The
mountain is Montreal: it is its most distinctive feature, has almost the
same name and is its geographical centre.
Josh Freed, The Gazette
Although the Lachine Rapids, the end of navigation on
the St. Lawrence, were the geographical reason for Montreal, the little
mountain that dominates the area gave the city its name, a good deal of
its pattern, and remains its central feature.
John Bland, Mount Royal, Montreal,
McCord Museum. December 1977-March 1978
Maison Smith
Grand chalet
During the
summer of 1964, artists worked on Mount Royal to produce outdoor artworks,
launching what would become North America’s first sculpture symposium.
This summer, forty years later, artists will again invade the mountain
to present “their” visions, “their” thoughts about
this unique site that is often called the “jewel of Montreal.”
Their points of view will certainly be different from that of other professionals
— landscape architects, ecologists or archaeologists — but
most certainly complementary.
This triennial exhibition, called Artefact 2004 – Urban Sculptures,
is in its second edition, the first having been held on the Lachine Canal
in 2001. Organized by the Centre d’art public, its objective is
to select an area of the city and invite artists to use this as a space
for research and creation. These sites, which differ for each event, must
have highly significant features, a rich history and be visited by the
general public. As for the artists, they create ephemeral artworks that
are then dismantled at the end of the summer.
The thirteen artist participating in Artefact 2004 – Urban Sculpture
are Monique Bertrand, Martin Boisseau, Ani Deschênes, Doyon-Rivest,
André Du Bois, Lucie Duval, Raymond Gervais, Michel Goulet, Neva-Gotthilf,
Daniel Olson, Yannick Pouliot, Alan Storey and Louise Viger. Their artworks
will be installed along the carriage road, Chemin Olmsted, between the
Centre de la montagne — near the 1964 symposium — and the
large chalet at the lookout. Some works are imposing, others more discreet
but all are presented as imaginary places likely to appeal to visitors.
Here and there, masked squirrels will be scattered about on the grass
by the picnic tables, a stately banner will rekindle memories of the first
artist to have a show at the large chalet and a strange object in a tree
will slowly move, spilling a rather mysterious liquid. Advertising panels
will present ambiguous images and further along, a scar marking the mountain
will be discovered. People strolling on a path will be surprised to see
words written in the air or across an entranceway, and will suddenly hear
a string of bird songs. Elsewhere, one will be astonished to see a huge
form composed of thousands of chickens’ wishbones attached to a
birch tree, then a collection of pennants listing the names of all the
other mountains on the planet. There will even be a gigantic clock with
wind-driven hands, turning in reverse to take us back to the mountain’s
past. And not to forget the artist, who, taking the idea of the “voluntary
clean up” that happens each year on the mountain, will invite people
to “decorate” the fencing with bits of coloured fabric. And
from the trees, another artist will hang black plates with contrasting
white-painted signs while yet another will walk “mysteriously”
on Mount Royal, as a figure from another century.
Each of these works, in their own way, will endeavour to “celebrate”
the mountain, a priceless heritage site. While respecting and preserving
nature, the artists will “infiltrate” the site with the idea
of giving visitors — those who would like it — the sense of
“another” Mount Royal, an experience combining wonder and
surprise, play and discovery, admiration and contemplation. “To
tell the truth,” writes Christian Bury in L’art public.
Un art de vivre la ville, “contemporary art has the advantage
of being able to take a decisive place in today’s society. It can
create small waves at a time when politics, concerned with grandiose tales
and symbolic historicism, are less credible. […] Contemporary art
is also capable of creating situations that stimulate viewers to interact
with each other. […] By its persistence in “making,”
art helps awaken a way of doing, implanting in the collective mind, the
idea of potential solidarity between people.”