Marc Gauthier

The temporary exhibition The Refectory is a command of the Naval Museum of Quebec to Isabelle Laverdière. We must welcome the initiative of a military institution seeking a visual artist to create an installation to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. This “bold” [1] gesture is placed under the sign of fraternity transcending armed conflict.

Figure 1. Isabelle Laverdière, The Refectory [view of the installation], 2008.

At first glance, hearing is stimulated to create an evanescent impression. If the floor the building is usually made up of a concrete slab, both rigid and impersonal, here it is covered with a rough wooden floor. Big plates fit roughly one in the other. Their crackles are heard as visitors walk on them, recalling the sounds that probabaly animated ships of war centuries ago. Even better, these boards are slightly mobile creating instability, just like a boat on water. To this crackling contributing to the atmosphere is added a series of marine noises. David Dandy, Martien Bélanger and Alexandre Zechariah have created the sound environment. The ensemble is serene; sound and music are not of the military type, but rather meditative.

The temporality of the exhibition is ackowledged by a significant visual element. Thus, space is closed through mobile white canvases. It is the same structure that suberbans use to protect their car from the winter weather. Instead of using walls, the artist has tended those surfaces that move following air currents. It creates a reminder of the sails of ships of past eras in a subtle way. The incongruity of the installation is also reported by a game of Chinese shadows that is created when occupants of the Naval School roam the nearbycorridors of the institution. Fragility and instability dominate the stage. Another time in space has been created with these simple tools.

Figure 2. Isabelle Laverdière, The Refectory [detail], 2008.

The use of materials from the country anchors the work in the area of Quebec City. The old speaks with the present. The boards of the floor are made of planks from a stable and the furniture is covered with wool. Opposing these warm materials are the white plastic canvas walls the the use of glowing fluorescent lights falling from the ceiling.

The facility itself is an exploration of the theme of the refectory. At the beginning, it was a place of gathering where monks took their meals in monasteries. The term then spread to designate any room where a community takes its meals. In The Refectory, Laverdière places players of the maritime history of Quebec around the central table in a continuous dialogue through time. Six pairs of captains areopposed around the St.Lawrence River. The river is represented by a central table on which are placed artifacts and contempory ceramics. The historical figures assume their presence by chairs and their silhouette is cut on a mirror. On each seat is recorded the date of an armed conflict. Behind, the silhouette of the protagonist takes place over a text in which he outlines his views on the armed conflict. In this clever game ofcorrespondences, they are no longer simply two counts of fleet clashing but rather two visions of history.

Figure 3. Isabelle Laverdière, The Refectory [detail], 2008.

The first conflict the artist refers to is the battle between Kirke and Champlain in 1629. On the table are plates from the period and a valve found on the site the Abitation of Quebec. The ceramic creations from Isabelle Laverdière are alongside these historical treasures. For the French side, she created a plate where three vessels navigate on the bottom. For the English side, the dish contains eleven ships. Laverdière reinforces the message of numerical superiority of British forces by using contemporary creativity. This game on the forces involved is present in the various conflicts illustrated. It ends in the last confrontation during the Second World War, were submarines sail through the plates.

More precisely, armed conflicts represented in exhibition occurred in 1629 (Champlain, Kirke), 1690 (Frontenac, Phips), 1711 (Walker), 1759 (Saunders and Durell, Vaudreuil) 1779 (Haldimand) and 1942 (Fortin, Hartwig). The attentive visitor will note that the aggressors and defenders are all grouped on the same side of the room. They are British nationals or Americans facing of the French and Canadians.A work of art installed in a military school can hardly evacuate propaganda. Here, it is manifested by a sense of friendship side that trenscends the conflicts. Without evacuating the historical dimension, it is surprising that the horrors of war are not even mentioned once. No death is noted among the conflicts represented. We are rather in a duel of the mind where the fight is done by using good words and flowers. In a typical example, of thirty dead of the Phips expedition, zero are reported.

Instead of the horrors of war, the emphasis is placed on a camaraderie among sailors that goes beyond war. The torpedoing of the German submarine U-877 by the St.Thomas corvette illustrates this vision. Let us briefly recall the facts. In December 1944, two Canadian vessels attacked a German ship. As the German crew was forced to throw itself in icy waters, the Canadians recovered them. A relationship of friendship grew after the war between belligerents, especially first lieutenant Stanislas Déry and Deputy Commander Peter Heisig. The exhibition ends on this idyllic note.

In the context of a command in a particular context (the 400th anniversary of its founding Quebec) by a sponsor (Naval Museum), Isabelle Laverdière manages to sail successfully in treaterous waters. She achieves a tour de force, creating an atmosphere of instability and warmth in a rigid space. The visual metaphors are supported by an original use of materials from the country. Her ceramic creations support the exhibition of historical artifacts. Standing on the border between a marketing operation and an artistic creation, The Refectory remains, despite its defects, an incursion of contemporary art at the military. If only for this last quality, this work is worth a look.

- USEFUL INFORMATION -
* The installation The Refectory by Isabelle Laverdière is presented by the Naval Museum of Quebec until Nivember 15th, 2008. [map]
 
* Admission is free.
 
* Opening hours are available by calling the Museum at (418) 694-5387. 

- NOTE -
[1] In its accompanying document, the Naval Museum says it is a first in Canada.

- BIBLIOGRAPHY -
CÔTÉ, Nathalie. « L’art contemporain chez les marins ».  Le Soleil, [online], August 9th, 2008, (page visited on August 15th, 2008).
LÉTOURNEAU, Jocelyn. Le coffre à outils du chercheur débutant. Montréal, Boréal, 2006, 266 p.
STACEY, C. P. « Phips, sir William » in Biographi.ca, [online], 2000, (page visited on August 15th, 2008). 

With the exhibit Shanghai Kaleidoscope, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) sheds some light on China’s largest city. Shanghai’s creativity is here presented in four different artistic expressions: architecture, urban aesthetic, contemporary art and fashion.

The museum has undergone a major transformation since beginning of the millennium [1]. Under the project Renaissance ROM, the institution was reorganized. The entrance was moved and visitors are now welcomed into the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building (Fig. 1). This multi-faceted wing gives a futuristic look to an heritage building.

Figure 1 [2]. Royal Ontario Museum. Picture: wikipedia.org, under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 license

This modern add-on on a museum where almost all the collection is devoted to the ancient arts can be used to emphasize the incongruity of Shanghai Kaleidoscope at the ROM. The exhibition is presented by The Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC), which explores contemporary cultural and social topics [3]. It is their third exhibition [4]. We are witnessing therefore the infancy of the incursion of the ROM in contemporary art.

The marriage may create some confusion in the mind of many visitors. How so? Bear in mind that the room next to the exhibit is dedicated to fashion and textiles. Dresses from the eighteenth century and looms are offered in traditional contemplation. The floor below is devoted to the arts in Precolombian America, Pacific islands, Africa and the Middle East. It is with his/her head filled with images of statues, ritual objects and other artifacts that the visitor enters this contemporary art exhibit on the rapid transformation of China. The shock is brutal and several people speak aloud on the presence of art contemporary in the room. In this regard, it seems that the design should be reviewed to allow a smooth transition between the permanent collections museum and temporary exhibitions devoted to today’s creativity.

[**** View the image by clicking this link ****]

Figure 2. Houses in Bund district, circa 1880.

Hence, the presence of Shanghai 1860-1949: Historical Photographs (Fig. 2) can serve as an introduction despite its location on the ground floor. Located in the area devoted to traditional arts of the Korea, China and Japan, this exhibition presents photographs chronicling life of Europeans in the Chinese city at the turn of the twentieth century. This exhibits fits perfectly with its surroundings. In it, visitors learn that British, French and Americans established trade concessions, to the dismay of Chinese authorities. Being outside the reach of local laws, trade flourished. This wealth has led to the construction of buildings of neo-classical architecture on Bund street.

This historical fact is the first pillar necessary to appreciate Shanghai Kaleidoscope. Indeed, the contemporary art exhibition shows the reaction of artists to the changes suffered by their city since the early 1990s. This European heritage is part of the past that some artists may wish to protect.

The other pillar necessary to appreciate this exhibition concerns the changes the city has suffered for the last fifteen years [5]. Thus, after the Second War World and following the advent of the Republic People of China, foreign concessions were placed under Chinese control. While foreigners would find refuge in Hong Kong, Chinese continued to make the city an important industrial centre. Its economic importance has been given a new impulse during the 90s when the government put in place tax incentives to encourage its development.

From a commercial standpoint, the city is a veritable success. Since 2005, its port manages the largest cargo traffic in the world. Its stock exchange is the most important in China. Its gross domestic product has increased by 13% in 2007 alone. It counts for 6% of Chinese GDP.This economic wealth is accompanied by a unprecedented population growth. The population of the urban agglomeration approaches 15 million. To accommodate these people, many dwellings were built. The residential towers have proliferated. More than 4000 buildings over 20-storeys high have been built in the city, which is twice New York’s numbers. Another 1000 are planned.

The attitude of China towards the preservation of heritage is ambivalent. It is explained by Ma Qingyun, a Chinese iconoclastic architect, in the exhibition catalogue [6]. The usual philosophy towards growth has been to raze and rebuild. If Chinese are not opposed to urban conservation areas, they adopt a Confucean approach of managing the flow and change. Therefore, the architect does not preserve a space that prevents future opportunities. Since territory is limited, this would freeze development for future generations.

So, in assessing Shanghai Kaleidoscope, we must have this knowledge of the past and of the current economic growth of the city. Without such information, the visitor cannot grasp the meaning of the installations that are proposed. Unfortunately, the texts accompanying the works emphasizes the western perspective on the preservation of historic monuments. The point of view of Qingyun is not (or little) presented. Rather, it is the nostalgia that takes over.

Figure 3. Cover of the book Phantom Shanghai by Greg Girard.

This approach is apparent in the works of two artists of Western origins, Italian Olivo Barbieri and Canadian Greg Girard. The latter offers photographs taken between 2001 and 2006. Extracted from the book Phantom Shanghai (Fig. 3), this collection of images wants preserve the memory of the city as it existed between 1949 and 1990. It follows a presentation traditional buildings surrounded by demolition debris. The photos show the remaining buildings as islands of the past in a sea of bricks, beams and plaster scattered on the ground. The city appears to have suffered bombings, much like these images of European cities ravaged by war. The power of evocation is very strong. If the artist describes himself as anti-nostalgic [7], presenting buildings in such a manner fuels an exaltation of the past.

Meanwhile, Olivo Barbieri offers Site_Specific Shanghai 05, a film of a dozen minutes. Taken from the air, the film presents the images of the numerous towers that populate the megalopolis. On those buildings, the white coating turns brown. They stand on a ground continuously hammered where pools of stagnant water multiply. The trees are rare in this vision of Shanghai as a construction site. since the image eventually all look alike, it creates in the mind of the spectator a sens of hypnotism and vacuum that invites thought on the disappearance of a way of life under the hammer. Very powerful - it gives the impression that all buildings are similar and the only variety is reflected in the organic development of old districts. Unlike a tourist film, it avoids sightseeing spots such as Bund street and the People’s Square.

This view is in sharp contrast with the vision offered by Crystal CG Shanghai in Shanghai Panorama 2008. In a film created on a computer that presents itself as an overview of the city, viewers stroll in a virtual world presenting an idealized version of today’s Shanghai. If brown and dirt dominate the work of Barbieri, here vibrates blues and greens in an opulent fashion. The trees are numerous, there are no visible defects and all the characters smile in this imaginary world. Standardization is de rigueur, the dominant aesthetic criterion appearing to be display of the Chinese flag associated with an utopian conception of happiness. If propaganda infiltrates in this document, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Indeed, this company is the official multimedia supplier of the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo of 2010. This work must therefore be decoded using the commercial criteria with which it has been produced. Nevertheless, it is a master reminderthat the city’s development is positivily seen by a huge fraction of the population.

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Figure 4. Let’s Puff [image from the installation], Yang Zhenzhong.

The observation of change that can’t be stopped seems to be the inevitable common link of Chinese artists speaking on the transformation of Shanghai. No work better illustrates this than Let’s Puff (2002) by Yang Zhenzhong (Fig. 4). This installation consists of two video projections that are facing. On one of the screens is projected the image of a young woman looking timid. Periodically, she takes a great inspiration, raises her hand and uses it as a springboard to send her breath to the other screen. Our gaze then turns to that screen where passerbies roam in an anonymous street of the city. As soon as the breath of the young woman is heard, this image begins to tremble at its pace. This work illustrates the wind of change hitting the traditional Chinese lifestyle.

The same artist offers another video installation at the entrance of the exhibition. Light and Easy 2 (2002) is a projection of the image of Zhenzhong keeping the Shanghai buildings in balance in his hands (Fig. 5). The skyline of Shanghai is reversed and the top of the Oriental Pearl Radio Tower stands at the end of his index. In this visual metaphor, the winds of change are blowing too, while the population maintains the city up in a continuous and fragile game of balance.

[**** Image visible here ****]

Figure 5. Light and Easy 2 [still from the video], Yang Zhenzhong.

In Shanghai, August 18-19, 2004 and Shanghai, April 8-9, 2005, Shi Guorui proposes to capture the transformations incurred by the metropolis (Fig. 6 for illustration of his work). Enclosing a hotel room in the dark , he uses the principle of camera obscura. His film captures the light emanating from the city over the next eight hours or so. It results in a dialogue between the old quarter of Bund street with the new business district from which the ephemeral nature is abstracted. This (in)action triggers a feeling of reconciliation between commercial activities past and present.

[**** Image visible here ****]

Figure 6. Shanghai 9 May 2005, Shi Guorui. This image is not present in Shanghai but the Shanghai Kaleidoscope work is similar.

A similar approach is displayed in Gravity - Shanghai Night Sky (2004) by Shi Yong in a series of photographs capturing the summit of a few skyscrapers of the city. By removing the body of buildings to concentrate on their coronation, the artist stresses an urban profile constantly changing and this new way by which to define Shanghai: its towers. The projection nearby Flutter, Flutter, Jasmine, Jasmine (2002) by Yang Fudong is presented as a response by human presence to concrete buildings. In this fictional story of a young couple living in one of skyscrapers of the city, the contrast between idealism of silly folk songs and raw realism of urban space is sung in a spirit of karaoke. In doing so, the artist manages to extirpate the humanity of his characters, despite the inhumanity of the places.

Only one piece from China appears to reject modernity in a more direct way. It is the video Crumpling Shanghai (2000) from Song Dong. The principle is simple: a film of Shanghai’s traditional way of life is projected onto a white sheet of paper on a black background. After a few seconds, hands appear to crease the paper and crush the images of the past. The process is redone with a new image and a new page. The fragility of urban life and its transience are supported in this powerful evocation.

Also, a work of Shen Fan is present in the exhibition, but the installation is not complete. Moreover, creations from fashion designers Gao Xin, Wang Yiyang and Zhang Da are proposed. Interviews - most of whom are in Mandarin without subtitles - and films featuring the city can also be viewed.

This exhibition allows the Canadian viewer to familiarize himself/herself with contemporary art occurring in Shanghai. This city of constant changes is a reflection of China as a whole. In a world where everything that touches China is bound to become more important over the years, it is an unexpected opportunity to see significant works created by artists at the forefront of the Shanghai scene.

If the ROM is not a museum of modern art, the insertion contemporary works from an empire of the past is a good idea. However, the gap between the permanent collections and this exhibition is very large. Regular visitors may feel lost and the exhibit may not have an attraction power strong enough for contemporary art enthousiasts. This event runs the risk of oversight by the Toronto public, unfortunately.

Useful information

• Kaleidoscope Shanghai is presented by the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto). It runs until 26 October 2008. [ details and location]
• Schedule From Monday to Thursday: 10 to 17:30Friday: 10 to 21:30 Saturday and Sunday: 10 to 17:30
• Admission Adults: $ 22 Reduced fares: $ 19 Children: $ 15 [details]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Shanghai”. Wikipedia, [online], 2008, <http://www.wikipedia.org> (accessed on August 10 2008).

ROYAL MUSEUM OF ONTARIO. Website of the Royal Museum of Ontario, [online], <http://www.rom.on.ca/>, (site consulted on August 10, 2008).

CHESNEAUX, Jean and Jean DELVERT. “Shanghai [Chang-Hai]“. Encyclopedia Universalis, [online], 2007, < http://www.universalis-edu.com/> (consulted on 10 August 2008).

LÉTOURNEAU, Jocelyn. Le coffre à outils du chercheur débutant. Montreal, Boréal, 2006, 266 p.

PHILLIPS, Christopher. Shanghai Kaleidoscope. Exhibition catalogue. (Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, May 3 — November 2, 2008). Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, 2008, 144 p.

LIST OF FIGURES
Figures
1. Royal Ontario Museum - Royal Ontario Museum. 2007. Digital Photography. 2518 x 1747 pixels. Wikipedia Commons (photo taken from Wikipedia Commons, June 2007, Royal Ontario Museum, [online], <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Royal_Ontario_Mu seum.jpg>, (accessed on August 10, 2008)).
2. House Bund district. [no date]. Digital photography. 180 x 160 pixels. Royal Ontario Museum (photo taken from the Royal Ontario Museum, 2008, House Bund district, [online], <http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/special/shanghai_photo_ en.php>, (accessed on August 10, 2008)).
3. Girard, Greg. Book cover of Phantom Shanghai. 2007. Digital photography. 400 x 321 pixels. Thames & Hudson [publishers] (photo taken from FNAC, 2008, Phantom Shanghai,[online], <http://livre.fnac.com/a1971873/Greg-Girard- Phantom Shanghai-> (accessed on August 10, 2008)).
4. Zhenzhong, Yang. Let’s Puff. 2002. Video profection on two channels. Courtesy of the artist and the Haudenschild Collection (La Jolla, USA) (photo taken from Canadian Art, Shanghai Kaleidoscope: Global and China the 21st Century, [online], <http://www.canadianart.ca/online/see-it/2008/05/08/shanghai-kaleidoscope /> (accessed on August 10, 2008)).
5. Zhenzhong, Yang. Light and Easy 2. 2002. Video projection on a singlechannel (6 min), sound. Courtesy of the artist and of the Haudenschild Collection (La Jolla, USA) (photo from Canadian Art, Shanghai Kaleidoscope: Global China and the 21st Century, [online], <http://www.canadianart.ca/online/see-it/2008/05/08/shanghai-kaleidoscope /> (accessed August 10, 2008)).
6. Guorui, Shi. Shanghai May 9th 2005. Camera Obscura, on gelatin silver. (photo taken from Artnet, Shi Guorui, [online], <http://www.artnet.com/artist/424491738/shi-guorui.html>, (accessed on August 10, 2008)).

NOTES
[1] The information concerning the ROM is taken from the website of the institution.
[2] The photographs in this document is from various electronic sources which explains their uneven quality. They are presented to support the text and they must in no way replace it.
[3] Christopher Phillips, Shanghai Kaleidoscope, exhibition catalogue (Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, May 3 - November 2, 2008), Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, 2008, p. 18.
[4] Ibid.
[5] The information on the development of Shanghai is from the exhibition catalogue, Encyclopedia Universalis (whose bibliography stops in 1962) and they are supplemented by a few comments from Wikipedia contributors.
[6] Philips, op. , p. 24.
[7] Ibid, p. 113.

Quebec-City lovers know that there is excavation work currently underway on Couillard street in the older part of the town, near the convenience store and the Temporel coffee shop.

What these lovers may not know is that this work is going on on a spot designated as rich from an archeological standpoint.

In a 1998 study, the firm Ehtnoscop stated that lot 022 shows masonry structure that was on a 1709 map. This building, built on the former course of the street, was built before that date. Some archeological works already found a stone structure and artifacts.

[Details, excavation work, Couillard street]

How does the city of Quebec treat this heritage? Easy: it uses shovels and scraps the stones.

Very sad.

And just to make matters worse, I’ll put up this picture of the Intendant’s Palace, the residence of the French governor of the colony. So there you have all the 400th-anniversary historical celebration you need, while going to the Paul McCartney concert.

Mea Culpa: User «P» on the French version of this post noted that water pipes werebeing repaired, not gas pipes.  

[El Coloso [The Colossus], attributed to the School of Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, c.1808-1812, oil on canvas, 116 x 105 cm, Museo del Prado]

The Museo del Prado (Madrid) has made it official: El Coloso will now be attributed to the School of Goya but not to the Spanish master. The site of the museum has not yet been updated.

The first sign that something was wrong about this painting first appeared in April: El Coloso was not part of a comprehensive retrospective of the Prado devoted to the painter.

[El Coloso [The Colossus] (detail), attributed to the School of Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, c.1808-1812, oil on canvas, 116 x 105 cm, Museo del Prado]

The poor quality of the bulls represented in the painting raised the suspicions of the curators since Goya was very familiar with the anatomy of these animals.

Keep your museum guides, they are now part of art history…

* Quebec City launched a contest for the realization of a work of contemporary art in the borough of Beauport. The work will fit a place with water jets on the avenue Royale. Budget: $ 80.000. Deadline: July 7, 2008. [details]

* Montreal daily Le Devoir reported in its weekend edition that the National Gallery of Canada could terminate its agreement with the City of Energy in Shawinigan. The budget cuts of the Conservative government would be to blame.

[Ron Mueck, Baby; source: wikipedia.org]

All the more reason to enjoy the exhibition by Ron Mueck and Guy Ben-Ner, which runs until September 1st 2008.

* Le Moulin des images [The Mill of Pictures] from Robert Lepage is projected on the mill of the Bunge in Quebec City’s port. No narrative but a series of impressions. You will find a slideshow of interest on the site of Ex Machina.

[Ex Machina]

* The Naval Museum of Quebec deserves to be better known. Located in the Old Port, it offers two exhibitions this summer. The Refectory is a work by Isabelle Laverdière which interprets exchanges that occurred between marine enemies over centuries on the St. Lawrence River. By Sea and In Stone covers the development of defensive works in the region. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Museum of the Royal 22nd Regiment [Citadel], the Museum of the Regiment of Voltigeurs of Quebec [Armoury; currently closed due to fire] and the Musee du Regiment de la Chaudière.

* Quebec Gold presents the works of 17 artists from the nation in Reims (France) this summer, in collaboration with L’Oeil de Poisson. Those invited are: Jean-Pierre Aubé, Mathieu Beauséjour, BGL, Sylvain Bouthillette, Michel de Broin, Cooke-Sasseville, Doyon-Rivest, Jérôme Fortin, Dominique Gaucher, Pascal Grandmaison, Isabelle Hayeur, Guillaume Lachapelle, Emmanuelle Léonard, Yann Pocreau, Yannick Pouliot, Michael A. Robinson et Ève K. Tremblay.
Note that Michel de Broin, Cooke-Sasseville, Doyon-Rivest, Isabelle Hayeur and Yannick Pouliot are also part of the Triennial of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal.

* Many works of contemporary artists were acquired by Loto-Quebec after Manif d’art 4. Works of the following artists have been acquired: Éveline Boulva, Eve Cadieux, Don Darby, Isabelle Véronique, Lucia Lefebvre, Reno Salvail, Helga Schlitter, Bill Vincent and Giorgia Volpe. Moreover, Nathalie Thibault and Cooke-Sasseville received scholarships. Note that the latter is part of the Triennial of The Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal and, as mentioned earlier, his works will be exhibited in Reims.

* The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts offers a free and individual tour next Wednesday. [details]

* In conjunction with the exhibition The Louvre in Quebec, the National Gallery of Quebec [Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec] offers free shows of the film Louvre, the visit. Performances are at 13h30 and 15h00 on the following dates:
June: 15, 18, 22 and 29
July: 2, 9, 13, 20, 23, 27 and 30
August: 3, 6, 10, 13, 20, 24, 27 and 31

* The market for contemporary sculpture continues to be strong. For example, the sculpture My Lonesome Cowboy by Takashi Murakami was sold for $ 13.5 million in May. Artprice provides a market analysis.

[Takashi Murakami, My Lonesome Cowboy, 1998, epoxy resin]

* Mexico is too small for the Guggenheim.

* Collector Charles Saatchi bought many works of three graduates in visual arts.

* Going by San Francisco? An exhibition on women Impressionists has just begun at the Museum of Fine Arts. A selection of works is available on the Museum’s Picasa account.

[Berthe Morisot, Interior, 1872, oil on canvas]

* And on a more personal note, I finished my intensive summer course in art history. Entitled Impression and Sensation: Aspects of the Artistic Subjectivity in Modern Painting in the Nineteenth Century, it was a deepening experience of landscape painting, the Impressionists and Cezanne.

* The Montréal Museum of Fine Arts offers tours of 30 minutes over lunch to discover an artist. A pleasant way to feed one’s soul. Upcoming events: 4th and 5th of June 2008 at 12.15. The artist: Jean-Paul Riopelle. [More]

* The Manif d’art 4 currently takes place in Quebec City. It takes a lot of courage and almost a survival guide to organize your activities on the website of the event. I’m still looking for a way to get a Manif card, necessary for the visit of Toi / You, la rencontre [You/You, The Encounter].

Despite these difficulties, it should be noted that the annual exhibition of visual arts students from Laval University, presented by Loto-Quebec, opens this Friday, May 30th.

* Television channel artv offers new episodes of the French series Palettes. Narrated by art historian Alain Jaubert, each episode explores the history behind a work of art that has marked Western art. If it isn’t found in the list of programs of the specialty channel, it still is worth a look, having been celebrated at the last FIFA Montreal. Being the happy owner of the 18-DVD box set, I recommend these films that are pleasantly instructive. This week: Burial at Ornans by Courbet [May 25 at 7:30, 28 / 5 3:28, 28 / 5 15:29].

[Gustave Courbet, Burial at Ornans, 1849-1850, oil on canvas, 314x663 cm, Musee d'Orsay, Paris; photographic source: Wikipedia]

* Quebec painter Claude Théberge died. The municipality of Notre-Dame-du-Lac has devoted a website to the artist.

* Record books will have to be revisited: skyscraper Burj Dubai is now the highest structure in the world. Peaking currently at 650 meters, it is expected to reach 819 meters by the end of its construction. By way of comparison, the CN Tower stretches over 553 meters [it is time to update the Web site describing it as the highest structure in the world, a title lost a few years ago ...], the 1250 René-Levesque of Montreal [IBM-Marathon] measures 230 metres and the Complex G Quebec stands at 176 meters, with the antenna.

[Burj Dubai; photographic source: Wikipedia]

* The sequel to A Night at the Museum, starring Ben Stiller, began its shooting. The action takes place at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. It is the first time in 162 years that the institution allows the use of its name in a film.

* Sir Anthony Caro, British sculptor, has be answered ‘No thank you!’ by the City of London. He offered them his most ambitious sculpture to date. Result: the work Millibank Steps is now on sale for nearly $ 5 million.

* The only complete copy of the Manuscrit du surréalisme by André Breton was sold this week for $ 5.5 million at Sotheby’s Paris. The lot included eight other manuscripts that many feared would be dispersed.

I’ve recently taken a trip to Paris. this explains the infrequent updates on the blog.

I first stopped at the Museum of Modern Art at Centre Georges Pompidou. In the large space, an oversized payer mill greets visitors. Usually, a Buddhist monk turns such an object - a smaller version — reciting a prayer. Here, the projection of the object to another level highlights the dangers of religion and politics, linking them together.

[Ehi Ehi Sina Sina, Huang Yong Ping, 2006; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

Among the exhibitions presented is the first retrospective devoted to Louise Bourgeois. It was a discovery for me. The artist offers a very personal vision over two hundred works on display. Born in 1911, living in New York since 1938, we feel a certain unease about the relationship between this artist and France. Having left the country for 70 years, is she still a French artist? As the program says by making a comparison with Marcel Duchamp, she is declared an American artist born in France. In addition to these geographical considerations, the exhibition gave me the impression of entering the head of Louise Bourgeois. In fact, when I think about it, we get no so much in her head but rather in this intimate space populated by impulses and secret desires fueled by the frustrations of childhood and repressed desires. Proposed in multi-faceted aspects (People, Places of Remembrance, …), sculptures, paintings, drawings and prints are not always accessible at first glance. I wonder what art history will make of this production.

In the permanent collection, I would like to propose “Dynamism of a car” (1912-1913) by Luigi Russolo. This work is very representative of Futurism, the Italian movement based in Milan - among other places - advocating speed to oppose the archaic past of Italy. In this sense, machines producing speed such as cars, airplanes and trains are valued. In this painting, Russolo expressed with color and lines of forces the philosophy of flow developed by Henri Bergson.

[Dynamism of a car, Luigi Russolo, 1912-1913; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

Throughout the days, other places of interest for the art historian in me have been visited. The department store Le Bon Marché was part of the tour, and not only to buy an umbrella on these rainy days in the capital. Rather, I enjoyed a visit to one of the first private places where works of art have been exposed. Thus, in the 19th century, some painters could exhibit their paintings on the top floor of the department store. The brightness was really good, which surprised me. I wonder what this place looked like 150 years ago… Today, the top floor is occupied by furniture.

[Le Bon Marché, Paris Photo: Marc Gauthier]

At the Musée d’Orsay, great paintings are always a pleasure for the eyes. I noticed details that I had never seen before. Thus, the upper left corner of the painting “The Church of Auvers”, Van Gogh swirls black and blue and makes the brush stroke very visible. For the anecdote, I will recall that this painting was acquired with the assistance of Paul Gachet and a Canadian anonymous donation in 1951.

[The Church of Auvers, Vincent Van Gogh, beginning June 1890; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

[The Church of Auvers (detail), Vincent Van Gogh, beginning June 1890; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

Orsay proposes two dialogues between works in the museum and contemporary artists. The first of those matches that I viewed was between “Showcase - Rue de Sevigne” by Bertrand Lavier and “Reading” by Manet. The touch proposed by Lavier explores the painting of Monet in a very surprising way. You feel the kinship between the two works without a sense of imitation. Coup de coeur.

[Showcase - Rue de Sevigne, Bertrand Lavier, 2005; Photo by Marc Gauthier]

[Reading, Edouard Manet, circa 1865-1867; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

[Reading (detail), Edouard Manet, circa 1865-1867; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

The other dialogue comes in a multimedia showcase. On the walls are projected words and symbols, displayed in a continuous movement and changing colors. This plays on movement, time and color reminiscent of the work on colour and light made by Impressionnists. It is the dialogue between Monet and Charles Sandison. Another coup de coeur.

[Blue Water Lilies, Charles Sandison, 2007-2008; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

[Blue Water Lilies, Claude Monet, circa 1915-1920; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

Among other news worthy of mention is my disappointment not to find “The Angelus” and “Les Glaneuses” by Jean-Francois Millet. The two best-known works of the painter were on loan. This choice seems unwise. It’s as if I bought a bag containing 100 candies and I realize that it lacks two; I might be satisfied but there’s still something missing…

Also, large paintings by Courbet were being restored. The work is carried out in front of visitors. While museum professionals must feel like animals under observation, it is always pleasant to see these expert hands at work. “The workshop of the painter” by Courbet underwent at least a dozen of retouchings.

[The workshop of the painter, Courbet; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

A trip to Paris is impossible for an art historian without making a stop at 7, rue des Grands Augustins in Saint-Germain des Pres. At this address is set the action of the short story “Unknown Masterpiece” by Balzac. The story that the author tells is that of a painter who presents his masterpiece to friends. These are stunned by what they see: they do not understand the canvas which is under their eyes.

This is a literary figure of premonition because it is also at this address that Picasso settled in 1930. He painted one of its best-known paintings: Guernica.

The Museum of the Romantic Life of the city of Paris presented “The Golden Age of German Romanticism - Watercolors and Drawings at the time of Goethe.” Although I liked the place, the exhibition left me a little cold. However, it allowed to become aware of my ignorance about German art and these artists.

I also attended my first auction at the Hotel Drouot-Richelieu. A highly rewarding experience which confirms my interest in the life of the art object after its artistic creation.

As always, exhibitions at the Museum of Luxembourg are sought after by Tout-Paris. During my visit, “Vlaminck - A Fauve instinct” was running. A total success that alloed me to see many paintings of the artist in one place. There, I bought another catalogue that I will read back home!

Another artist that I do not know much was Gustave Moreau. Ingenious, he spent the last years of his life setting up a museum dedicated to his work. It was therefore a discovery of his paintings but also many drawings of this Symbolist. Only problem in the museum: many canvas proposed are those of unfinished works. Personally, I like this type of work because it helps us understand the method of work of an artist.

[Inside the Gustave Moreau museum; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

[Drawing no. 1015 (detail), Gustave Moreau; Photo: Marc Gauthier]

To be continued…

Title:

We Will Make You Fat

Subtitle:

We will prove that you don’t have to be thin, skiny and under-developed - at our cost!
[Nous prouverons à nos frais qu'il n'est pas nécessaire d'être mince, décharné et non développé]

Under the drawing:

Oh! Look at those stick figures! Why don’t they try Sargol?
[Oh! Regarde donc ces deux chandelles! Pourquoi n'essaient-ils pas du Sargol?]

I found that surprising ad for a weight-gaining product in Montreal daily La Patrie from May 24th, 1913.

If the idea of such a product can make us smile nowadays, authorities didn’t find it funny then. The company was sued by the US Government in 1917. The trial showed that this little business was a fairly lucrative one, bringing in 1,200$ daily!

[Image: Study of a horse, Leonardo da Vinci, Royal Library, Windsor, by Wikipedia]

Artists working on today’s graphical software rarely leave any sketches, unlike Leonardo. In fact, most of the work between conception and realisation is erased from the layers as soon as the final project is finished.

As a future art historian, I am left wondering what will be used in 50 years to trace back the history of today’s works of art?

Are videos of this type the future to this question?