Marc Gauthier

lensculture offers a virtual exhibition of photographs of war. The works are presented at the Brighton Photo Biennial.

[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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

[Alfred Pellan (1958), Gabriel-Desmarais Fund [Fond Gabriel-Desmarais], Quebec National Library and Archives [Bibliothèque nationale du Québec]]

The Quebec National Library and Archives [Bibliothèque nationale du Québec] has put online their first photographs from Gabriel Desmarais. Working in the Quebec artistic community for many years, it is now possible to see several of his photos on the Internet.

If the collection presents popular quebec artists (like Dominique Michel and Jean-Pierre Ferland), some visual artists were also captured on film like painters Alfred Pellan (1958), Jacques de Tonnancour (1961), Rita Legendre (1961), Guido Molinari (1964), Marcel Barbeau (1964) and sculptor Jean-Julien Bourgault (1964).

It is the first step to digitize 4200 pictures of the photographer.