The obscure métro stations just keep coming. This one surprised me in that it is very much a product of its times. It has an 80s post-apocalyptic feel to it. Either that or some brutalist architecture gone disco.
View from the platform.View from the platform.Glass Bricks
Lemoyne & Associés were the architects, and someone in their office must’ve loved glass bricks. Unfortunately, I can’t find any information about other things they’ve built.
View from the platform.Tiles on the platform.
This is (was) the first metro station I’ve ever seen where there were details on the tiles. I can’t figure out for the life of me why Lemoyne & Associés woudl specify such a tile, unless they got a deal on them.
One of the benches.
To my eye (and butt) the benches have a kind of, Art Deco feel to them.
Glass Bricks concealing a mural by Marcelin Cardinal.
Apparently some bright wag decided to hide the murals, which were likely part of the 1% art thing, behind glass bricks. It makes them extremely difficult to see. If you would like more information on Marcelin Cardinal, there is this article on him from Vie des Arts in 1972 and this article from 1981.
A mural by Charles Lemay behind glass brick.
Lauréat Marois and Normand Moffat did the two other murals obscured by glass bricks on the other platform.
More pictures of obscure metro stations. Pierre W Major was the architect and the only other thing that he built that I can find online is the Saint-Justin Church.
A tile circleA tile circleA tile circle
My best guess would be that he kind of liked (or maybe was one of) Les Plasticiens even though it was built in the 70s.
A tile circle and a tile quadrilateral A tile circle and a tile quadrilateral A tile quadrilateral Horizontal brick stripesHorizontal brick stripesDiagonal brick stripes
Montreal’s bureau d’art public has a Facebook page where they announce things (why they don’t do it on their website, I have no clue! Kind of like buying a Cadillac and then leaving it at home at taking taxis everywhere). And recently they’ve been publicizing the repairs that have been done on various pieces in the city’s collection.
Somehow, someone decided to prioritize the sculptures in Lachine over a sculpture on Sherbrooke. My best guess would be that Obélisque en hommage à Charles De Gaulle gets seen by at least ten times as many people each day, if not 50 times more people.
Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier DebréObélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier DebréObélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier DebréObélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier Debré
If you squint, it looks kind of like an elongated tank trap.
Detail of Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier Debré
I have no idea what the blue means either. Doing just cursory research it doesn’t appear that the The French Resistance had any one color, just a Cross of Lorraine added to the bleu, blanc, rouge.
Detail of Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier DebréWestern Plaque for Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier Debré
I think that this is wrong. De Gaulle did say “Let us be firm, pure and faithful; at the end of our sorrow, there is the greatest glory of the world, that of the men who did not give in.” But I don’t think he said it in Brazzaville in 1941, I think he said it in Algiers in 1943.
Eastern Plaque for Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier Debré
Explaining who made it, and that it was a gift in honor of both the 375 birthday of the city of Montreal and De Gaulle’s centenary.
Bench for Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier Debré
Gotta love the bureaucrat who decided how to deal with the skateboarders.
Lights for Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier DebréLights for Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier DebréLights for Obélisque en hommage à Charles de Gaulle by Olivier Debré
And I can’t imagine it would be that difficult or expensive to fix the lights…
And then if you’re interested… the De Gaulle moment in Montreal.
A piece of art made by some former student at Concordia UniversityA piece of art made by some former student at Concordia UniversityA piece of art made by some former student at Concordia University
In front of the VAV building at the corner of René Lévesque and Crescent. It’s been there for at least half a dozen years (although I must admit, that my memory is sketchy at best). And while Concordia University is awesome at labeling at promoting officially sanctioned public art, they’re not so hot at older stuff that isn’t quite as officially sanctioned.
I presume that this was a piece made by a former student, and because it was so big someone thought it would work in the courtyard in front of the VAV building, but because it was a student project, the tag, explaining who, when and what either got forgotten or wasn’t made due to a lack of budget.
I like how it flips the “traditional” sense of street art on its head. The graffiti is embossed in the concrete and not painted on the fence. Although I’m not certain that the fence itself is supposed to have that bite taken out of it on the top (insert snarky comment about Concordia also not taking care of officially sanctioned public art here). I’m certain that if I did some research I could also find some details about the style and make of the fence, and when cast concrete barriers started to become prevalent and try to make some connections between the two. And then there’s the irony of it being placed outside of the actual fence marking where the courtyard ends.
Le jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLe jardin punk by Roger Gaudreau
In the spring and summer, the grass does not get mowed so you need to look close in order to find it.
Le jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLe jardin punk by Roger Gaudreau
And while Le jardin punk is fine as a name, I think I would have preferred if M. Gaudreau had punned off of Rocher-Percé in the Gaspé.
Le jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLe jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLe jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLe jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLe jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLe jardin punk by Roger GaudreauLa forêt civilisée by Roger Gaudreau
I’m not as much of a fan of this as I am of Le jardin punk.
La forêt civilisée by Roger GaudreauLa forêt civilisée by Roger Gaudreau
To me it only works as a foil.
La forêt civilisée by Roger GaudreauLa forêt civilisée by Roger GaudreauLa forêt civilisée by Roger GaudreauLa forêt civilisée by Roger GaudreauLa forêt civilisée by Roger GaudreauLa forêt civilisée by Roger Gaudreau
Empty room at Le Windsor before the Lundström fashion show to benefit the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada
I wasn’t quite certain what to expect, but I figured despite my looking like a fish out of water, whatever happened it was unlikely to hurt, and as it was for a cause, maybe it would help my karma point score.
The Backdrop for Photographs of Important People
I wasn’t important enough to have anyone ask to take my picture, but I did manage to bumble my way through the event using mine, although I almost ran out of battery power.
The Heavy Organza Dress in Fuschia from the Lundström Fall 2012 Collection
As it was a fancy fundraiser, there were lots of folk dressed to the nines. Most of the early part of the evening was dedicated to wine and finger food. There was a silent auction and a live auction and I was told that the tickets cost $350/ch.
From the Lundström Fall 2012 Collection
According to the program there were 33 outfits, although I was unable to keep track of everything as the models sashayed by. I also was quite struck by how all the models seemed to have the same expression on their face and how they appeared angry or unhappy.
The Lundström Fall 2012 CollectionThe Lundström Fall 2012 CollectionThe Lundström Fall 2012 CollectionThe Lundström Fall 2012 CollectionThe Lundström Fall 2012 CollectionThe Lundström Fall 2012 Collection
Before I go to another fashion show, I’m going to have to learn what tulle, ponte di roma, lurex, dupioni and a lot of other technical terms mean. It also seems that the fashion industry and the art world aren’t exactly in sync when it comes to definitions of colors.
Glitter La Parka in Black from the Lundström Fall 2012 CollectionGlitter La Parka in Black from the Lundström Fall 2012 Collection
The show stopper.
But really what caught my eye were the shoes that were worn to the event. I’m fairly certain that more than one person thought I had a foot fetish, but I digress.
A more realistic painting of Place Jacques Cartier.More cubo-futurist buildings of Montreal.Another vaguely realistic 19th Century Montreal street scene.
I would imagine that there were at least two separate painters/designers (duh!)
More cubo-futurist churches.The last cubo-futurist church painting.
But then, I came across this mural inside 4141 Sherbooroke O.
Some kind of faux renaissance painting in the lobby of 4141 Sherbrooke O.Some kind of faux renaissance painting in the lobby of 4141 Sherbrooke O.Close up of some kind of faux renaissance painting in the lobby of 4141 Sherbrooke O.
And I kind of think that they were both made by the same painter, although I’m not entirely certain. I can definitely make a case both for and against.
Still another kind of obscure piece of public art.
La Dame de la Tour by Daniel-Vincent BernardLa Dame de la Tour by Daniel-Vincent BernardLa Dame de la Tour by Daniel-Vincent BernardLa Dame de la Tour by Daniel-Vincent BernardLa Dame de la Tour by Daniel-Vincent Bernard