1. SID LEE
COLLECTIVE
The Sid Lee creative incubator and its projects
- 1 -
NOM DE LA SECTION

2. SID LEE
COLLECTIVE
The Sid Lee creative incubator and its projects. / Another SID LEE fanzine
SID LEE COLLECTIVE - 4
ALVARO PÉREZ DEL SOLAR - 12
SID’S KITCHEN - 16
SCHLOF - 18
GLOBOLOGOS - 20
MARS ET AVRIL - 26
BLACKBOARDS - 30
SIT! BY SID - 36
SID [LOVES] TURBO - 38
SECRET SOCIETIES - 40
SUCC - 44
SID LEE AND MUTEK - 50
MONTREAL: UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN - 54
NEXT, PLEASE! - 61
CREDITS - 62
NOM DE LA SECTION
- 2 -

3. NOM DE LA SECTION NOM DE LA SECTION
- 4 - - 5 -

4. SID LEE COLLECTIVE SID LEE COLLECTIVE
- 6 - - 7 -

5. Think of Sid Lee Collective as an incubator As the term “collective” suggests, accepted
that allows our team to push the boundaries of projects can draw in designers and creative
creativity even further, by initiating cultural directors from the wide range of staff at Sid
and commercial projects in the fields of the Lee, to push the idea to the finish line and give
visual arts, industrial design, music, publishing it exposure. Sid Lee’s infrastructure allows these
and more. The predecessor of this incubator was ideas to materialize amid the company’s daily
an in-house project called After Hours, through activities—a win-win situation for everyone!
which employees could submit personal projects Sid Lee Collective also owns and operates
to a committee and, if accepted, receive a bursary. a Creatvity Emporium in Amsterdam. Open
to the public, the space caters to creative minds
with its store, gallery and café/bar.
SID LEE COLLECTIVE SID LEE COLLECTIVE
- 8 - - 9 -

6. Since the beginning of the initiative, two paths
have gradually come to intersect at Sid Lee
Collective. One is artistic, allowing the creators
to pursue their flights of fancy through
publications, installations and exhibitions
throughout Montreal and on to New York City,
Amsterdam and farther still.
The other path, which has grown stronger
in the last year, is commercial. It includes the
development of furniture, kitchenware and
T-shirts, for starters, which will find their way
to the shelves of the new Sid Lee Collective
boutique in Amsterdam. The purpose of this
busy activity is to ultimately give birth to a
distinct Sid Lee Collective brand, versatile
enough to incorporate fashion and furnishings,
music and videos.
SID LEE COLLECTIVE SID LEE COLLECTIVE
- 10 - - 11 -

7. Art
whILE
YOU waIT
Alvaro Pérez del Solar
AT SID LEE COLLECTIVE GALLERY
Even a short wait in the reception area of most
businesses can be a trying experience. It’s hard
to relieve tedium with magazines that seem as
though they were purposefully written to be as
boring as possible, and only a botanist can stare at
a potted fern for longer than a few seconds.
This isn’t the case at Sid Lee’s Montreal head­
quarters. Along the wall of the hallway facing
the reception desk is what’s called the Sid Lee
Collective Gallery, and its rotating exhibitions by
artists from inside and outside Sid Lee would put
many a full­scale art gallery to shame.
The notorious Roadsworth, a clandestine
Canadian street artist whose clever, guerrilla­style
alterations of public spaces—walls, sidewalks,
civil structures—are in the tradition of the U.K.’s
celebrated Banksy, had his works on display at the
Sid Lee Collective Gallery.
More recently, it’s the paintings of Alvaro
Pérez del Solar, an art director at Sid Lee, that
have filled the walls. Hailing from Lima, Peru,
Montreal­based Pérez del Solar draws on the
folk art and magic realism of his Latino roots
and weaves that together with a very current and
global graffiti sensibility, and a knack for lively,
vivid compositions. His works will also hang at
the Sid Lee Collective gallery in Amsterdam in
November 2008.
“My work explores the dark side of the human
experience with a characteristically surreal sense
of humour,” says Pérez del Solar, “creating worlds
that are often disturbing—but delightfully so.
Body parts are sliced off with childlike abandon,
vibrant colours fly in the face of mortality, and
terror, never tamed, is unbridled to the point of
something resembling joy.”
The title of Pérez del Solar’s exhibition at
Sid Lee Collective Gallery is Lindas Pesadillas.
“The name translates to ‘pretty nightmares,’” he
explains. “The work, therefore, represents that
constant juxtaposition of beauty and terror, joy
and hideousness. ‘O death, where is thy sting?’ In
my exhibition, death is far more likely to ask you
to dance.”
COMPLEXGEOMETRIES
NOM DE LA SECTION ALVARO PÉREZ DEL SOLAR
- 12 - - 13 -

8. ALVARO PÉREZ DEL SOLAR ALVARO PÉREZ DEL SOLAR
- 14 - - 15 -

9. the concept
THE SID LEE COLLECTIVE SCOOTER
Hugely popular amongst scooter aficionados,
the MP3 is an engineering marvel.
Design­wise, it could use a little help.
What if a gang of creatives had their way
with it?
This project is the fruit of a collaboration
between Sid Lee Collective, the R&D
department, and the über­creative Sid Lee
team. Hand in hand, a group of artisans
from our Montreal office set out to reinvent
the MP3.
The end product: Cyclop.
MARS ET AVRIL MARS ET AVRIL
- 16 - - 17 -

10. MARS ET AVRIL MARS ET AVRIL
- 18 - - 19 -

11. Food for Thought,
ThOUGhTS
FOR
FOOD
Marie-Elaine Benoit
ON SID’S KITCHEN
Perhaps you remember those special bowls and “We brainstormed about everything we could
dishes from your childhood, the ones your mom put on them, and settled on quotes, illustrated
used to dupe you into eating unwelcome dinner quotes on nutrition and food.”
choices. Maybe they had a clown or a bunny rab­ Benoit, a native of Granby, Quebec, who’s
bit printed at the bottom—eat all the pureed been with Sid Lee since 2002, isn’t the type to
squash and you’ll see the bunny! A dirty trick, leave the type plain. “When I was young, I was
but an effective one, time and time again. always drawing typefaces and logos in my note­
Hopefully you’re enjoying your dinners books for school.”
more today, but it’s still fun to find a surprise That explains why the dishes use handcraf­
hidden underneath. In the case of the Sid’s ted typefaces and graphics, playfully knitted
Kitchen line of tableware, you’ll uncover a little together. “The quotes were chosen for being
food for thought. visually inspirational, for telling a story about
“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it food or digestion. The idea at first was to invite
to food,” says one piece, borrowing a bon mot a lot of illustrators to draw the different quotes
from old­time American comedian W.C. Fields, and collections, but finally we only did two
renowned for his fondness for alcohol. different collections.”
Other pieces quote celebrated American Benoit herself handles one group, using a
writers like Mark Twain (“Part of the secret to subtle grey­on­grey scheme, while the other, more
success in life is to eat what you like and let the colourful line was crafted by Valerie Picard.
food fight it out inside”) and Ambrose Bierce “The dishes are made in Portugal, good
(“Good to eat and wholesome to digest, as a porcelain—high­class dishes,” says Benoit.
worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a “They’re dishes you can use every day, but on
pig, a pig to a man, a man to a worm”). special days too.”
“We decided to design a collection of The final test came when Benoit dined off
dishes—plates, bowls, coffee cups,” says the dishes herself. “I tried it,” she says, “and I
Sid Lee’s Marie­Élaine Benoit, a key player liked it!”
in the creation of the Sid’s Kitchen lines.
SID’S KITCHEN SID’S KITCHEN
- 20 - - 21 -

12. Pillow
Talk
Eva V den Bulcke’s
an
SCHLOF
“You could even have people who are politicallY opposed and put
them in the same bed, because we’re equal in our sleep.”
It’s perhaps unsurprising that an art project Straddling her subjects, Van Den Bulcke would
on the theme of sleep should have sprung from snap a few shots before her subjects opened their
a bout of insomnia, from which Eva Van Den eyes—in some cases, it was their first meeting.
Bulcke suffered several years ago. “Whenever I While pondering possible presentations of her
was sleeping with friends or boyfriends or whate­ portraits—oversize prints on blankets, hung ver­
ver, I would always watch them because I couldn’t tically, perhaps—Van Den Bulcke ran a few tests
sleep,” says Belgian­born Van Den Bulcke, who’s on pillowcases. The bulkiness gave the images an
been with the Sid Lee team for a decade and a artificial depth—“a trompe l’oeil effect”—and she
partner for three. realized she’d found her medium.
“I envied them because they could sleep, “It’s not like art that you only see in a gal­
but on the other hand, it was interesting to look lery. It becomes an object you can play with, an
at them without them knowing. They had no everyday object. The funny part is the part I like,
expressions. I thought that was kind of pure, I felt because art can be too serious.”
I could see them as they really were for once.” The series of pillowcase portraits was chris­
A photographer since her early teens (“by 13, tened Schlof, and a store­window exhibition on
I had my own darkroom and spent all my time Boulevard St­Laurent in Montreal spun out into
in there,” she recalls), Van Den Bulcke recogni­ on­the­spot commissions. While the industrial
zed what inherently fascinating, honest and coo­ turnover and faked sleep of her subjects were
perative subjects sleeping people might be. She hardly ideal, she’s proud of the funds she raised
gradually established a pattern for portrait shots, for Dans La Rue, a Montreal organization for
many of which were of complete strangers—an homeless youth. Installations in New York City
etiquette for an intimate, even invasive process. and Quebec City followed.
“They would know I was coming several days Van Den Bulcke hasn’t put Schlof to bed quite
before, I would have a key or they would leave their yet. The idea of taking the process abroad appeals
door unlocked. I would arrive when the sun was to her. “You could even have people who are
rising, go into their room very quietly, open the politically opposed and put them in the same bed,
curtains to have natural lighting, and then—well, because we’re equal in our sleep.”
some people sleep very deeply and others are very
anxious in their sleep, they wake up very easily.”
SCHLOF SCHLOF
- 22 - - 23 -

13. Website of
OUTTa-SIGhT
INSIGhTS
Jacques Languirand and Kristian Manchester
ON GLOBOLOGOS.COM
GLOBOLOGOS GLOBOLOGOS
- 24 - - 25 -

14. “Interesting, useful and amusing— the Expo 67 World Fair in Montreal. Among that target demographic, 13 years and I did about eight years of
in any order.” That’s what renowned Since 1971, Languirand has hos­ Languirand attracted the attention of purely Web stuff,” says Manchester.
Montrealer Jacques Languirand requi­ ted his radio show, Par 4 chemins, on the Sid Lee team’s Kristian Manchester, “I saw all kinds of experimental sites
res each of his many creative efforts Radio­Canada. Formerly a nightly fix­ who proposed a highly interactive web­ that unfortunately were often based on
to be, whether on stage, on air, on film, ture on French­language radio, it’s now site drawing based on Languirand’s cool graphics, nice visuals, and a small
on paper or now, in the case of the a weekly, four­hour Sunday broadcast. writings, themes and ideas. idea—no substance. So the goal was to
globologos.com website on which he Supplemented with musical moments, “I liked their approach, I found it grab good substance and make a nice,
collaborated with Sid Lee, online. it’s an unhurried hike through a lands­ very interesting, and I was flattered,” experiential site which had that candy­
Reclining amid the lush greenery cape of ideas, from the social to the recalls Languirand. “It would be a good coated approach where you want to dive
on the rooftop patio of his Westmount ecological and on to the spiritual. Par 4 way to reach young people. I left [the in and have what Jacques calls an ‘ini­
home/archive/studio, Languirand is too chemins has such a firm following that Sid Lee team] complete liberty. They tiatory voyage,’ where you get lost and
humble when he calls himself “a jack­ it’s earned, yes, a Guinness record for were the ones who chose the themes. learn stuff.
of­all­trades, master of none.” the longest­running show by one host For me, it was very stimulating and “We want to trick the consumer.
This playwright, professor, essayist, on one station. helpful, leading me to be more rigorous People see it and say, wow, that’s just
broadcaster, actor and explorer of ideas, “It’s become something—not a with my show—I said to myself, if these a great Flash site, but all of a sudden,
is a recipient of the Order of Canada. phenomenon, but something a bit out of people need this information, I have to they’re confronted with these thought­
He took to radio at 18 while “in exile” in the ordinary,” muses Languirand. “The work hard on it. provoking texts.
Paris in 1949, and since then has made idea is to be useful and agreeable. I use “I don’t intervene much in the “Nobody would ever hear of this
his mark as a maverick intellect across the show as a platform to pass along lots concepts they bring out. I react, but project seeing the light of day, as there’s
the spectrum of print, broadcast and per­ and lots of information. I have many I don’t interfere, because it’s their no economic value or purpose, no payoff
formance media in Quebec and Canada, older listeners, of my generation, but my concept, their project.” other than just giving content back to
among other things with his projects at target is really the young people.” “I’ve been in communications for the Web. That’s why I’m so happy about
GLOBOLOGOS GLOBOLOGOS
- 26 - - 27 -

15. Sid Lee Collective having the vision to the condensation of the texts.” were submitted for most themes, exam­ All the local directors and a couple of
back me up on this.” “Of course we’re not covering the ples being the fascinating subculture artists got together—it was very organic
The initial challenge was distil­ subjects entirely,” says Languirand, “but photos of Louis­Thomas Pelletier’s hila­ and fresh. We’d like to have it be part
ling Languirand’s wide­ranging and the major things are there, and they can rious short film for “Self­Indulgence” and of a couple of different festivals. We’re
expansive ideas to their essence, and be useful—tools to think!” Julien Vallée’s confounding, delightful trying to export this little group and
dividing them into a series of themes “And all the hyperlinks are there,” animated clip for “Insanity.” see how other, international artists can
of human experience, each defined by adds Manchester, referring to the “fur­ Some themes, however, offer only graft themselves to it. It’s one of those
a single word—Action, Hope, Chronos, ther reading” links each theme includes. a “submit artwork” link, and it’s there things where you’ve planted it, you hope
Adaptation, Consumption, Destiny and The next step was a structure that that the real purpose of globologos.com it grows and adds up, and we’re already
14 more. made exploring the themes fun. That becomes clear. It’s not their website, it’s seeing that.
The name “Globologos” means “a quite literally evolved from the idea, theirs and yours and everyone’s. “I don’t want to give the impression
world of ideas and meaning,” and the relating of each topic to a cute micro­ “We kind of want it to be another that we have all the knowledge, that we
meaning of each word is taken very organism, creating a playful cartoon form of Wikipedia,” says Manchester, know about everything,” says Languirand.
seriously. “A lot of people just grab landscape of neat characters represen­ “where people can contribute to the the­ “We know about some things here and
a word, take the first level of meaning ting the themes. The critters and their mes, send artwork and new links, and there, but please, if you have something to
and use that to sell something,” says world were crafted by Spanish artist/ build up this community­based thing. say, say it. Express yourself!”
Manchester. designer Martin Allais, and an evocative What we need now is a way to commu­
Not so with Globologos. “Each yet unobtrusive soundscape was added nicate that, to get it out in the open.”
word could have a 10­page document at­ by Simon Williams. A good start in that respect are
tached, but we wanted it to be concise, The completed realm of Globolo­ public, in­the­flesh events. “We created
for the Web format. That was a challen­ gos wasn’t the final product, but really this evening at the SAT (Societé des
ge for Jean­François Alain, who did all just the beginning. Interesting artworks Arts Technologiques, in Montreal).
GLOBOLOGOS GLOBOLOGOS
- 28 - - 29 -

16. The two volumes of the Mars et Avril Jacob Obus, an aging musician beloved
books written—and, one is tempted to for his romantic tunes but, paradoxi­
add, directed—by Montrealer Martin cally, a man who has never known the
Villeneuve seem scientifically enginee­ love of a woman.
red to create headaches for librarians In addition, Villeneuve netted ac­
and bookstores. On which shelf does tress Marie­Josée Croze (who’d appea­
one rack a hybrid, a chimera, a clever red in Atom Egoyan’s Ararat and
Lives on
mingling of theatrical script, comic Spielberg’s Munich) and actor/musician
MaRS
book, romantic photo­novel, philoso­ Paul Ahmarani, the star of Philippe
phical treatise, graphic design exercise Falardeau’s 2000 film La Moitié gauche
and science fiction novel about the du frigo. The second Mars et Avril book,
conquest of Mars? À la poursuite du fantasme (released in
“At first, to be frank, I didn’t know 2006 alongside a new edition of the
what medium would best serve the first volume) upped the ante with the
story that I was writing,” says Villeneu­ inclusion of no less than Robert Lepage,
Martin Villeneuve’s
MARS ET AVRIL
ve, who was barely out of his teens internationally renowned for his
when, almost a decade ago, the seeds groundbreaking theatre work.
of the first Mars et Avril book, ultima­ While he wasn’t worried about
tely launched in 2002, were sown. A inflated egos, Villeneuve did recognize
student of both cinema and graphic the creative potency of his participants
design, he sought something in as something he couldn’t simply ignore
between—and beyond. or suppress.
“Once I wrote a first draft,” Ville­ “I tried to stay open to the indivi­
neuve says, “I asked myself, okay, is it duals I was working with, as much as
going to be a comic book, a film, a no­ possible, because these people are uni­
vel? At one point, I said, man, it could verses in themselves. They’re strong
be a combination of all those. The per­ personalities, and I played with that in
fect medium would be a book, because the writing.”
with books, you can control your ele­ “The best gift someone can give
ments in a creative way without dealing you is their time,” Villeneuve conti­
with a big machine, as with cinema or nues, “so that time must be well used.
theatre. Just as a practical fact, as a When Robert Lepage came in, he was
20­year­old, I wasn’t able to aim for in transit between London and Singa­
such things.” pore, so he spent a ‘white night’ with
Which isn’t to say that Villeneuve us—a nuit blanche. He didn’t sleep for
didn’t aim high, almost absurdly so, in 32 hours or so because of the project.
selecting the talent he’d work with. Ra­ He’s used to that kind of schedule.
ther than round up a few college friends From what I’ve heard, he’s not the kind
as his “actors,” he sought out several ge­ of guy who sleeps a lot, but at the same
nuine cultural icons of Quebec. time, what kind of generosity drives
“I had Jacques Languirand in mind these people to give up their time?
as the main character, and I was naïve That really touches me.”
enough to approach him,” Villeneuve The actors weren’t the only angels
says. Intrigued, the noted broadcaster on Villeneuve’s shoulder. A crisis less
and thinker accepted the lead role of than 24 hours before his photo shoot
MARS ET AVRIL MARS ET AVRIL
- 30 - - 31 -

17. with his actors—a one­time opportu­ He wouldn’t have to, not with a
nity—nearly doomed Mars et Avril in new publisher, Montreal’s La Pastèque,
its infancy. in his corner. “They keep things simple
“It was the day after the Prix Jutras and elegant, and make editorial choices
[Quebec film industry awards], and that are very strong. You have a book
Croze and Ahmarani had both from La Pastèque in your hands, you
won awards. I was looking at the TV, know it’s from La Pastèque.”
thinking, man, are these people even La Pastèque’s Martin Brault and
going to show up? I was staring to freak Frédéric Gauthier—the latter now
out. Then I got a call from the photo­ the director of Sid Lee Collective—
grapher. He said, ‘I won’t be there could provide the production quality
tomorrow. I won’t make a fool of Villeneuve sought, but not the funding.
myself in front of two people who just That’s where Sid Lee stepped in.
won the Jutras.’ Villeneuve had been an art director
Luckily, an old friend was at with the firm since 2002, and now hin­
Villeneuve’s place, and suggested her ted he might have to leave to pursue
ex­boyfriend Yanick Macdonald, who Mars et Avril. Rather than see him out
Villeneuve had never met. They left the door, though, Sid Lee agreed to
a message and he set to calling two fund the project through the firm’s
dozen other potential photographers. After Hours grants (the predecessor to
No dice. “The whole thing was hanging the Sid Lee Collective).
by a spider’s thread. I was literally Sid Lee’s Roxana Zegan (whose Sit!
crying. Suddenly, around midnight, the series is profiled elsewhere in this
phone rings.” magazine) was tasked with the graphic
It was Macdonald, who inciden­ design, and Macdonald returned to
tally had just been told by his girlfriend outdo himself in the photo department.
that he was soon to be a father. He gave “When Robert Lepage read the
Villeneuve just five minutes to pitch text for the second book, he asked me
the project—and was sold. if I’d ever thought about making a mo­
“It came as a surprise,” says Villeneuve, vie of it,” says Villeneuve, but the truth
“how positively it was received. I was was, he hadn’t. However, he was soon
overwhelmed. We didn’t have that talked into the idea. Once funding for
many copies going around, but it got the scripting stage was secured, there
good reviews. People were generally was no going back.
enthusiastic about it.” Shooting begins in earnest in the
Enthusiastic enough to prod spring of 2009, but pre­production is
Villeneuve toward a second book. The already well underway. Despite the
first had an open ending, but Villeneuve scope of the undertaking, Villeneuve
hadn’t considered a continuation, and isn’t letting it go to his head. “We’re
certainly not under the same circums­ going to make it in a handcrafted, inde­
tances. “It wasn’t a small student project pendent way,” he says, “just like the
anymore. I’d invested so much money books were.”
and energy of my own in the five years
it took to make the first one, I didn’t
see myself doing it alone again.”
MARS ET AVRIL MARS ET AVRIL
- 32 - - 33 -

18. “A lot of boards for a short amount of
time.” That’s how Grogore Kibishi of
Paris­based art group ShoboShobo
summarizes the experience of par­
ticipating in Sid Lee Collective’s
ongoing Blackboard project. Shobo­
Shobo’s collective style, a raw and
rather childlike aesthetic packed
with energy and off­the­cuff ideas,
is well suited to the task that Sid Lee
Collective has laid before them.
A number of wall spaces in Sid
Lee’s Montreal headquarters, some as
ChaLK
high as two floors, have been painted
with special black chalkboard paint,
and international artists are brought
& in for a week or so to fill them. Their
improvised efforts remain for a few
awE
months, then are erased to free the
walls up for the next artists.
Hailing from Seattle, WA, and
based in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
illustrator Nate Williams is the one
who inaugurated the blackboards
Nate Williams with his drawings, playful figures and
Team Macho forms that draw on classic ’50s and
’60s kiddie­books and album art. He
ShoboShobo says the experience was “very strange
ON BLACKBOARD
and very cool.
“At first I thought it was strange
that they would fly me halfway across
the world to draw on chalkboards,
but once I was there, I realized that
it wasn’t just about drawing on chalk­
boards. It was about sharing pers­
pectives and motivating each other
creatively—creating a memorable
experience for everyone involved.”
Lauchie Reid, of the Toronto,
Canada, collective Team Macho, may
not have flown as far but was still ini­
tially dazed by the idea, calling it “a
NOM DE LA SECTION NOM DE LA SECTION
- 34 - - 35 -

19. bit surreal” and “a bit hard to wrap
our heads around.”
Any doubts were soon dispelled.
“Our reception at Sid Lee was no­
thing short of amazing,” says Reid.
The Sid Lee offices themselves were
inspiring, he recalls. “It was kind of
like Tom Hanks’ apartment in Big.
Remember? Well, like that, but with
a couple hundred people working
really hard on strange and wonderful
things. Everyone was lovely and gene­
rous, and very helpful with tips regar­
ding hot dogs.”
“Working in chalk wasn’t so stran­
ge,” recalls Williams. “What was less
common for me was working in such
a huge scale, having people watch me
while I worked, drinking a beer on a
ladder, looking at an aerial view of an
agency’s work environment and liste­
ning to people speaking French.”
Reid, for his part, notes that while
certainly familiar from the school
days of their youth, chalk wasn’t
exactly a frequently used medium for
him and his Macho teammates.
“We were actually really scared,
because, as our working style dictates,
we can’t really sketch out ideas befo­
rehand. So we were going in blind,
with no certain ideas and tools that
we had no idea how we would use. It
ended up being an incredibly infor­
mative process. I think a lot of new
approaches and forgotten old ones
showed up and got figured out in a
way that may not have been possible
on a smaller, less chalky scale.”
Kibishi, meanwhile, found that
one very mundane aspect of the
materials stuck with him. “Chalk
NOM DE LA SECTION NOM DE LA SECTION
- 36 - - 37 -

20. creates chalk dust,” he says, “which
makes you sneeze.”
Most recently, the blackboards
were turned over to Spain’s Martin
Allais, who created the graphics for
the globologos.com website (also pro­
filed in this publication). His drawings
will also eventually be erased, but fear
not, Sid Lee Collective is overcoming
the ephemeral nature of the project
by assembling a beautifully presented
Blackboard book.
For the artists, the best Black­
board memories couldn’t be captured
by cameras. Williams rattles off a
list: “Meeting the people of Sid Lee,
seeing other people’s creative envi­
ronment, being in Montreal, listening
to French, trying new foods.”
Reid says that each of the Team
Macho members participating pro­
bably has a different take on what
made their visit so worthwhile. “I
think a common thread would be the
complete freedom, interest and sup­
port of everyone at Sid Lee. No ideas
needed approval, there was room for
a lot of creative spontaneity and no
subject was out­of­bounds. And it was
great meeting a lot of the characters
working at Sid Lee and getting to in­
clude references to our interactions
with them.
“Also, we really appreciated the
opportunity to travel to Montreal for
professional reasons. It’s nice every
once in a while to escape your context
and do what you do in a different place.
Especially a different place with such
good hot dogs.”
NOM DE LA SECTION NOM DE LA SECTION
- 38 - - 39 -

21. “this is reallY fun because i’d alwaYs dreamed of having
Seat
mY undies exposed in a gallerY in new York citY!”
“Some people were offended, some just a new couch for the bistro, where we always
found it funny, some found it inspiring,” lounge, sit around and take our little breaks.
CONCEITS
Roxana Zegan recalls of the debut of the Sit! The first draft was just one big, white couch,
by Sid furniture line that she designed, at and the only thing written on it was, ‘Get
the CITE Gallery during the ICFF (Inter­ your ass back to work.’
national Contemporary Furniture Fair) in “Starting from that point, I thought,
New York City. “It’s boring when stuff is there are so many funny expressions, such an
plain,” she continues, but as the reactions interesting vocabulary revolving around the
Roxana Zegan’s she mentioned can attest, the backless theme of the ass. Some are insults, some are
SIT! BY SID
settees of Sit! had people sitting up and just funny, but there’s a whole universe of ex­
taking note. pression and cultural presentations—there
“It was my first attempt at a furniture must be something to do with that. So it’s a
series,” says Zegan. Born in Romania to an bit of an encyclopedia of everything around
Italian­Russian mom and a German­Polish that subject.”
pop, she’s been a Montrealer since age 13 Other pieces take a similar approach to
and an art director at Sid Lee for four the idea of the chair (“One of the most
years now. iconic objects in design—everybody has an
“I’ve always had a very sarcastic and interpretation or a drawing or an idea about
witty sense of humour,” she says, which the chair, and this is mine”). Others still
explains her penchant for clever contrasts appear to be stained. “They’re playing with
and juxtaposition. the idea of having these really white spots,
“Taking this furniture that’s very clean, these sterile environments, and coming with
nice and geometric, and printing something these big drips of colour. It’s about putting a
on it that’s completely funny and outra­ smile on people’s faces and having them
geous. There’s a tendency in design, this interact with the furniture.
over­pure, over­designed, over­simplified “The other little series that I really
stuff. I’m against it. I’m making fun of mi­ had fun doing was about the lost object. It’s
nimalism.” basically cushions that are white on the out­
And a lot more besides—or maybe side, but when you turn them around, it’s a
behinds? The most immediately attention­ collection of the usual objects that you’d lose
grabbing Sit! pieces are covered in references in your couch—your keys, your remote
to the human posterior, something that control, your undies.
sprang to life when Sid Lee’s Montreal head­ “This is really fun because I’d always
quarters were being whipped into shape. dreamed of having my undies exposed in a
“The first mandate that I had was to design gallery in New York City!”
SIT! BY SID SIT! BY SID
- 40 - - 41 -

22. Sound
DECISIONS
Turbo Recordings’ Thomas Sontag
ON SID [LOVES] TURBO
“It’s a small, independent, mainly we do, and they haven’t interfered in
electronic record label,” says Thomas any way with the musical selections.”
Sontag of Montreal’s Turbo Recor­ On the other hand, Sid Lee
dings, co­founded a decade ago by his Collective offered Turbo a chance
brother, the globetrotting star DJ/ to pursue projects that would break
producer Tiga, and Mark Dillon, away a bit from its distinctively stark
who’s now with Montreal’s Neon party and minimal design aesthetic esta­
crew. “We’re very independent­min­ blished by the label’s original gra­
ded and I’d say pretty idiosyncratic in phic designer, Benno Russell (who
our tastes.” went on to craft the unmistakable
Turbo’s got good taste, how­ branding for American Apparel).
ever idiosyncratic. Since establishing The Sid [LOVES] Turbo link led
themselves with the Montreal Mix to a compilation CD, a Valentine’s
Sessions discs, Turbo and its offshoots party/photo exhibition with Paris ar­
Fabergé and White Leather have tist Sweetlight, a video for Tiga and,
pushed the witty electro­cool of Tiga, most importantly, the podcasts found
synth­funk revisionists Chromeo, at sidlovesturbo.com. Programmed
upscale house producer Fred Every­ and hosted by different talents from
thing, Swedish tech­house titan Jes­ Turbo and its extensive spread of
per Dahlback and French Touch icon like­minded friends, the podcasts are
Philippe Zdar—among many others, graced by eye­popping visuals indica­
mostly in the vinyl format. ting the number of each episode,
“We don’t really stick to one for­ created by the Sid Lee Collective.
mula,” Sontag continues, “which can Each episode now tallies thousands
often be a disadvantage. It’s difficult of downloads.
to rack it and identify what it is. But “As soon as I was on board at
I’m proud of that diversity and eclec­ Turbo, I suggested that we do a pod­
ticism, and it’s nice to work in an cast together,” Sontag says. “Anytime
environment where the only pressure there’s anyone who’ll push you to dif­
is self­imposed, and the decisions are ferent crowds that you wouldn’t
all our own.” otherwise reach, especially in the
As 2007 rolled around, Sid Lee, realm of advertising and marketing,
recognizing Turbo’s sky­high stan­ it’s a very helpful association.”
dards of quality and relevance, rea­ A helpful hook­up, and a durable
ched out to the label. On one hand, one. “The audience is growing,” says
the hook­up would offer an audio Sontag, “and we’ve reached that cri­
reflection of Sid Lee’s sensibility. tical mass where we have a nice
“I think it’s ultimately much archive and a good roster of artists
more interesting for them to be doing who’ve done podcasts. We want it to
something a little risky, something grow—where it goes from here, I
truly edgy,” Sontag observes, “and not can’t really speculate on, but I have
just stuffing another Buddha Bar no doubt that we’ll be doing more
down people’s throats. I respect that projects in the future.”
move on their part. They value what
SID [LOVES] TURBO NOM[LOVES] TURBO
SID DE LA SECTION
- 42 - - 43 -

23. Parallel
universes
Jean-François Bouchard’s
SECRET SOCIETIES
There’s an immediately diso­ I could see people doing high fi­
rienting quality to the photos in ves—I thought of that as a tribe.
Jean­François Bouchard’s series “I started going to strange
and exhibition Secret Societies. events, and noticed that over
On the one hand, there’s an in­ and over again. Once, I went to
tense and vivid realism to them— Las Vegas, to a porn convention,
even more so when presented and I realized that some people
vastly oversized, their subjects there—not people from the in­
life­size or larger. dustry, but consumers, fans,
On the other hand, the images however you call them—actually
couldn’t possibly be real, could knew each other and would plan
they? These figures, whose ap­ their holidays to visit these
pearance, garb and behaviour conventions. They formed a tribe,
seem utterly outlandish, like albeit a very peculiar one.”
some strange cinematic hybrid The medievalists, fetishists,
of B­movie cool, operatic fantasy porn and tattoo aficionados
and softcore sleaze, come to life Bouchard captures on film
and run amok. constitute extended tribes. So
The inhabitants of Secret Societies do the pilgrims to events like
are real enough. Bouchard has Burning Man in the Nevada de­
been among them, and who sert, or Mexico’s Day of the
knows, some of them might live Dead. “Of course there are locals
right next door to you. that do this,” says Bouchard,
“Nowadays, because of how “but also people from all over the
communications and transporta­ world who keep coming back.”
tion technology have evolved, They’re just not tribes in
people can get together to share the traditional anthropological
very peculiar interests,” Bouchard, sense, dictated by blood, faith
the president of Sid Lee, obser­ or patches of land. They trans­
ves. He’s long been intrigued by cend boundaries of race, lan­
gatherings of diverse crowds for guage, creed and class. And they
reasons that might seem bizarre, are growing.
even shocking to the general Which isn’t to say their doors
public—and their potential for are wide open. Bouchard called
an intrepid photographer. the series “Secret Societies” for a
It was at a tattoo convention reason. “Some of these groups are
that the true picture became quite easy to penetrate. Others
clear to Bouchard. “I realized are quite opaque. They’re hard to
people had traveled from all over get access to with a camera.”
the world to gather for this thing. Some of these “tribesper­
Some of them knew each other, sons” are escaping the burdens
but from two ends of the world. of their ordinary lives, and har­
SECRET SOCIETIES NOM DE LA SECTION
- 44 - - 45 -

24. “i immersed mYself in
those groups, and i felt
the viewers had to
immerse themselves too.”
dly want the outside world realize that a secret, or parallel,
intruding on their sacred turf. world exists.”
Others, conversely, are exposing In February, 2008, Bouchard
their true selves to the world. presented his work at Montreal’s
Such exhibitionism isn’t always noted Fonderie Darling gallery,
in Bouchard’s favour. “You try a spacious converted foundry.
to photograph people in their “The whole place was transfor­
natural state, and all they’re med. It was quite beautiful. Eve­
doing is trying to show off for rything had been thought of,
the camera.” the musical soundtrack and all,
The bottom line is that trust to set the mood.”
has to be earned, and that means Most importantly, the photos
insinuating yourself into the themselves were towering over­
community. No, Bouchard didn’t sized prints, inescapable in their
get full sleeves of ink to put the scope. “I immersed myself in
tattoo fans at ease, but… those groups, and I felt the
“Sometimes it’s pretty close viewers had to immerse them­
to that,” he says. “The medieva­ selves too.”
list people—if you don’t dress The closing night fell on
like them, they don’t admit you Saturday, February 28—the date
to the site. I had no choice. You of the Montreal High Lights
have to walk the walk. If you Festival’s Nuit Blanche all­nigh­
don’t, people don’t respect you. ter across Montreal. The show
You’re a tourist, and they don’t had two­block line­ups until
want to be photographed.” dawn crept near. “My idea was
A fan of classic photojourna­ to make it even more mysterious
lism, Bouchard was adamant by having people visit the exhi­
about sticking to black and white. bition in the dark, with red flas­
“In that sense, my work is old hlights.”
school,” he says, “but the subject, Taking the exhibit to galle­
and how I approach it, is more ries in Europe is just the begin­
progressive. Colours would dis­ ning of Bouchard’s plans for
tract from what I want to show.” Secret Societies. He has some inte­
Bouchard also intentionally resting ideas about presenta­
avoids explaining the specific tion—they’ll remain for now,
whos, whats and wheres of his appropriately enough, secret.
pictures, amplifying the enig­ And there are certainly more
matic nature of the images, strange groups to investigate.
which can be seen online at Bouchard says, “I don’t think
www.societessecretes.ca. “When I’m ever going to photograph
you look at them as a whole, you anything but this.”
NOM DE LA SECTION SECRET SOCIETIES
- 46 - - 47 -

25. Fleeting
SEaTING
THE SLIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE CHAIR COLLECTION
by Louis-Thomas Pelletier and Gabrielle Saint-Pierre
SUCC SUCC
- 48 - - 49 -

26. waLLET FaCTOR SUGaR FIX GOTTaGO SPaCE INVaDER ROCKOCO TaLKING hEaD
“The seat is angled right to “There’s one leg shorter than “The back of the chair is at a bad “It basically invades your “It’s like a rocking chair but in “It’s very, very low so there’s
left, so if you carry your wallet the other ones, so you can fix it angle, so you’re always on your private space—you don’t want the inverse way. It’s fun because only your head at the table.”
in your back pocket, it will with a few packets of sugar.” toes, as if you’re about to leave. a chair to go there.” it doesn’t stay. You have to put - Louis-Thomas
equalize you. You’ll be stable. - Gabrielle The perfect excuse—you’re - Louis-Thomas it up to use it, and then you have
Your comfort depends on the already in a position to go, so it to keep it stable. Just looking at
thickness of your wallet.” helps you make the move.” it down on the floor, you know
- Louis-Thomas - Louis-Thomas it won’t be comfortable.”
- Gabrielle
SUCC SUCC
- 50 - - 51 -

27. “Meetings are too long,” “I remember when I was would be very funny,” recalls between the two (other than The SUCC was unveiled at in the fall of 2008, and in Milan
says Louis­Thomas Pelletier, a kid, there was a rumour—I Pelletier, “but then when we that they’re both uncomfortable). the 2008 SIDIM (Salon Interna­ next year. Could the SUCC,
a Rimouski­born Montrealer don’t know if it was true—that met with the people at Sid Lee We wanted the chairs in the col­ tional du Design d’Intérieur de with the discomfort dialed
who’s worked with Sid Lee at McDonalds, the benches Collective, they insisted—and lection to look mostly the same, Montréal) to surprisingly posi­ down a touch, become com­
for eight years, handling such were made so that you wouldn’t it made sense—that they also but with slight differences.” tive reactions. “We had some in­ monplace? “I think they’ll re­
contracts as Loto­Québec and spend too much time there.” be something very artful, some­ “They’re nice alone,” conclu­ terest, people pointing at them main as uncomfortable as they
Societé des Alcools du Québec. From that thought came thing that would be worthy of des Saint­Pierre, “but nicer with and laughing,” Pelletier recalls. are right now,” says Pelletier. “I
“I became a creative direc­ the idea for the Slightly Uncom- design magazines. Not only this their family.” “Some guy said to me, ‘Man, I don’t think we’ll compromise on
tor a few years ago and I realized fortable Chair Collection. “It’s an weird idea, but something for­ The trick was generating smoke pot and have long hair, that. But I can see corporations
that increasingly, I was spending evolution of that, but with an mally beautiful.” mild irritation, not outright tor­ but you’re crazy!’ Some people buying some for their conferen­
a lot of time in meetings. Even­ artistic twist.” “We had a choice for the ture. “I like the fact that some­ asked to buy them, perhaps in ce rooms and boardrooms—to
tually, I thought, we should find Pelletier’s idea was convin­ design,” says Saint­Pierre, “to go times the discomfort is physical, different colours, and how much make a point, a reminder to their
a way to make them shorter. We cing enough that his superiors more aesthetic or more concep­ like with the Rococo, rocking they were, and we didn’t know employees. There is a potential
waste a lot of time in meetings. at Sid Lee suggested he bring tual. We chose to go conceptual, side to side,” says Pelletier, “and what to answer yet.” market for it, a niche market—
That’s obvious to anyone who’s it to fruition with the help of that’s why the chairs are so slick sometimes it’s psychological, like “A woman came up to me,” but I don’t see them being dis­
ever worked at an agency. We Quebec City­born Gabrielle and archetypal. Really, really the Talking Head, which makes says Saint­Pierre, “and said, tributed through Ikea.”
would gain a lot of productivity Saint­Pierre, a new designer at simple. I asked to have that you the dwarf at the table.” ‘Oh… my… God. That’s what I’ve
if we had shorter meetings.” the company who, like Pelletier, slick finish, a classy element to “That’s the concept—slightly been looking for. I sent a letter
That got Pelletier to thin­ has a knack for making the best contrast with the uncomforta­ uncomfortable. Just a bit,” says to my company to say that mee­
king about the direction of­ of physical spaces. A key fac­ ble aspect.” Saint­Pierre. “At first, you’re not tings are too long.’ She’d made
fice furniture was taking—in­ tor for the SUCC was that the “We wanted them to look that bad, but after five minutes, a financial plan to explain how
creasingly soft and pneumatic chairs should be uncomfortable like they’re a family,” Pelletier it’s really uncomfortable. much money they lost during the
chairs that one could easily fall but not ugly. points out. “We didn’t want to “A meeting should be just meetings. That was perfect.”
asleep in (“Sometimes I have, “We started working and make one chair and then another, as long as you can sit on those The SUCC appears at the
actually,” says Pelletier). came up with many models that and you wouldn’t see the link chairs,” adds Pelletier. new Sid Lee store in Amsterdam
SUCC SUCC
- 52 - - 53 -

28. hI
TECh,
LOw
TECh,
NEw
TECh
Alain Mongeau
ON SID LEE AND MUTEK
NOM DE LA SECTION SID LE AND MUTEK
- 54 - - 55 -

29. Since 2000, Montreal has been hosting the “We benefited from that by having Shobo­
annual MUTEK festival, a smorgasbord of cut­ Shobo programmed into the festival. We did a
ting­edge, often highly experimental electronic night with them, co­presented by Sid Lee and
music and arts. It was initially an offshoot of MUTEK, and during that same night, Sid Lee
the city’s International Festival of New Cinema Collective also oversaw a stuffed­toy workshop,”
and New Media, or FCMM, of which MUTEK Mongeau says with a chuckle. Not an obvious
founder Alain Mongeau was artistic director, choice, perhaps, but the low­tech, hands­on par­
but it quickly became its own beast, bringing ticipatory element played a nice counterpoint
in such notable talent as Pole, Coil, Matmos, to MUTEK’s highly digitized and at times
Señor Coconut, Richie Hawtin and Ricardo distanced programming.
Villalobos. “This year, we did somewhat the same
By 2005, MUTEK had branched out to thing. The collaboration happened from the
creating events internationally, notably in New Wednesday to the Friday, in the happy­hour
York City, Berlin and across Latin America. But slot.” Plans to bring up an Argentine art collective
in 2007, the festival team decided they needed a fell through, but the Sid Lee Collective team did
facelift of sorts. That’s where Sid Lee came into their part, conducting a fanzine workshop.
the picture. “The intersection with Sid Lee Collective
“We approached them to relaunch, in a way, hasn’t existed very long, but what’s interes­
our image, our graphic signature,” says Mongeau. ting is how it opens up new dimensions for us.
“We wanted to refresh it, make it more dynamic. The exchange between Sid Lee Collective and
Each year, they put new resources at our disposal. MUTEK is much bigger than it appears. We
We feel very well handled by their contributions, trade ideas and connections. Last year, for ins­
by both their reading of what MUTEK could be, tance, we brought in the Pictoplasma people
and what they’ve delivered.” from Berlin, and they’ve stayed in touch since.
With Sid Lee Collective, which Mongeau We also put Sid Lee in touch with the Trimarchi
calls the marketing firm’s “creative incubator,” DG (a design convention in Argentina).
the cooperation has gone beyond just ad and “It’s a young relationship, so I think we’ve
Web design. In 2007, as part of their Blackboard just scratched the surface of what’s possible. Sid
project, the collective brought French art group Lee has a certain flair, and so does MUTEK, and
ShoboShobo to Montreal (read more about it I think the two are compatible, so we can enrich
elsewhere in this zine). each other.”
NOM DE LA SECTION NOM DE LA SECTION
- 56 - - 57 -

30. The citing that Montreal is the only North changed my mind and said, may­
IS ON ThE waLL American city with a municipal­
level design commission, on top
of its numerous design events
be it would be good to expose
them in the middle of the street
during an event. Each year, we
Hélène Godin and institutions. have a big fashion and design
ON THE SID LEE COLLECTIVE POSTERS Don’t bust out the cham­ event called the Fashion Week.”
FOR MONTREAL’S UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN DESIGNATION pagne just yet, though. “To me,” Negotiations with the di­
says Godin, “it’s more of a spring­ rectors of Fashion Week quickly
board than an award. Like, we’re bore fruit. “We approached it as
Every city worth its salt has creative director and partner at proud but we can’t just sit back. a mini­exhibition, where people
its own code, its idiosyncratic Sid Lee, where she’s worked for No, it’s a challenge.” were given information about
cryptography of catchphrases eight years), Godin prefers to get A challenge Godin was all each design. You know, they we­
and collective memories, places around by bicycle, weather per­ too eager to accept. “The award ren’t for advertising, so someti­
and personalities. Such a code mitting, as do many other Mon­ doesn’t mean anything if people mes, you could look at them and
can’t be cracked with a pocket­ trealers. don’t do anything with it. think, wow, it’s nice—but what
sized guidebook. No, one has to “Those are my creative mo­ “It’s a way to be seen by other does it mean?
gradually absorb the details of ments,” Godin says of her daily cities. We’re not the capital of “We went, the whole gang,
the city, connecting the dots and commutes on the city’s criss­ design yet, but we have the peo­ with our white jumpsuits and
interpreting the patterns that crossing bike lanes. “I’m in my ple and the creativity here in this glue buckets, to paste them up
emerge. creative bubble.” city to become more visible.” by hand on plywood sheets. We
Montreal, in the Canadian In a bubble, but not unaware. As anyone from the grimiest made an event of it on the spot.”
province of Quebec, is certainly Her sidelong glances register punk­rock promoter to the slic­ Architects and industrial
worth its salt—and one can find countless clues and signals— kest liquor importer can tell you, designers might scoff at the no­
plenty of the useful mineral, buildings and landmarks, gran­ one of the best means of achie­ tion that something as scrappy
melting away the road­top ice diose graffiti and plastered pu­ ving visibility is the poster—so and ephemeral as a pasted­up
brought by the heavy winters blicity, colourful characters and a poster series, celebrating poster could be a key player in
that are among Montreal’s many familiar faces. “You understand UNESCO’s nod to Montreal, is constructing a city’s long­term
defining characteristics. Another the culture of a city through tho­ what Godin proposed to the Sid identity. Godin would strongly
is its intricate tapestry of langua­ se things,” she says. Lee team. disagree. To her, graphic design,
ges, faiths and cultures. French is In 2006, UNESCO—the “The first idea was heading often underappreciated, is an es­
predominant, but it leaves room United Nations Educational, out with glue and putting them sential component.
for everyone else—trilingual Scientific and Cultural Orga­ up around the city,” Godin re­ “It’s a part of the persona­
residents abound. nization—ranked Montreal as calls, “but we didn’t want to get lity of the city. Think of New
Hélène Godin certainly only the third, after Berlin and arrested! We would have had to York City with its yellow cabs.
knows Montreal’s code. A life­ Buenos Aires, of its “Cities of get permits and everything. So I Someone, somewhere, decided
long resident of the city (and a Design.” A wise choice, given
MONTREAL: UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN NOM DE LA SECTION
- 58 - - 59 -

31. that the cabs would be yellow. “Expo 67 changed the face
Now they’re icons. of the city. It was a 180­degree
“It’s more difficult to spot turn. After that, people around
the icons in Montreal, but sure the world could put Montreal
enough, they’re there.” on the map, in terms of design.”
The Sid Lee team was One poster has a portrait of
tasked with finding and cele­ Mayor Jean Drapeau, in office in
brating those icons in a series 1967, laid over a collage of Expo
of posters. Some chose subjects 67 postcards. “For some people,
that were mundane, maybe even he was a great mayor, for others,
a bit trashy. Montreal’s dubious the worst,” Godin shrugs. “But
delicacy, poutine—French fries today, we can say he did some­
with cheese curds and gravy, thing.”
popular with late­night party­ Drapeau did several things,
goers—earned a poster, as did actually. He green­lighted the Big
the city’s notorious potholes. O, the stadium built for the 1976
Sid Lee’s Roxana Zegan, paint Summer Olympics. That impo­
and brushes in hand, literally hit sing structure, and also architect
the street to conjure beauty out Moishe Safdie’s bizarre, blocky
of cracked asphalt. Habitat 67 apartment com­
“We usually see potholes plex, are cleverly shown anew
as an accident, or something as assemble­yourself kits, not
unpleasant, so these,” she says, unlike Ikea instruction sheets,
holding up Zegan’s trio of abs­ on two of the Sid Lee posters.
tract photo­posters, “are ano­ Other posters are more
ther way to see them.” current, capitalizing on what
Other designers had hi­ Godin calls “our vernacular lan­
gher, even historical intentions. guage of design—with an accent
A key resource was the vesti­ on our multiculturalism.” One,
gial remains of Expo 67, the for instance, offers a series of
World Fair hosted by Montreal flags. The black one bisected
in 1967. The fair’s various pan­ by a green bar with a white
national pavilions, so futuristic dot in the middle? That’s from
in appearance, still capture the Montreal’s Métro, or subway
imagination. system, maps. The red, white
QUAND LES DESIGNERS S’AFFICHENT, CATHERINE LAPORTE / HÉLÈNE GODIN
MONTRÉAL VILLE UNESCO DE DESIGN S’AFFIRME.
D101989_0000_Affiches_72x96_Lapo4 4 07-05-23 15:08:07
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Affiche 6’ x 8’ InDesign CS1
CS2
D101989_0000_Affiche_72x96_Laporte JP/PG Montage à 25 % du format final
SIDLEE COLLECTIVE PAGE Épreuve à 58 % du montage Typo vérifiée
Impression finale à 400 % Photos vérifiées
22.05.2007 ÉPREUVE 1
R.‑C.
Rédaction Directeur Direction Service à Client Production Correction Commentaires
de création artistique la clientèle d’épreuves Collecté sur CD
Catherine Laporte
Envoyé sur FTP
Date : 00.05.07
NOM DE LA SECTION MONTREAL: UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN
- 60 - - 61 -

32. and blue stripes are taken from them at a design conference in
the jerseys of the Canadiens, Argentina. “There was a second
the local hockey team. Two life for them in Buenos Aires,
orange stripes framing a white and there might be a third life
space—hey, that’s from the sign too—I’ve started up another
of the famous Schwartz’s deli on poster project. Maybe we’ll get
Boulevard St­Laurent, the city’s to Berlin to present those!
main thoroughfare. “We just did it to celebrate
Further posters employed Montreal, and whoops,” she
design language, such as serif laughs, “it became something
and sans serif typefaces, re­ even bigger!”
created out of elements of the
Montreal cityscape—a frag­
ment of the Champlain Bridge,
for example. Others still drew
stark, black­on­white abstracts
out of sections of the city map,
such as the Turcot interchange
and trainyards.
Several posters were in fact
pages from various ethnic com­
munity newspaper pages, with
Montreal icons silkscreened
on them—“the links between
all these communities,” says
Godin, who has since been invi­
ted to be on the administrative
board of Heritage Montreal,
the city’s municipal preserva­
tion commission.
Links, in fact, are the true
motive of the UNESCO City of
Design initiative, one that Sid
Lee didn’t miss out on, taking
the posters down to present
MONTREAL: UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN
- 62 -

33. NEXT,
PLEaSE!
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
FOR SID LEE COLLECTIVE
Freaky furniture, Rather more mysterious, by the inviting Blackboard bar,
innovative art, and very guerrilla in approach, a great place to grab a coffee or
is Sid Lee Collective’s enigma­ perhaps a beer, and the Sid Lee
cool collaborations, tic assemblage of public pranks Collective boutique. That’s the
wonders of the Web and puzzling performance art, place to shop for the unmista­
les Fourmis (“the Ants”). The kable housewares, clothing, pu­
—in two short years, Sid Lee less said the better, but citizens blications and more that come
Collective has conjured up a ca­ of Montreal and beyond can ex­ care of the Sid Lee Collective.
valcade of creativity. The story pect to soon be confronted by Choose your favourites and
doesn’t end here, though, not by strange little alterations of their take them home in our distinc­
a long shot. day­to­day environment, desi­ tive shopping bags—count on
Several of the projects des­ gned to confuse, provoke and stares of jealousy on the street,
cribed in this zine continue perhaps even enlighten. though!
to evolve. The world hasn’t The Blackboard project is Among the worthy products
seen the last of the Slightly by its very nature a fountain of on display, you may well spot Sid
Uncomfortable Chair Collec­ perpetual possibilities, and whi­ Lee Collective’s new Doodle
tion, which will be on display le what’s been drawn so far will lamp series. Don’t worry, no
in Milan in the spring of 2008. have been erased by the time small burrowing mammals were
The globologos.com website is, you read this, the works have harmed—the lampshades are
if anything, only getting star­ been preserved in the forth­ caked with sketches and scrib­
ted—if you’ve got crazy creative coming Blackboard book. bles drawn from the Moleskin
ideas of your own, don’t hesitate Where can you find the notebooks Sid Lee staffers are
to upload them, it’s your website book—and even a blackboard often seen scribbling in when
as much as anyone else’s. bar, to chalk up a few funny brainstorming.
Another round of posters ideas of your own? At the Sid You might also soon grab
saluting Montreal’s UNESCO Lee Collective space in Amster­ one of Sid Lee Collective’s sar­
City of Design designation is in dam, itself the biggest news of donic Bone Dry Greetings cards,
the works too. Speaking of pos­ the moment for the collective. for that not­so­special person in
ters, when in Montreal, keep an Painstakingly designed to your life—a close friend or im­
eye out for another such pro­ be both sleek and crafty, the minent enemy, someone who
ject, uniting Sid Lee Collective space is far more than just a deserves a poke in the eye rather
with Mouvement Art Public, European business outpost for than a pat on the back. Hallmark,
a non­profit initiative to bring Sid Lee. watch your back!
high art to the general popula­ Tread its cozy timber floors Whether shopping for your
tion using mass­media methods and you’ll find an art gallery with home, soaking up some fascina­
usually reserved for advertising. pieces by staffers and friends ting art or just grabbing a quick
Some 800 public display spaces of Sid Lee—Shary Boyle’s fan­ espresso with a friend, the Sid
in Mexico—bus shelters, subway tastical porcelain works, Julie Lee Collective creative space is
station walls—will be graced by Doucet’s wild collages and Team the place to do it. Expect qua­
works that include 10 new pos­ Macho’s twisted doodles among lity, originality and above all the
ters from Sid Lee Collective. them. The gallery is bookended unexpected!
NOM DE LA SECTION NEXT, PLEASE!
- 64 - - 65 -

34. CONTACT INFORMATION
Ateliers: Montreal
75 Queen Street, Suite 1400
Montreal, Quebec
H3C 2N6
Canada
Phone: +1 514-282-2200
Amsterdam
Gerard Doustraat 72
1072 VV Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0) 206 623030
Paris
12 rue du Sentier
75 002 Paris
France
Phone: +33 (1) 44 88 83 90
Toronto
55 Mill Street
Building 5 , Suite 500
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 3C4
Canada
Phone: +1 416 ­ 421-4200
Austin
Suite D­102
3601 South Congress
Austin, Texas 78704
United States
Phone: +1 512 ­ 444-3533
Websites: sidlee.com
sidleearchitecture.com
jimmylee.tv
NOM DE LA SECTION
- 67 -

35. fanzine
Another
NOM DE LA SECTION
- 68 -