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Montreal, News, Private

The rise of artificial intelligence: Google invests in deep learning in Montreal

by Rebecca Zhuang on

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Google has solidified Montreal’s newly-attained reputation as an international epicentre for Artificial Intelligence (AI) research by investing $4.5 million in the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, a research lab at the University of Montreal (UdeM). Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems performing tasks by mimicking human cognition, including visual or speech recognition, and advanced forms of decision making. According to AI expert and UdeM Professor Yoshua Bengio, Montreal is home to the world’s largest concentration of AI researchers, making it an attractive city for many investors and entrepreneurs who see immense potential for capitalization of the new field. 

Google is also planning to open a deep learning and AI research group in the city. The lab will be owned and led by Google, and will work in conjunction with Google Brain, a machine learning research team. 

“[The] Google AI lab in Montreal is going to grow gradually, but for now will stay in the Google Montreal offices,” Professor Bengio wrote in an email to The Tribune.

According to Doina Precup, a professor in the McGill Department of Computer Science, the new AI lab’s upcoming research will be most relevant to Google rather than the AI industry as a whole, such as working to develop technology that will improve Google search queries. 

“Google has certain products that they would like to improve, so the research is internally used towards these products,” Precup said. “These have to do with search […] and things that are mainly related to Google’s issues.”

The expanding AI industry in Montreal has led to the creation of many startup research factories, such as Element AI. Launched by Bengio in Oct. 2016, Element AI works to develop AI that can be used by many businesses for their services. Element AI Program Director Sébastien Provencher believes that the work that is being done in AI today holds great potential. 

“We’re looking at the new frontier […] AI is where it’s happening today, and that’s why it’s exciting,” said Provencher. “Montreal is becoming the place to be in the world for any type of deep learning, machine learning, or AI projects.”

Provencher believes that Google’s investment could also create incentives for many Canadians working in Silicon Valley to return, as running a business in Montreal is much cheaper.

“There’s talent originally in Montreal that might be working in the Valley right now, and we want them to come back,” Provencher said. 

While Google’s lab will help in drawing more investors and business to Montreal, Precup is worried that it may complicate things on the academic scene. 

“From the point of view of academia, […] the difficulty is […] a lot of people who work in [research] have left for the industry and there’s not that many people left to train students,” Precup said. 

Precup is also hopeful that Google’s AI lab will allow for them to share resources with academic labs who may not have access to certain equipment.

McGill PhD candidate in Computer Science Emmanuel Bengio, Professor Yoshua Bengio’s son, is optimistic that Google’s investment will create more opportunities for students after graduation.

“Before, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find a job in AI in Montreal, but I think this just increased the potential of that happening,” Bengio said.  
 

Commentary, Opinion

Partisan boundaries stifle discourse on Facebook

by Evan Thomas on

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In theory, social media platforms should be a boundless, intellectual, free market for sharing ideas. It’s a platform for individuals to effortlessly and instantly share their views. In turn, all users would be subjected to a wide range of views from all sides of the ideological spectrum.

This, however, has not proved to be the case. Facebook feeds have become echo chambers of ideas, where we are exposed primarily to content that reinforces our own biases and viewpoints. This polarization is largely due to the nature of Facebook and Google’s personalization algorithms. The more that users click, like, and share content that resonates with their beliefs, the more they are exposed to similar stories. This results in the so-called ‘blue feed, red feed’ phenomenon, in which users are sheltered from ideologies other than their own. Exposure to such groupthink is a slippery slope towards social divisions that cause polarization between left and right.

We must be critical and conscious of the media that is fed to us through our electronic screens. We must make an effort to engage with opinions that we disagree with.

In its 12 years of existence, Facebook has transformed into arguably the most influential media company in human history. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 44 per cent of Americans access their news primarily via Facebook. With nearly 1.8 billion users worldwide, Facebook wields unfathomable power to influence the news that the world consumes, and so must recognize the journalistic responsibilities that come with it. This is especially pertinent after a former Facebook employee revealed that the company suppressed right-wing news stories on their platform.

Be critical of the news you consume. Burst the intellectual bubbles that surround you.

At the end of the day, Facebook is a for-profit corporation that understands that challenging and upsetting its users through exposure to dissenting views will drive them away. However, the online echo chamber that results from Facebook’s business practices have an adverse effect on our ideological development.

If we are not exposed to differing opinions, it will become impossible for us to critically assess our own. We cannot develop intellectually without confrontations to our understanding, as they will either challenge our views or strengthen our conviction. Critical reflection is essential to intellectual growth: It was Socrates who told us that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

All of this is to say that the polarization of social media might lead one to believe that they are bound to choose between either far left or right camp, with no options in between. Both liberals and conservatives stand to benefit by exposing themselves to the arguments of the other side, outside of the confines of their respective blue and red feeds. This can lead them to reconsider the foundations of their ideas, achieve common ground, and avoid the radicalizing effects of the group mentality.

We must be conscious of the remarkable ability of our social media feeds to inform us, to rile us up, and to tell us who and what we should be mad at. We live in a world in which computer algorithms divide us, and where online platforms that should promote a healthy discourse are extremely polarized.

In light of this, us users need to be active in fighting back against political polarization. Be critical of the news you consume. Burst the intellectual bubbles that surround you. Welcome the voices of those you disagree with, regardless of how offensive or disruptive you may find them. Only by doing this can we break the bounds of ideological divides.

 

Evan Thomas is a very tall U2 International Development Studies and History student. He doesn’t like being asked if he plays basketball, but enjoys playing basketball nonetheless.

Off the Board, Opinion

When words lie: Leitch’s anti-Canadian values exclude on the basis of inclusion

by Emma Avery on

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“Violence and misogyny are not Canadian values,” Kellie Leitch, former minister of labour and minister of the status of women, tells Maclean’s.

The above is an innocuous statement regarding Leitch’s vague and seemingly benign proposal to screen immigrants for “anti-Canadian values.” Obviously, most people don’t condone violence or misogyny. But, as Anne Kingston points out in the Maclean’s piece, it’s implied that certain ethnicities and religious groups—particularly, Muslims—are disproportionately seen as holding inappropriate values.

Leitch is currently campaigning for the leadership of Canada’s Conservative Party, which will be decided in May 2017. The contest has provoked a debate around what has been termed “the Conservatives’ identity crisis about identity.” Leitch’s condemnation of anti-Canadian values implies that there is an opposing set of distinctly Canadian ones. However, the fact that she cannot define what Canadian identity consists of illustrates the flaw in her logic. As Kingston puts it, “Leitch has defined Canadian values in terms of what they’re not.” By using fear tactics to target public perceptions of the threat that ‘others’ pose to Canada, Leitch invokes a different kind of violence—the violence of words and nationalist rhetoric—that threatens our ability to accept and embrace difference.

 

Bounding the concept of national identity is counterproductive, and only places limits on difference.

There are consequences to attempting to treat a nation as a whole. As Benedict Anderson argues in his book, Imagined Communities, the nation is an “imagined political community—imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.” Although no one has ever met every member of their nation, citizens construct an image of what their nation looks like and of what it contains.

This functions as a coping mechanism: The idea of a nation is so vast, immense, unknowable, and powerful. At the same time, nations are supposed to be sources of comfort, familiarity, and identity. They constitute an essential part of what we think of when we think of home. In order to understand and conceive of a country, citizens have to imagine parts of it. But, in these constructions, certain people are left out. Leitch’s playing to the sentiment of Canadian values is paradoxical: It caters to notions of tolerance, equality, and inclusivity, but excludes precisely on the basis of this supposed inclusivity. It excludes ‘others’ who are not seen as compatible with being a tolerant Canadian.

It’s near impossible to define a unifying value in a multicultural, colonial nation of 35 million people. Canada prides itself on its tolerant nature, but tolerance, for all of its extolled virtues, is not enough. It conceals a power dynamic, much like the rhetoric Leitch is perpetuating: Who has the power to tolerate whom is crucial in understanding our approaches to ‘others.’ In screening for anti-Canadian values, the government would be exercising this power of tolerance over who is compatible with its society and who is not.

Even Canada—recently portrayed by global media as the alternative to the rise of isolationist, xenophobic politics in the U.S. and Western Europe—struggles to be tolerant: We attempt to celebrate the history of our indigenous and minority communities, but equal treatment is still not a reality. Chinese residents in cities such as Vancouver face significant racism in the housing market. We are not immune to hatred directed towards Muslims, as has occurred recently on Alberta university campuses. It’s convenient to ignore the fact that Justin Trudeau’s government has been invoking Bill C-24—which repeals citizenship from immigrants—at an alarmingly high rate.

Tellingly, a recent CBC poll shows that 68 per cent of Canadians think minorities should do more to fit in with mainstream Canadian society. Most Canadians are tolerant, so long as those of other cultures fit the mould. Leitch’s nationalism threatens to hide this reality. Bounding the concept of national identity is counterproductive, and only places limits on difference.

 

 

 

Emma Avery is an Opinion Editor at The McGill Tribune and a third year Anthropology and Urban Systems student. Her favourite television show is (still) The Office. She is passionate about Liverpool FC, dogs, and St-Viateur bagels.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Best Film and Television of 2016

by Evelyn Goessling, Selin Altuntur, April Barett, Eric Noble-Marks, Dylan Adamson, Ariella Garmaise, & Morgan Davis on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Compiled by our staff editors and writers, here is the best film and television of 2016.

Best Films of 2016

slantmagazine.com
slantmagazine.com

1. Moonlight

Barry Jenkins pieces together a deeply moving investigation of masculinity, class, and race in this fictional biopic.  Compelling visuals, and tense dialogue come together in heartbreaking performances to give this film our #1 spot.

2. All Vines

The video hosting platform Vine has tragically been shut down this year. The incredible diversity of 6-second Vines showcase hilarious and accessible filmmaking from a generation of smartphone wielders. 

ew.com
ew.com

3. American Honey

Andrea Arnold’s film is an intimate look into the life of a vagrant teenager traveling through the American South. Its modern soundtrack and themes of poverty and drug use make this film a unique tour of love, desperation, and reconciliation. 

4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Delving further into a familiar story, the Star Wars mythology is reimagined for the current age, with a cast of fresh faces and enduring themes of heroism, compassion, and revolution.

indiewire.com
indiewire.com

5. Don’t Think Twice

Don’t Think Twice follows a New York improv group whose members include Gillian Jacobs and Keegan-Michael Key. Some of the group members begin to succeed, and others must confront the fact that they might never “make it big.”

6. The Witch

Robert Eggers’ latest horror film, set in the 17th century New England countryside, is eerie and dark. The film explores the psychological dimensions of witchcraft panic, as it observes one family destroy itself from the inside out.

janksreviews.com
janksreviews.com

7. Edge of Seventeen

Hailee Steinfeld delivers a hilarious, brutally honest portrait of a confused, lonely teenager. This insightful coming-of-age tale neither condescends nor tries too hard to be relatable.

8. Green Room

Jeremy Saulnier’s ultraviolent thrill ride takes a believable indie music drama and promptly turns it on its head. The film’s punk rockers versus neo-Nazis (led by a stoic Patrick Stewart) premise delivers uncommonly heady and emotional genre thrills.

cineaste.com
cineaste.com

9. Embrace of the Serpent 

Ciro Guerra’s film places the viewer in the centre of a jungle where everything is alive and deadly. The black and white cinematography lends an unmatched visual texture and depth.

10. Finding Dory

Guaranteed to rouse early-2000s nostalgia, this highly-anticipated sequel doesn’t disappoint.  Watching Finding Dory is like returning home – it is emotionally exhausting in an extremely comforting way.

Best of TV

ew.com
ew.com

1. Stranger Things

Stranger Things delivers a satisfyingly nostalgic and familiar story—a small-town, 80s mystery—with twists and excellent performances to keep audiences interested. 

2. Atlanta

Donald Glover effortlessly glides into the role of creator in this absurdly endearing dramedy.  Each episode of Atlanta is an intelligently-crafted think piece on timely issues of class and race.

comingsoon.net
comingsoon.net

3. Last Week Tonight

John Oliver has created a new brand of political humour on HBO, often choosing to focus his commentary on little known, but impactful, stories. 

4. Westworld

Part western, part dystopian science fiction, Westworld is a relentlessly captivating and deeply unsettling exploration of the potentially terrifying impact of artificial intelligence.

digitalspyuk.cdnds.net
digitalspyuk.cdnds.net

5.Game of Thrones

Television’s most expensive fantasy soap opera shook audiences this year with its gripping narrative and surprise deaths. Game of Thrones’ (surviving) characters are achieving cult status as television icons.

6. Black Mirror

Charlie Brooker’s excellent series returned for a new season, featuring forays into horror and crime genres, and a spectacular love story that transcends space and time.

guim.co.uk
guim.co.uk

7. The Crown

The Crown’s historical intrigue is totally riveting. Lavish design, along with excellent performances from Claire Foy and Matt Smith, bring the nuanced Royal story to life.

8. Narcos

A mixture of historical accuracy and dramatic reenactment, Narcos returned as considerably darker and fast-paced than its first season. 

litreactor.com
litreactor.com

9. The Get Down

Baz Luhrmann’s television debut offers a charming cast of characters and a dazzling portrayal of 1970s New York. The score shines through, allowing the viewer revel in the funk, jazz, and disco of the period. 

10. Transparent

Jill Soloway’s critically acclaimed series continues pushing boundaries into its third season as it explores the intersections between wealth, whiteness, and gender.

 

Laughing Matters, Opinion

‘Uncle’ Joe Biden meme tickles America’s funny bone

by Alexandra Harvey on

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As Democrats mourn their candidate’s surprising loss in the recent presidential election, meme-viewers turn to one Ray-Ban sporting, ice cream loving, deified figure for reassurance and solace in this hard time: Vice-President Joe Biden’s meme alter-ego, ‘Uncle’ Joe. As Uncle Joe wistfully looks out onto the South Lawn, wondering if Santa Claus will know where to deliver his presents next Christmas, Democrats see a friend who understands the fear of an uncertain Trump-filled future. Uncle Joe has made the best of this trying time by concocting a series of ridiculous—yet extremely effective—pranks to play on President-elect Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton supporters can trust good old Joe to address their frustrations head-on by unnerving the incoming government with his playful antics.

Following a presidential campaign characterized by scandal, Uncle Joe has become tired of watching controversy from the sidelines. After eight years of service with the Obama administration spent creating tangible change, boosting equality, and making America more inclusive for all Americans, it’s no wonder Joe’s feeling a little bored. Donald Trump’s contentious campaign—and the outrage caused by his victory—has created the perfect opportunity for Joe to stir things up himself. Democrats find comfort knowing that one of their own also has the capacity to enact ridiculous and juvenile legislation.

[Joe] provides dissatisfied voters with immense comfort by ensuring that in spite of everything that’s happened, when Trump first sits down on his presidential throne, he will set off a whoopee cushion.

For Americans who feel disgusted by Trump’s threats to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Uncle Joe proves that Democrats can rebel by developing their own tactics to repel unwanted Republican outsiders. What better way to discourage the new administration from moving in than by withholding the White House Wi-Fi password. In light of Trump’s preposterous accusations about Barack, or “Barry” Obama’s citizenship, Biden has resorted to tricking the president-elect into discovering that the allegations he made up just to cause uproar may actually be true. When asked the motivation behind why he planted a mysterious Kenyan passport in the Oval Office, Vice President-Biden peaked his eyes out from beneath his reflective aviators, and powerfully announced to the media, “just to mess with him.” Everyone watching the press conference from their couches in Blue states reported feeling goosebumps.

Despite his high approval ratings from registered Democrats, Joe’s mischievousness has been met with disapproval from his close pal Barry, embodied perfectly in one iconic photo of Obama, head in hands, who has responded to many of these shenanigans with a simple, yet entirely telling comeback: “Joe.” Though Obama is obliged to appear presidential, it’s clear that he, too, wishes he could support Joe in his ingenious plans. It’s with great reluctance that Obama called Pizza Hut to say, “I know Joe called and ordered 500 pizzas to be delivered on January 21, but I need you to cancel that order.”

Joe has further remedied the plight of Democrats everywhere by planting Home Alone-like booby traps to be set off by an unsuspecting Trump come January. He provides dissatisfied voters with immense comfort by ensuring that in spite of everything that’s happened, when Trump first sits down on his presidential throne, he will set off a whoopee cushion. For Clinton voters, imagining the embarrassment Trump will feel almost makes up for the unfavourable outcome of this past election.

Joe, it seems, is just the man to console the Americans who’ve lost faith in the political system. Understandably, some voters prefer to see images of JoBama ‘bro-ing’ around in the White House and sporting their friendship bracelets than read any in-depth information on government policy. Given the controversy surrounding the electoral college system, Biden has encouraged voters to petition for a Presidential Prank-Off instead of a traditional election to determine who will win the presidency in 2020. In this time of hardship and doubt, Democrats can be thankful to have whimsical Uncle Joe leading the way—whoopee cushion in hand.

 

Alexandra is a columnist and a U2 student studying Political Science and International Development. She is a proud Torontonian, passionate traveler, and knows all the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody."

 

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Science & Technology

Man vs. storm: In conversation with George Kourounis

by Julia Briand & Izze Siemann on

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“There have been times when I’ve had lightning strikes so close I can feel the heat on my face, [times] I’ve been hit by massive hail, [times] I’ve been caught inside a tornado […],” professional storm chaser George Kourounis said.

While Kourounis was studying to become a sound engineer, he worked in music, film, and television studios where he developed a passion for television and outdoor exploration. Eventually, Kourounis began spending increasing amounts of time shadowing experts and chasing storms. Before long, he found himself receiving calls from big news stations, such as CNN and National Geographic, to cover extreme weather events across the globe. Although he never imagined he’d become a professional adventurer and storm chaser, George Kourounis is currently living his dream.

As the co-creator and host of the award-winning television series Angry Planet, Kourounis has documented his explorations across all seven continents.

Kourounis takes on many different roles as a storm chaser. For tornados, his task is usually to document the storm; however, in a hurricane, he often works with the Cyclone Research Group to measure the strongest winds and other weather-related statistics. Kourounis has worked with scientists in numerous different fields, including inside volcanoes for geologists.

“Scientists [and weather reporters] like working with me sometimes because I can get to some of the places where they can’t, or perhaps choose not to [go],” Kourounis said.

Through a science grant from National Geographic, in 2014, Kourounis led an expedition to Turkmenistan to collect soil samples from the bottom of a sunken natural gas pit. This crater, known as the “Doorway to Hell,” is no ordinary crater. At 30 metres deep and 80 metres wide, the collapsed oil mine has been burning on naturally-released methane gas ever since it was lit on fire. The soil samples he collected underwent DNA analysis, proving, in a noteworthy scientific discovery, that extremophile bacteria were living at the bottom of this burning pit.

“Plus, I’m the only person who has ever set foot in this flaming-gas crater,” Kourounis joked. “Twelve people have been on the moon, but only one person has been to the bottom of this crater.”

In 2005, Kourounis and his team took on the biggest storm of their careers: Hurricane Katrina. They set up camp in Gulfport, Mississippi in a steel-reinforced concrete parking garage.

“Katrina was so strong that the National Weather Service was sending out apocalyptic warnings about how appliances like refrigerators and small cars were going to become deadly airborne missiles,” Kourounis said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen over the next 24 hours.”

As the storm approached, it grew in strength, shaking their bunker “like a blender” and raising the sea level by 10 metres.

“In a tornado, you’re on the outside looking in, but, in a hurricane, you’re in the middle,” Kourounis explained. “It’s just a cacophony of breaking glass, howling wind, and flying debris, every raindrop feels like a needle hitting you.”

In addition to chasing storms, Kourounis spent 2015 travelling the world and documenting the effects of climate change. Throughout his years as a storm chaser, he has witnessed an increase in frequency and severity of the extreme events he covers.

For Kourounis, curiosity drives his work.

“[That] moment in time when a tornado is touching down, a volcano is erupting, or when a hurricane is making landfall,” described Kourounis. “For me, that’s what exploration is.”

Commentary, Opinion

No party is the ‘science party:’ The problem with politicizing science

by Clare Fogarty on

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The concept of the “anti-science” right isn’t new to political discussion; conservatives are consistently seen as the major perpetrators of anti-science rhetoric. A 2009 Pew Research poll described a mere six per cent of scientists in the U.S. as identifying with Republican views. According to the two-party political system, this leaves the majority of the scientific population within the liberal spectrum and leads one to conclude that Democrats are pro-science and Republicans are anti-science.

Recent post-election discourse in the U.S. seems to support this, where President-elect Donald Trump has been described as the first “anti-science” president in the country’s history. Fears of funding cuts to scientific research are emerging, prompting some researchers to consider leaving the U.S. in search of an environment more supportive of research and respectful of science. These fears are warranted; Trump’s anti-climate change, anti-vaccination, and anti-stem cell research stances are anything but scientific.

However, Republicans aren’t the only reservoir for anti-scientific views. Not all ‘left-wing science’ is necessarily true science, as is indicated by evidence concerning genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the organic food industry, and vaccination.

According to an ABCNEWS.com survey conducted in June 2016, Republicans are divided evenly on whether GMOs are safe. Democrats rate them unsafe by a 26-point margin, despite a 2013 literature review of the past 10 years of GMO safety research finding no evidence that GMOs pose any hazards to human health. Surveys estimate that labelling GMO foods would cause roughly 57 per cent of Americans to avoid buying these products due to unwarranted safety concerns. Similarly, a Gallup poll concluded that more organic food shoppers identify as Democrats, even though a 2012 systematic review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found no evidence that organic food is safer to consume than non-organic food.

Science has no understanding of left-wing and right-wing politics; the laws of nature and the universe are not compartmentalized to fit the views of either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

On some scientific research, such as vaccination, Democrats are reported to be equally as skeptical as Republicans. Largely propagated by the fraudulent science of the infamous Andrew Wakefield, the misguided belief that vaccines are unsafe continues to be spread by anti-vaccine celebrities such as self-identified Democrat Jenny McCarthy. The results of such anti-scientific principles can reach heartbreaking levels, as hundreds of cases of deadly, vaccine-preventable measles infections occur in the U.S. each year.

There is no doubt that Republicans generally represent a larger proportion of the evolution skeptics and climate change deniers, and that the results of such beliefs may be catastrophic to attempts to ameliorate the current climate crisis. Trump’s complete disregard for science is shocking, frightening, and incredibly disheartening to researchers worldwide. Trump himself has declared climate change “politicized science,” claiming that research supporting evidence of the human influence on the climate is skewed to suit the political agenda of the opposition. His election threatens the effectiveness of global climate change cooperation, which Canada is a part of.

This notion of politicization inaccurately portrays debates in science as adhering to a certain political paradigm. Science has no understanding of left-wing and right-wing politics; the laws of nature and the universe are not compartmentalized to fit the views of either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Science is a philosophy—a systematic enterprise of empirical knowledge whereby consensus is the closest form of ‘truth’ that can be reached.

The problem with politicized science isn’t necessarily that fewer right-wing policy makers are needed in order to better support science, but that science doesn’t correspond definitively with one set of political views. More scientists are needed in policy-making, and politicians without scientific background should admit their lack of knowledge rather than disseminate false information that suits their agenda. In order for scientific truth to reach the public, conversations on issues such as climate change and GMOs must stay out of political discussion and within the sphere of science.

 

 

Murals of Montreal, Student Life

Murals of Montreal: Jason Botkin’s sidewalk art

by Marie Labrosse on

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“Look up!” is an oft-repeated phrase in today’s society. Whether it’s as an incentive to look up from mobile phones or simply to pay more attention to one’s surroundings, the phrase is echoed countless times in day-to-day life. But in order to enjoy Jason Botkin’s sidewalk art, it’s not up that one must look, but down.

Painted directly onto the ground using paint for house-exteriors, Montreal-based artist Jason Botkin’s 10 pavement pieces are peppered along Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Each one of the pieces is unique, spanning from a psychedelic-looking clown to a giant squid. Botkin was approached by the Business Association of Saint-Laurent in 2016 to create a series of sidewalk art as a part of the Montreal Mural Festival. The works are part of the Business Association’s efforts to revitalise the street and its community.

Initially, Botkin’s vision for his pavement art did not conform to his patron’s requests. Instead of colourful, natural figures, the street artist planned to create a set of works based around issues of homelessness on Saint-Laurent and in Montreal at large. The Business Association refused to back such a project and, eventually, Botkin decided to comply with its requests. He does not, however, view the alteration of his artistic project as a total defeat in expressing his opinions.

“I always use [the pieces] as a backdoor to discuss what I really wanted to talk about,” Botkin said. “I ended up talking a whole lot about the homeless issue without having actually painted it.”

Botkin views his art as a platform through which he can explore issues that he holds close to his heart. One of these matters is environmental degradation, especially issues concerning fresh water. Both Botkin’s giant fish and squid sidewalk pieces illustrate his passion for environmentalism and water conservation.

“I’m really very political in my thinking, in what I do,” Botkin said. “Right now is really a time to be active and vocal about issues. And street art is a beautiful place to have that conversation [….] Street art confronts people where they live, everyday.”

The political nature of Botkin’s street art breaks boundaries, not just in the people it brings together, but also in the questions that it raises.

“I think that anytime that you have a sense of anarchism operating within your field of intention—and street art specifically in its being unsanctioned, is an anarchist activity—you’re going to break boundaries,” Botkin said. “You’re going to offend someone who says that’s not ok. That opens up an awesome conversation like, ‘Who told you it’s not ok? Why are things ok?’ [….] We desperately have to ask those questions and constantly test the fabric of social connection and construction.”

The material space in which Botkin creates his works also questions the spatial barriers of street art, which is traditionally seen on building walls rather than underfoot. This allows Botkin to expand the reach and political impact of his work further.

“Usually when you’re painting on a wall, people won’t come and try to talk to you,” he explained. “When you’re on the street they just walk right up to you [….] I was having really amazing conversations in a way that you can’t do when you’re coming up to someone’s back.”

Through his work, Botkin challenges censorship, social barriers that hinder public dialogue, and even audience expectations of where art should be seen. Botkin draws the viewer’s eye downward to regard the powerful messages expressed by his sidewalk art.

Features

Struggles won and struggles to come: Policy against Sexual Violence at McGill

by Zikomo Smith on

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“For many of us, we just felt relieved that the policy had passed,” Postgraduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Equity Commissioner Angela Yu said.

On Nov. 22, McGill Senate unanimously passed the Policy against Sexual Violence. Erin Sobat, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) vice-president (VP) University Affairs, felt cognitive dissonance amid the applause.

“There were a lot of congratulations and applause,” Sobat said. “I personally felt a bit of mixed feelings […] because here are people who rejected a student draft that in some ways had a lot of similar elements just over half a year ago and are now here voting unanimously and espousing the importance of this [….] It is ironic to say the least.”

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