Category Archives: Photo Essay

Métro Charlevoix

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Continuing the photo-essays on obscure Métro stations, today it’s Métro Charlevoix. It was my home station for about a year in the mid-eighties and at the time I hated it, because it was so deep, and being forced to take the green line one stop from Lionel-Groulx was a pain in the neck. Since then it has kind of grown on me, because I don’t have to use it two times every day. It was inaugurated on September 3, 1978. From a cursory search I can’t find any other buildings that the architects Ayotte and Bergeron built. More information about the station can be found at the STM’s website, Wikipedia and Metro de Montreal.

Some spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
Some spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
Some spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
Some spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
The ornamental brick work on the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
The ornamental brick work on the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
The benches on the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
The benches on the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
The exit from the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
The exit from the platform at the Métro Charlevoix

Looking down at the entrance to the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
Looking down at the entrance to the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
Looking up at the exit to the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
Looking up at the exit to the platform at the Métro Charlevoix
Another spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
Another spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
Another view of the other spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
Another view of the other spooky ventilation duct at the Métro Charlevoix
Some fancy grill work at the Métro Charlevoix
Some fancy grill work at the Métro Charlevoix
Looking up one of the escalators at the Métro Charlevoix
Looking up one of the escalators at the Métro Charlevoix
Looking down one of the escalators at the Métro Charlevoix
Looking down one of the escalators at the Métro Charlevoix
The stained glass at the Métro Charlevoix
The stained glass at the Métro Charlevoix

The stained glass was done by Mario Merola and Pierre Osterrath.

The stained glass at the Métro Charlevoix
The stained glass at the Métro Charlevoix

Continue reading Métro Charlevoix

Madeleine Pippa Bartlett’s work in Copy / Paste at the Stewart Hall Art Gallery

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Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012
Madeleine Pippa Bartlett, Tree-sweater, 2012

Elisabeth Picard’s work in Copy / Paste at the Stewart Hall Art Gallery

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Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Flot, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 28" x 76" x 39"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Constructions, 2011, zip ties, glass, painted steel, fluorescent tubes, 48" x 147" x 10"
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks
Elisabeth Picard, Macro organismes, 2011-2012, zip ties, painted steel hooks

Mitchell F. Chan’s work in Copy / Paste at the Stewart Hall Art Gallery

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Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F Chan, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, water vapour, speakers, aluminium, steel, custom software & electronics, text
Mitchell F. Chan, Matter, Void, Icarus (Overworld) and Orpheus (Underworld), brass hardware, nitinol, and elastic string on linen
Mitchell F. Chan, Matter, Void, Icarus (Overworld) and Orpheus (Underworld), brass hardware, nitinol, and elastic string on linen
Mitchell F Chan,  Wall of Deaf, oil on linen, elastic string, motors
Mitchell F Chan, Wall of Deaf, oil on linen, elastic string, motors
Mitchell F Chan,  Wall of Deaf, oil on linen, elastic string, motors
Mitchell F Chan, Wall of Deaf, oil on linen, elastic string, motors

Kate Puxley’s work in Copy / Paste at the Stewart Hall Art Gallery

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Kate Puxley, Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #1 & #2, charcoal on paper. approx 85" x 52"/ch
Kate Puxley, Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #1 & #2, charcoal on paper. approx 85" x 52"/ch
Kate Puxley, Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #3, #4 & #5, charcoal on paper. approx 85" x 52"/ch
Kate Puxley, Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #3, #4 & #5, charcoal on paper. approx 85" x 52"/ch
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #1, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #1, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #2, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #2, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #3, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #3, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #4, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #4, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #4, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley: Animals in the City: Gatto Italiano #4, Charcoal on Paper, approx 85" x 52"
Kate Puxley, Stripe, Senza Terra: Cat - Van Horne, Beaumont, Pointe Saint Charles, Naturalized Cats
Kate Puxley, Stripe, Senza Terra: Cat - Van Horne, Beaumont, Pointe Saint Charles, Naturalized Cats
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Cat - Van Horne, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Cat - Van Horne, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Cat - Beaumont, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Cat - Beaumont, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Cat - Pointe Saint Charles, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Cat - Pointe Saint Charles, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Stripe, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Stripe, Naturalized Cat
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Squirrel, Naturalized Squirrel
Kate Puxley, Senza Terra: Squirrel, Naturalized Squirrel
Kate Puxley, Still Life with Mouse, Naturalized tilapia, bird, mouse, various plastics, plexiglas, wire
Kate Puxley, Still Life with Mouse, Naturalized tilapia, bird, mouse, various plastics, plexiglas, wire
Kate Puxley, In Style, ‘Habitat’ series, Naturalized pheasant, aluminum can, bottle cap
Kate Puxley, In Style, ‘Habitat’ series, Naturalized pheasant, aluminum can, bottle cap
Kate Puxley, Take Out, ‘Habitat’ series, Naturalized weasel, styrofoam container, plastic fork
Kate Puxley, Take Out, ‘Habitat’ series, Naturalized weasel, styrofoam container, plastic fork

Copy / Paste ou Copier / Coller at The Stewart Hall Art Gallery

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Apologies for the lack of articles, I’ve been somewhat busy with this:

Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire
Installation view of Copier / Coller - Copy / Paste at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire

The Stewart Hall Art Gallery is in Pointe Claire, 176 Lakeshore to be exact, it is open seven days/week from 1 o’clock in the afternoon. The show is up until April 29th and we are having a catalogue launch on the 19th at 7 o’clock in the evening, consider yourself invited.

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal

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I’m a big fan of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. Used by (what I presume) are locals it kind of gives me a sense of what life in Montreal must’ve been like back in the 1940s and 50s. Back when everybody, and I do mean everybody, went to church. I have never seen the place empty, and they hold at least six different services every day.

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal viewed from the east.
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal viewed from the east.
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal viewed from the west.
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal viewed from the west.
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal viewed head on.
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal viewed head on.
Plaque on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal
Plaque on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal
Plaque on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal
Plaque on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Montréal

For the squareheads, blokes and Protestants in the house, the inscription reads:

Those of you who pass by / high society or street people / people who contemplate God / or those who have forgotten / enter into this House of the Father / prostrate yourself in front of him / adore the incarnation of his son / and remember supreme being / is the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost / And before you leave / gaze upon Mother Mary.

La Vierge dorée by Joseph Lefèvre on Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
La Vierge dorée by Joseph Lefèvre on Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Something in Latin on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Something in Latin on the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.

Built by Napoléon Bourassa in between 1873 and 1882. Louis-Philippe Hébert did a bunch of the sculptures, while Toussaint-Xénophon Renaud and François-Édouard Meloche did some of the painting. It has the first organ built by Casavant Frères and La Vierge dorée was added in commemoration of its 50th anniversary.

Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.
Interior of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.

Métro Joliette

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Last month I the opportunity to go to the Joliette metro station. As you might have suspected, I found it very cool (the general critical consensus is that it isn’t all that hot). Finished, just in time for the 1976 Olympics, it was one of two metro stations designed by Marcel Raby. M. Raby was an architect for the city of Montreal and the only other thing that I can find that he worked on was the dome of Marché Bonsecours in 1978 after it had had a fire. But my guess would be there is lots more, it’s just not on the internet.

More information about it here: metrodemontreal.com, Wikipedia, STM, P45.

The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The rear of the southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The rear of the southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The rear of the southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The rear of the southern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The northern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The northern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The northern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The northern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The northern entrance to Métro Joliette.
The northern entrance to Métro Joliette.

While quite a lot of people don’t like the yellow bricks and the rather pedestrian nature of the buildings. I was enchanted by the color on a gray and snowy day. And just about pee’d my pants in delight when I discovered the back entrance which leads to an alleyway (ruelle in Montreal-speak).

Continue reading Métro Joliette

Publicité Sauvage: 25 ans et demi – Part One

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It kind of went over big back in the middle of January when the first show opened. But it’s going to be extremely difficult to keep up the hype for an entire year. It being the year-long, 15 exhibit, one book celebration of Publicité Sauvage‘s silverish anniversary (see if you can find the typo on the anniversary website).

They rolled the exhibitions out at Foufounes Électriques at the beginning of January, quickly added Café Campus in February and organized a third and larger one at the Écomusée du fier monde that just closed last week. So this seems as good of a time as any to start on the reviews.

I initially thought of reviewing each exhibit separately. But after seeing how sparse the one at Foufounes Électriques was I kind of made the executive decision to group some together. Hence the reason why I can’t tell you how many separate reviews there will be. Sorry.

Publicité Sauvage Posters from 1990, 2001, 2002
Publicité Sauvage Posters from 1990, 2001, 2002

I was quite surprised when I got to Foufounes, somehow I had not only expected bigger, larger, more. I had also expected older. 25 years is a long time, a very long time. And I had thought that there would be more than the dozen and a half, or so posters that they exhibited.

Young Gods poster (circa late 90s)
Young Gods poster (circa late 90s)

I felt like I was going on some sort of mission, not quite like the stations of the cross, but more like seeing all of Damien Hirst’s spot paintings. After all this was/is Montreal cultural history we’re talking about.

Four Publicité Sauvage posters from dates unknown.
Four Publicité Sauvage posters from dates unknown.

While I was looking at them I was trying to remember if I had actually seen any of the shows or events that they were talking about. Sadly for the most part I hadn’t. While Foufs was a great place to see bands from out of town (off the top of my head I can remember seeing KD Lang, Tackhead, Nirvana and Jonathan Richman there) for the most part I would go see local bands in either smaller, cheaper venues or bigger more impressive ones where they would really be able to puff out their chests and say “we made it!”. So while I saw the Ripchordz, I never saw them a Foufs.

So as an exercise in nostalgia this particular exhibit did not strike any chords with me.

Publicité Sauvage posters from 2002, circa 1990s, and probably 1995
Publicité Sauvage posters from 2002, circa 1990s, and probably 1995

I was also surprised to discover that the posters in the exhibits were not the same as the posters reproduced in the book (I’ll get to the book later in a separate post) hence the vagueness with some of the dates. I was also surprised to discover that not all the posters on display were for events that had taken place at Foufs.

Now, if I were writing for a more mainstream publication, this is the place where I would launch into some sort of brief history of Foufounes Électriques and Café Campus. But I’m not, so you can click on the links and/or read the book that accompanies the exhibitions.

One of my favorite posters from Café Campus.
One of my favorite posters from Café Campus.

The Café Campus part of the exhibit was similarly sparse. I actually got to see it during the daytime, which meant that the lighting was much better (but not sufficiently better to make my camera skills any better) and I think since I was already kind of glomming onto the concept, it made more sense to me.

That, or now that I think about it, I’ve always had a much stronger connection to Café Campus than I did to Foufounes Électriques. If there were someway to go back and calculate time spent, money spent, or amount of enjoyment received, I’m 100% positive that Café Campus would win on all three counts, or in any other measurement that could be counted. Somehow it seemed (and still seems) more locally grounded to me. Or it just might be due to th efact that I was never much into the goth scene.

Some more Publicité Sauvage posters from Café Campus.
Some more Publicité Sauvage posters from Café Campus.

The other thing that struck me was how small most of the posters were. I think that because they are relics of an ephemeral event those that stand out in my memory take on some sort of oversized significance in my brain, and therefore I expected the same kind of oversized poster.

Mark your calendars now. Les Imprudanses (the poster on the left) are going to be at Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal on the 23rd.
Mark your calendars now. Les Imprudanses (the poster on the left) are going to be at Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal on the 23rd.

Which leaves us with the first large scale and more general exhibit. The “good causes” posters at the Écomusée du fier monde. They were charging $6 to get in, and believe-you-me, it wasn’t worth it. There were about 40 or so posters there.

The first part of the Publicité Sauvage exhibit at the Écomusée du fier monde.
The first part of the Publicité Sauvage exhibit at the Écomusée du fier monde.

While the lighting was head, hands and shoulders above anything at Café Campus, somehow the idea of paying about 10¢ per poster seen didn’t quite sit right with me. And since it is down now, and for the future if there are any Publicité Sauvage posters you want to see, head on up to the Archives nationales du Québec, they have most of them, and while there might be some bureaucracy and red tape to slog through, they won’t charge you a dime. If they ask you “why” you want to see the posters, tell ’em you need to fact check this article…

Like the two previous iterations, there was a paucity (how’s that for using two two-bit words in one sentence!) of posters from the 1980s and 1990s – although now that I know what’s in the book and what’s in a show are two separate things, I’m going to be taking much closer and careful notes.

Things were grouped together with something obvious linking them. Either the organization

Publicité Sauvage's ATSA posters at the Écomusée du fier monde.
Publicité Sauvage's ATSA posters at the Écomusée du fier monde.

Or by cause

Publicité Sauvage's posters on understanding at the Écomusée du fier monde.
Publicité Sauvage's posters on understanding at the Écomusée du fier monde.

And while this was a nice touch, I still found myself trying to make connections to my past. Did I remember the poster? Had I attended the rally? Since my memory is sketchy at best I kept drawing blanks which then forced me to look at the posters as works of art, separate from the events that they promoted and it occurred to me that quite a few weren’t.

Publicité Sauvage's posters on environmental awareness at the Écomusée du fier monde.
Publicité Sauvage's posters on environmental awareness at the Écomusée du fier monde.

Look at the set of posters above. There’s one, the one for La Journée de l’air pur which could be, to me, considered as a work of art. The rest were specifically designed so as to get a specific bit of information across. And to do so in an engaging way. While that can and will make for some pretty things, for the most part, it isn’t the driving force behind making art. Yes, there are exceptions, but you get the point.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t go to see the 12 other exhibits – the fourth one is up right now someplace in Dawson College until the 24th of March – no in fact quite the opposite. You should go and see the exhibits. They are the tools in the fight against collective amnesia. And fighting a collective amnesia is a very good thing.

I just wish that instead of the roughly 15 years worth of posters that are being exhibited, there truly were selection from all 25 years. I also wish that all of them were as large, if not larger than the exhibit at the Écomusée du fier monde. 25 years is a lot of time, there should be a lot of posters to show the passage of time.

The second part of the Publicité Sauvage exhibit at the Écomusée du fier monde.
The second part of the Publicité Sauvage exhibit at the Écomusée du fier monde.

Why don’t they wait until the construction is completed? (B)

Howdy!

And Le 2-22 had it’s launch on February 6. Today is March 9, and it is still not done. Hmmm…

Le 2-22
Le 2-22
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Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
Le 2-22
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Le 2-22