PAC Museum: Pirates or Privateers?

Pirates or Privateers?
Pirates ou corsaires?

Point-à-Callière Museum's New  Permanent Exhibition


The Montreal's Point-à-Callière Museum (PAC) has just inaugurated it's new permanent exhibition Pirates or Privateers? It is housed in the Old Custom House now named J. Armand Bombardier Foundation Building thanks to the foundation's generous $1 million donation.

This exhibition is geared largely to children, to school and family visitors. The most prominent exhibit is the large scale replica of a ship from the Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville's flotilla. Read more about the ship capitain, explorer and and adventurer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, who was also a founder of the French colony of Louisiana of New France here.

This exhibition spotlights the a historical period of the New France. It offers a unique experience and brings to life the world of Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville who was at the time a Montréal  privateer. It is set during the Franco-British war in the late 17^th - early 18^th century and offers young visitors a chance of playing: to serve on an armed vessel, manned by individuals in possession of an authorization from the King of France to attack enemy trade ships, mainly English ships.

Pirates and privateers, often mistaken for one another, dealt with similar tasks. One group worked legitimately while the other didn’t. Privateers were sailors on armed civilian ships. In times of war, they were authorized by their government with a “letter of marque” to attack any ship, especially a merchant one flying an enemy flag, and claim their goods as war retribution. 

Pirates, however, were sea-adventurers who attacked trade ships and stole their cargo, sometimes also attacking small seaside towns. Pirates are generally considered to be sea bandits.

On display are historical-period items of military as well as of everyday use.

One can also see the sailor's living conditions as well as the type of food available to them. To see better the sailors' daily menu and rations, click on the lower right image to enlarge it.

There is also a short video of a sea battle projected on a screen, which the children present at the exhibition's opening very much appreciated.

Visit the Point-à-Callière Museum's website for more information.

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home

Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal 2013

Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal 2013

December 6 - 22, 2013


This annual Salon at Place Bonaventure is the place where craftsmanship and art blends. The creations of the local Quebec artisans are all unique and a true discovery. Intended as the place where people should go to buy Christmas presents, many items displayed, along with  their utilitarian purpose, attract attentions as to their artistic execution as well as their presentation.

  

This year, a special tribute is paid to works of Rosie Godbout. Hew fashion creations are all striking examples of functionality, art and beauty.

There are many of one-of-the-kind artistic expressions in this Salon not to be missed.

There is Free Admission to this Salon.

Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal website:

https://www.metiersdart.ca/en

Lands of shadow and light - MMFA

Lands of shadow and light
Quebec and Canadian Drawings from the Museum’s Collection

December 2, 2013 - March 23, 2014

The Graphic Arts Centre of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) presents a new exhibition Realms of Shadow and Light: Quebec and Canadian Drawings from the Museum’s Collection. All the drawings on display are from before the 1940s. There are works by such artists as Heriot, Bainbrigge, Edson, O’Brien, Suzor-Coté, Leduc, Carr, Carmichael, Brandtner and Milne which are showing their own specific vision of both familiar or unexplored territories. 

The works range from Berczy’s Saint Michael the Archangel, with its roots in the Baroque, to Hébert, Muhlstock and Taylor’s industrial landscapes, with their assertive modern view and the examinations of the everyday. The majority of the drawings, including some sketches made either in a studio or from life, were conceived and created as works of art in their own right. The individual drawing techniques as well as the effects of shadow and light define the works' essence and influence their interpretation.

The drawings on view place emphasis on the historical specificity of graphically representing both people and distinctive landscapes. 

There is a specific focusing on the vastness of the Canadian landscapes, documenting the topographical description of a territory and showing a country in the making.

There is Free Admission to this exhibition.

Vistit the Museum's website for more information.

http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en

Claire Beaugrand-Champagne, McCord Museum

Claire Beaugrand-Champagne

Touching Reality, Photographs from 1970-2013

December  5, 2013  - April 13, 2014

This exhibition is dedicated to works of a celebrated Montreal photographer Claire Beaugrand-Champagne who was the first female press photographer in Quebec. In the image below to the left she is seen posing next to her large and expressive photo.

The present exhibition at the Montreal's McCord Museum is featuring close to 200 mostly black and white photographs, and except for three they are all of people, many of them portraits. Since 1970, Claire Beaugrand-Champagne has photographed people she met and who inspired her. Her works state that every individual is unique, and each is worthy of respect, acknowledgement and special attention.

One of the most remarkable portrait at the exhibition, right in the first hall, is that of the Quebec's chansonnier Félix Leclerc.

Through her work, Claire Beaugrand-Champagne has been portraying, expressing the mosaic of the society. Yet it is clear that she does not judge, she simply documents.

The exhibition is organized in groups of what she herself calls Projects. As she explains, this is how she approaches her work: she establishes the current Project and then searches for the subjects to express it. Below are photos from her Furriers Project.

Only the original photographs shot in Quebec are displayed on the Museum's walls. Those taken outside of Canada are projected on the wall, as is the case of the image below from the Refugee Camps Project. 

The last room of the exhibition is devoted to the Montrealers. Below is a fine example of a Montreal man's portrait.

McCord Museum's website:

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en

MMFA 2013: Jules de Balincourt

Jules de Balincourt
Paintings 2004-2013

November 28, 2013, to March 23, 2014

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is premiering the Franco-American artist Jules de Balincourt. He is an important figure belonging to the New York community's new-generation-painters scene.

Jules de Balincourt's work has been exhibited at prominent international galleries and museums such as Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Mori Museum in Tokyo (solo), MOMA in New York, and the Royal Academy in London.

Balincourt's works are featured in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

One of the paintings on display entitled Boys' Club (see just below) was gifted to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts by W. Bruce C. Baily in honour of Stéphanie Aquin, curator of Contemporary Art at the MMFA and curator of this exhibition.

There is Free Admission to this exhibition. 

For more information visit the Museum's website

http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/

Art and Music in Venice Book - MMFA 2013

Art and Music in Venice
From the Renaissance to the Baroque

This publication accompanies the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' current exhibition Splendore a Venezia: Art and Music from the Renaissance to Baroque in the Serenissima, on display between October 12, 2013 and January 19, 2014. This is a relatively short time for such an important exhibition that provides the historical background to so many artistic and musical tendencies and innovations that took root in Venice and subsequently shaped the Europe's artistic taste and creativity for some time.

The book comprises of 240 pages, many of which are devoted to high quality illustrations and reproductions of paintings.  Together, the illustrations and the text reveal how the music, drawing and painting intertwined, forming one artistic expression. What we now refer to by such terms as renaissance, baroque, or classical, actually represented tor the Venetians' their everyday arts. They were their 'contemporary' music and 'contemporary' visual art expressions, their latest 'hits'. One cannot help but to realize how much more sophisticated and even refined people's artistic tastes were at those times as compared to our's.  

Here are images of several book's pages to give you some idea of what is inside. My photographs of those pages fail to capture the full scope of the content and the beauty of this publication.

Unfortunately, MMFA no longer has an online bookstore. But you can purchase the book in person at the MMFA Boutique and Store.

You can also read more about the exhibition here.

Archaeological Dig PAC Museum 2013

2013 Archaeological Dig Results

Montreal Museum of Archeology and History Pointe-à-Callière (PAC) has unveiled some major discoveries during the summer 2013 dig on the historical site of the former St. Ann’s Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada. That location is classified as a heritage site by Québec Department of Culture and Communications.

Close to 50,000 artefacts and biofacts, as well as charred remains of 35 books have been found at the dig at Place D’Youville in Old Montréal, beneath a former City of Montreal parking lot, where the remains of the historical sites are located.

The book fragments that were found are charred and carbonized due to the fire that took place on the night of April 25, 1849 that destroyed the Parliament buildings and all its library collections. The remains of the books have were sent to the Canadian Conservation Institute which is assessing restoration options in order to identify the books and make them accessible.

The enlarged book fragment above is one of the pieces under the glass cover (lower left corner of the glass box) in the photo below.

In addition, it has been announced that PAC Museum has launched its first ever fundraising campaign. The co-chairs of this fundraising campaign are the representatives of the National Bank of Canada. The project team has already raised over $7 million dollars.

PAC Museum's statement:

"Towards an Archaeology and History Complex

Showcasing St. Ann’s Market—home of the Parliament of the United Province of Canada—and the items found there is just one part of Pointe-à-Callière’s extensive plans to create an archaeology and history complex comprising some ten sites. Aside from displaying the remains of this site, the planned complex will also preserve and display the remains of Fort Ville-Marie and of Callière’s Residence, and will include a space to house international exhibitions, all of which will be linked underground by a 400-metre stretch of the William collector sewer. The completion of this unique heritage treasure is planned for 2017, to mark the Museum’s 25th anniversary, Montréal’s 375th birthday, and the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Pointe-à-Callière intends to preserve and showcase these sites as a commemorative gesture, giving the public access to this exceptional heritage, today and in the future. Full details on the planned expansion are available on the Museum’s website."

Visit the PAC Museum's site to find out more about the museum and its exhibitions

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home


Click on any image to enlarge it.