When I first moved to Montreal I was impressed by how artists use their space here, specially by how Darcy Corbett would use his living as a revolving door for different Montreal artists to speak their minds. During the summer of 2017, I would go to that apartment simply to hang around like-minded people and breathe in this air of freedom and creativity. Anything was possible within those walls. Anything IS possible and there is a naked person right there. Right, live drawings are on Saturdays, I forgot...How impressive is it that there is PWYC live drawing open to public hosted in an artist's studio space? In Montréal that is possible. Anyhow, do you feel different when making art in a constant place, perhaps a studio, a specific computer, a friend's house versus in another place? How does the physical space impact the artist and how do artists adapt their physical space in order to accommodate their vision? How can I adapt my room so I can paint and sleep there? How can you use your living room to nourish the art community? It was with this sense of curiosity Studio by Design was born.
This project calls out to boundless artists seeking to design their space for the creation of art
"1808 Saint Catherine- this was the place. The street was bustling and hectic and this little door you would have missed if you weren't looking for it. Kind of like that place in Pirates of the Caribbean, you'd only find it if you already knew where it was. But there was no treasure here. I followed my bandmate up this long staircase into this building reminiscent of a Harry Potter house, in the way that it seemed four times the size of the amount of space surely available on the street. This building was filled to the brim with art covering the walls. All different styles too. Pictures of cats and bats and bananas, duking it out, haphazardly attempting covering every centimetre available. The building was old and rickity but it all came off in charm. And the inhabitant appeared, looking much like the building itself. Covered in different styles of tattoos and wildly coloured clothes and scars from places I didn't feel to ask about, Darcy resembled a bit of a junkyard dog. Like the building, he seemed a bit banged up with time, resulting completely in an exploding amount of character.
He showed me around and explained how he taught free yoga classes in his living room, which he also used as his painting studio. He would search out free or discount canvases and just paint and paint. He would also host live model drawing in his living room and I vowed to come by to draw sometime. He was super generous and offered me food, although I had not know him at the time.
Over time, through going our for lunches discussing poetry, putting together shows, printing shirts together, playing Catan and having picnics in the park, I got to know Darcy a little bit. He was a gruff guy with more stories than he could ever tell. He told me of jumping off of roofs into pools, sneaking into factories and his travels to amazing places. His poetry was great and his mastery of words made him the Scrabble king. Conversations would sometimes go like, "I like the new window, Darcy. Why did you change it?" "Oh, I threw a fucking table through it," he'd reply. For his life drawing classes he'd charge nothing and ask people to leave a donation if they felt it. It was so nerve-wracking for me when I finally decided to model and have people draw me naked. But it felt pressure-free and was accompanied by Darcy's sick music taste. He gave me a sick tattoo too! Although he did laugh as I screamed in pain.
Through these times being friends with both him and Renée, I grew this urge to live in that house. It seemed like exactly what I was looking for. A free space filled with creativity and amazing roommates. Finally last winter I did. It was the best place I had ever lived, filled with waking up at 7 am to see Darcy meditating downstairs with the Misfits blasting and making great recipes. We hosted some shows together and had our appartment completely packed with people just sharing a great time, partying the night away. Our place kind of became a love hub, with people coming in and out all time time, sharing stories and making art. I really tried to mimic the open heart Darcy brough to everything. Opting always to not charge people for things, to be generous if possible and to give love back when it's given to you. Sadly I moved out a few months back, but my time there I will remember forever. I promptly left Montreal for work in Korea. Still, on my last few days in Montreal I got the chance to play one final show with Darcy and hopped onstage during his poetry performance to do a little dance with him. It was such a great way to say goodbye. I didn't know at the time just how long that goodbye would be for.
Apparently Darcy passed away yesterday and this feels so out of the blue to me. In my heart, he was always an energetic lively person who could take a punch from a fight and come back swinging. At the same time, he had told me about his battle with cancer. When I think of Darcy, I think of the times above and this will always be my image of him. I wish I had messaged him more since I had left. I would have liked to have heard about things back home or known when he wasn't feeling well. In any case, Darcy was the type of man to always show his strength and I respect that too. He was also the type of guy who I'm sure wouldn't want people fussing about his passing too much. It is for this reason I take the good times with me and I say now is goodbye to my good friend."
Darcy Corbett." text by Kyle Lapointe