Marc Gauthier

[Overview of Room 9, back]

The exhibition Québec City and its Photographers, 1850-1908. The Yves Beauregard Collection offers unique pictures of the Old-Capital. Despite some good efforts from the Museum to showcase this collection, it is highly likely that the public will not to hurry at the gates. 

This exhibition offers a selection of approximately 400 photographs, ambrotypes, tintypes and other printing processes of light on a support. Today, digital photography makes picture-taking easily and inexpensively available to all. Putting what we see onto a picture has never been easier. From the click of a button of a camera to the click of the mouse manipulating digital files, the (relative) ease of tools at our provision makes us forget the complexity of the technical aspects hidden in our instruments.

Québec City and its Photographers unveils the beginning of this technology, taking Quebec as a benchmark. Most photographs are presented in a showcase, as artifacts of time past. Their cracks, yellowish or brownish appearance, curves are part of their history, and in that sense, they add a sense of memory.  Other images are framed, wrapped by a large all-white, creating a vacuum around them. Each frame is hung on a brown wall, so that the the visitor seems to look through a window to the past. This staging is successful. 

From a practical point of view, Room 9 is separated into four different themes: Sights of Quebec City, Life in Quebec City, processes and major studios.

[Ellisson & Co., Le Château Haldimand, Québec, between 1860 and 1879, albumin (2006.1071)]

Sights of Quebec City welcomes the visitor upon entry. It is composed mainly of panoramic views and of city monuments. Here, Quebecers will not be surprised to note that their city has been presented for a long time in a picturesque way, from the advent of photography. Since these images have become commonplace, it is not surprising to find in the text presentation a cliché presenting the city as the ‘Gibraltar of America [1]“.

In particular, one must take the time to reflect upon Quebec viewed from the St. Lawrence taken around 1885 by Notman or Quebec seen from Levi taken around 1865 by Smeatons. These documents put the spectator in a bygone era. Better yet, these large-format photographs have lived through the centuries in a remarkable condition, witnesses to the care that their owners have provided.

However, the Museum work surrounding these groups of pictures leaves a bit to be desired. Examples include the text of presentation in the series of historic sites. It invites us to observe the evolution of the same place over time and under the eye of various photographers. A fascinating idea. However, it would help that images taken in the wake of these lines were placed in a coherent manner. Where is the juxtaposition of these photographs? Where is the series of views of Quebec City so that we can monitor the city over time? Rather than make our work much easier, the Museum sends us across the room in search of those pictures. 

The texts could also have improved the visit when places that are now missing are illustrated. Thus, the Scene of Finlay Market presents real historical evidence of Quebec trade life when this photograph was taken. Only problem: where was this market located? How is one supposed to know this information? How will one make  the connection between time past and today? For the sake of argument, let us indicate that the market was located approximately between Place Royale and the St.Lawrence River [2]. These are small irritants, but they eventually tend to add up. 

Life in Quebec City groups portraits and some aspects of daily life. Here, the ranking of portraits according to social rule is mentioned. Also, children’s portraits or images of the celebrations surrounding the 300th anniversary of Quebec City are grouped together. Once again, the presentation texts sometimes cause problems. Thus, in the text next to Ahatsistari, Huron Chief Emeritus, there is an inconsistency reported between the Huron costume and the classical decor by using an exclamation point. However, somewhere not too far away, we are reminded that this type of scene was current in photo studios to suggest a classical architecture, and therefore timelessness. Greater consistency in those two texts would have been appreciated. 

[Ellisson & Co., Ahatsistari (André-Napoléon Montpetit, 1840-1898), chef huron honoraire, 1878, albumin (2006.1211)]

Also, the theme Life in Quebec City is scattered all over the room. One could easily believe that all the exhibition is grouped under this term, providing a bit of confusion for the visitor. 

One must not miss the section of studio portraits. Thus, we are rightly reminded of details that enrich our experience. For example, the presence of head restraints is reported on several photographs. People whose picture was taken with the same clothes or in the same scene are also placed side by side to reveal an aspect of these photographs in a serial way. Better yet, two photographs of different women but in the same clothes, both standing before the same scenery, can not fail to surprise and delight. This find from researchers exploring the Yves Beauregard collection deserves to be highlighted.

If the images on the walls are worth a look, the scientific interest of the exhibition is located in its center. The heart of the the first part of the room is occupied by processes used by photographers working in Quebec City. In a simple language and with a chronological order, the daguerreotype, the ambrotype, the tintype, dry gelatin, albumin and gelatin silver processes are presented alternatively.  With examples from the Collection, visitors can see the evolution of these processes and their use by studios. The journey leading to our digital cameras is enormous.

[A stereoscope]

In the same section, two stereoscopes are accessible. These devices allowed photographers to create the illusion of three-dimensional pictures. It is a real pleasure to be able to use these apparatus. In the same way, the evolution of visit cards is presented. Furthermore, the work of the major studios of Lemire, Livernois and Vallée is displayed. Seeing the Vallée Car on the Dufferin Terrace is an important testimony this photographer who was playing tourist in his city.

Note that in the room, most objects are placed in windows. Chairs are inviting people to sit and observe these witnesses of time past. However, this choice of furniture is doubtful. Most visitors are reluctant to sit down, probably from fear to take the entire area for themselves. In this sense, putting a bench would have been a neat way to break this natural nuisance while achieving the same effect. 

Also, it should be noted that the text alongside the photographs is poorly prioritized. Photographer, topic, date: these informations are arranged in a set too compact for easy reading. If the photographer is put forward as an artist - and that choice is obvious - it seems that the topic represented is the information that most visitors would be wishing to read first. A subtle enhancement of the text might have been able to refine this aspect of the exhibition.

Finally, it is pertinent to ask whether a dialogue between images of past and present could have been achieved. In fact, what is the exposure of these witnesses of the past without thinking about time passing? These are beautiful objects, signs of a know-how gone by, but without context, it falls a little flat. We leave this exhibition pleased to have enriched our mind with images, but without any real reflection on the matter. The visitor enters the rooms, looks for familiar landmarks on the images, marvels of the passing time, leaves.

One can wonder about the  opportunities offered by this important museum exhibition. It is not certain if Québec City and its Photographers is the best possible exhibit one could have thought of. Why not use photographs to recreate an image of a Quebec gone by, or present celebrations of the 300th anniversary of foundation more proeminently, or focus only on the studios or the processes? If the wealth of the collection makes it difficult to keep the focus on one aspect, the Museum could have made it easier for the visitor to center his interest one one aspect of the Collection. 

Overall, Québec City and its Photographers deserves a look. The quality of the photographs exhibited are worth the attention. If the setting leaves something to be desired and a tightening of the theme Life in Quebec City would have been appreciated, this does not spoil the visit.

Nevertheless, the real brakes for accessing this exhibition is its exorbitant price. Thus, your wallet will offload 15 dollars if this post makes you want to go to the Museum. That is the same price you will pay if you go see The Louvre in Quebec City and all Museum exhibitions. When the Louvre has finished its run, and Québec City and its Photographers will be the only temporary exhibit until early December, one has to wonder who will be in the room in November? Indeed, we noticed very few visitors entering in the room to see this single exhibit at the time of our visit. Rather, it was people who were waiting for the Louvre, touring the Museum rooms while wasting some time or explorers of the permanent collections for whom the doors were closed. It is a pity that the Museum did not reduce its entrance fee for visitors of this single exhibit. Attendance will unfortunately suffer.

- USEFUL INFORMATION -

• Québec City and its Photographers, 1850-1908. The Yves Beauregard Collection is presented at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec [Quebec Art Gallery] from September 25h, 2008 to January 4th, 2009. Opening hours and useful informations are available on their site.
• Regular admission fee is 15 dollars. Some group rates are offered.
• The is no audioguide availaible.
• The catalogue is worth the purchase since all the photographs of the exhibit are reproduced.

* Test your knowledge in art history and help fight hunger through the United Nations.  

* L’Oeil has published a list of the top French museums. The Louvre sits at position number one. 

* A tattoo from Wim Delvoye has been sold. The person on which the drawing has been done will be «displayed» a couple of times a year in galleries.

* Who would have thought that Calgary could be more tolerant than Vancouver?

* Damien Hirst will bypass the Gallery system next week. His latest works of art are criticized by the Daily Telegraph, twice. 

* Review of Shalom Quebec at Gare du Palais.

* Pictures of the protest in Quebec City against cuts in arts by the Conservative government.

* Pictures were added to the Intrus/Intruders review.

* Review of Paysage de l’âme / Soulscape at Engramme.

* Some pictures from my latest trip to Paris.

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.

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

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.

[Cliffs near Dieppe, Claude Monet, 1897, oil on canvas, 65x100 cm]

A Frenchman living in Florida was indicted this week for attempting to sell stolen paintings. He was trying to sell the four artworks stolen at gunpoint from the Museum of Fine Arts in Nice last year - and that have been found since. The asking price? Three million dollars for the four paintings, a bargain!

Makes me wonder how many stolen works are sleeping in the coffers of wealthy individuals without scruples at this very moment…

[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…

* The exhibit Le Louvre à Québec [The Louvre Museum in Quebec City] now has a microsite.

* Claude Monet’s The basin of waterlilies sold for 80.5 million Canadian dollars this week. In an AFP article, printed by several newspapers across the world, the conversion from British pounds to Euros is completely crazy. Forty million pounds is equivalent to about 50 million, not 80… Jeers go to Montreal daily Le Devoir for reproducing the mistaken conversion while cheers are in order for Cyberpresse. Perhaps the agency issued a correction that was not published? More details at Le Figaro.

[newyorkcitywaterfalls.com]

* Waterfalls will flow under the Brooklyn Bridge and three other spots the East River this summer. [article]

* How to detect forgery? Easy: you just have to check for the presence or absence of nuclear isotopes caused by nuclear explosions. [article]

* Who knew that John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal had been captured by Andy Warhol? The double portrait is on sale in London on 1st July. [see the work]

* A new copyright law could see the light of day in the USA. It would allow the reproduction of works whose authors can not be traced. In Canada, you have to go through the Copyright Board when such a case occurs to fill out an application. Board then possibly delivers a license.

* Always the same debate: one commentator finds that art is empty.

[City of Shadows, Alexey Titarenko]

* I’ve been observing these pictures from Alexey Titarenko and I don’t get tired. In his serie City of Shadows, he stretched the exposure time of his camera to catch the passage of people on his film prints. The result provides ghostly photographs where passerbies seem to leave parts of themselves behind them… [see all images]

* In computer news, Carnegie-Mellon (PA) has developed software to determine the most likely place where a photograph was taken. An algorithm is looking for similar photos on Flickr… One step closer to the recognition of images by computers. [article]

* 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.

Half of Quebec museums operate with a budget of less than $ 123,000.

Manif d’Art 4 draws to its end - we’re in the final sprint until Sunday.

The Museum of French America [Musée de l'Amérique-Française] presents Forgotten Presence: The Huguenots in New France until March 22, 2009.

[photo credits: Idra Labrie, Musée de l'Amérique-Française]

This week is also the good time to visit the archaeological area of the Palais in Quebec City. It is open to the public until June 13. It is on this location the Palace of the Intendant of New France was located. It is also where the first brewery operated in Quebec. The Côte du Palais draws its name from the building.

The Visionaries’ Garden [Le Potager des Visionnaires] was inaugurated this week. Charming - but I didn’t take my breath away.

Another week, another grandiose architectural project for Dubai. This week: a new amphitheatre for the opera, designed by Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher. It must be where all that money from oil is spent. [Other photos]

[Draft of a cultural centre and an opera, Dubai; Source: Dezeen Blog]

A museum guard who did not like a painting by Vija Celmin decided to cut it with a key. The act of vandalism has proved fatal to the work. The painting Night Sky # 12 was exposed in the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.

Some gold artworks stolen from the Museum of Anthropology at the University of BC are back.

In 1957, an art gallery in California is closed by police in Los Angeles. The exhibition by Wallace Berman is considered obscene. It will be the only solo exhibition of the artist.
In 1962, Andy Warhol presents his first solo exhibition at the same place: Andy Warhol: Campbell’s Soup Cans. Five cans were sold at $ 100 each, but the owner of the gallery bought the lot to keep it intact.
Both events took place in the Ferus Gallery. Its story is told in the documentary The Cool School, which was broadcasted this week by Independent Lenses. It reruns on Vermont Public Television (WETK) (Thursday 12, 3:00; Friday, 13, 22.00) and PBS Mountain Lake (WCFE) (Sunday 15, 23:30). Set your VCRs!

The photographer Claude Dityvon died in La Rochelle.

The exhibition of contemporary art Art Basel ended with a massive crowd success: 60,000 people have passed through the doors.

A Russian billionaire decides not to sponsor a retrospective devoted to Kabakov. The event will take place anyway.

Tate Britain asks the public to help it buy an oil sketch by Rubens. The work in question, The Apotheosis of James I, is a study of the ceiling of the Banqueting House in London. It is important for some English people.

[Banqueting House; source: wikimedia.org]

After sending shiny nuggets to illustrate their slogan “All that glitters is not gold“, the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City [Musée des civilisations] does it again with an original invitation. I received mine in the mail this week, to attend the inauguration of Garden of Visionaries [Potager des visionnaires]. Congratulations to the communications team who, once again, hits the target when it comes time to draw attention to their projects.

Judge for yourself: the invitation has arrived by mail in an envelope that resembles the bags of vegetable seeds found in commerce. Everything was there to create the illusion, even the hole to hang the bag on display.

Inside, the invitation uses the image of plants at the end of stems. This imagery is drawn from the Museum Web site, in the micro-site devoted to the project. I also invite you to visit this section which, in addition to its visual aspect extremely pleasant, is also full of practical information. It is this weekend - under the rain, unfortunately - that takes place La Grande Plantation.

The Garden of Visionnaries unfolds on the roof terrace of the museum throughout the summer and is directed by Franco Dragone, associated with Cirque du Soleil.

A final note: it would be nice to indicate on the Museum Web site that the event presented in association with the Quai Branly has begun and that it is no longer an « upcoming » event.