment from Monday, June 9th to Friday, June 13th. For more information please visit the Emporium Gallery website here. You don't want to miss this! Ben Pobjoy

New Sam Roberts

We're feeling the new Sam Roberts record. It's getting some serious airplay in the office. You can check out his new music here. Ciao, Ben Pobjoy

My Little Dead Dick- R.I.P

Our friend, Pat Tsai, who exhibited at The Emporium last fall emailed us this morning to notiffy us that his 'My Little Dead Dick' photo studio which he had run with his now ex-girlfriend, Madi, is done. This is a real loss, what a bummer.

Both Patrick and Madi are talented photographers. hopefully we'll continue to see work from both of them individually in the near future. I'd link you to the MLDD website but they've pulled it down. Google 'My Little Dead Dick' and check out their fantastic, personal work. Bummer wummer, Ben Pobjoy

Yimmy's awesome blog

Shawn and I went to Australia last March to do some consultancy work. It was a fast, busy trip. Regardless we met some really great people in Australia. One of the people we met, Yimmy (pictured above), maintains an interesting blog that I often visit. Described as 'visual crack for the ocular fiend,' Yimmy's blog features a wealth of interesting images culled from the internet, many of which are produced by leading artists from around the world. There's a lot of T&A on it but I'd encourage you to visit the blog nonetheless (that's my politically correct caveat) here. Enjoy, Ben

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains

The new Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains' 7" is out and it's awesome. I tried to embed the link to an online store where you can buy it but Blogger wasn't having it. So, you'll have to cut and paste the address below into your web browser. You should get your hands on this new EP, Ben Pobjoy

http://www.outside-music.com/store/product.php?productid=16219&cat=313&page=1