Last week the RedBall Project was in Montreal. This was the 20th city to be visited in the worldwide public art installation by New York artist Kurt Perschke that features a large inflatable red ball being installed in unusual locations in the visited cities. The Montreal stop-over was a collaboration effort with Les Escales Improbables Montreal.

The list of places already visited by the giant (4.5 metre high) red ball includes; Galway, Rennes, Lausanne, Paris, California, Leuven, UK, Perth, Abu Dhabi, Norwich, Grand Rapids, Taipei, Toronto, Scottsdale, Chicago, Portland, Sydney, Barcelona and St Louis.

The RedBall Project : Artist Statement

“Through the RedBall Project I utilize my opportunity as an artist to be a catalyst for new encounters within the everyday. Through the magnetic, playful, and charismatic nature of the RedBall the work is able to access the imagination embedded in all of us. On the surface, the experience seems to be about the ball itself as an object, but the true power of the project is what it can create for those who experience it. It opens a doorway to imagine what if? As RedBall travels around the world people approach me on the street with excited suggestions about where to put it in their city. In that moment the person is not a spectator but a participant in the act of imagination. I have witnessed it across continents, diverse age spans, cultures, and languages, always issuing an invitation. That invitation to engage, to collectively imagine, is the true essence of the RedBall Project. The larger arc of the project is how each city responds to that invitation and, over time, what the developing story reveals about our individual and cultural imagination.”

As in many of the places already visited, the RedBall travelled around to different locations each day in Montreal during the week. Unfortunately I missed the first 5 days when it was to be seen at; the Biosphère, Quartier des Spectacles, Place des Arts, Berson Monuments on boulevard Saint-Laurent and the Parc Metro station.

I caught up with it last Friday on day 6, when it was wedged between the pillars of the Bank of Montreal in Place d’Armes…

The RedBall Project Montreal Day 6

RedBall project at Place d’Armes
ISO 200 – 10mm – f8 – 1/400 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

RedBall Project at Place d’Armes
ISO 200 – 10mm – f8 – 1/400 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

RedBall at Bank of Montreal
ISO 200 – 12mm – f8 – 1/250 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

RedBall Project at the Bank of Montreal
ISO 200 – 20mm – f8 – 1/60 sec

RedBall meets the French Poodle
ISO 200 – 20mm – f5.6 – 1/125 sec

RedBall Project at the Bank of Montreal
ISO 200 – 20mm – f5.6 – 1/160 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

RedBall at Place d’Armes
ISO 200 – 145mm – f8 – 1/50 sec

I kept thinking of the great 1960’s British TV series The Prisoner when seeing people walking in close proximity to the ball.

The Prisoner
ISO 200 – 200mm – f5.3 – 1/60 sec

For the next shot, I thought I’d try giving a bit of a different look. I decided to go for a painted look using Topaz Labs Simplify…

RedBall at Bank of Montreal
ISO 200 – 145mm – f5 – 1/400 sec

RedBall at Bank of Montreal
ISO 200 – 155mm – f4.8 – 1/800 sec

As I was leaving, I noticed the reflection of the ball in the windows of the National Bank building across the street. It just so happened there was a red Montreal City truck and a red post office truck caught in the frame…seemed like everything red was being attracted to the ball.

Red attraction
ISO 200 – 90mm – f4.5 – 1/160 sec

The RedBall Project Montreal Day 7

On Saturday, the RedBall had been relocated to La Fontaine park. Since it was raining for the better part of the day I waited until late afternoon before heading over to catch the final day of the RedBall Project in Montreal.

RedBall LaFontaine Park
ISO 200 – 70mm – f4.5 – 1/250 sec

RedBall Project in Parc LaFontaine
ISO 200 – 10mm – f5.6 – 1/250 sec (2ev/0/+2ev)

RedBall LaFontaine Park
ISO 200 – 11.5mm – f4.5 – 1/640 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

RedBall LaFontaine Park
ISO 200 – 82mm – f4.5 – 1/160 sec

RedBall LaFontaine Park
ISO 200 – 70mm – f4.5 – 1/60 sec

RedBall LaFontaine Park
ISO 200 – 20mm – f5.6 – 1/60 sec

Finally, another experiment in processing using Topaz Simplify…

RedBall LaFontaine Park
ISO 200 – 12mm – f4.5 – 1/500 sec

I was sorry I didn’t manage to see the ball during the other days, particularly when it was at the Biosphère – that was a great choice of venue by Kurt. I’m not sure where the RedBall Project heads to next, but you can always check the RedBall Project site for more info…And lots more pics from all the cities visited so far.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.

– Martin

Montréal in Pictures

Related Images: