AIR - Quebec Archaeology Book

Archaeology of Québec Collection:
AIR — Territoire et peuplement

Montreal's Pointe-à-Callière Museum of Archeology (PAC Museum) has launched the first book of its Archaeology of Quebec Collection which will consists of5 volumes. The books will present to the public the results of about 50 years of archaeological research in Québec. They will reveal the full richness of Québec’s heritage, the importance of preserving it and making it better known. 

The first four books of the Collection will deal with archaeological discoveries. They will be organized according to the four elements: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. Each book will represent a coherent whole and will feature abundant illustrations. The fifth book will complete the series by presenting many collections of artefacts from Québec, notably those of the Province of Québec.

The first book in the collection AIR — Territoire et peuplement will bring the reader to travel across the vastness of Québec’s territory from up in the air. This will allow to better understand the historical developments and settlement patterns over thousands of years.

Many archaeological sites have been unearthed in the last 50 years, and a number of them is featured in this book. The captivating text written by archaeologists and historians brings back to life the unearthed remains and artefacts. It tells the reader of thousands of human destinies that shaped the land and influenced the settlement of Québec. It speaks of traces of Amerindian homes, the remains of the Habitation de Champlain, as well as of the Parliament of the United Province of Canada. It describes the portage trails and also the street car rails.

AIR was written by archaeologists Jean-Yves Pintal and Gisèle Piédalue, and by historian Jean Provencher. Some twenty collaborators were also asked to contribute, enriching the book with their varied perspectives.

Here are a few more pages from the book:

Unfortunately, this book was published only in French and there are no plans presently of translating it.

For more information about the PAC Museum, their exhibitions, and the opening hours, visit the museum's website:

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

For the museum's gift-shop and online shop:

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/plan-your-visit/gift-shop

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MMFA 2015: Orientalism

MARVELS AND MIRAGES OF ORIENTALISM:

From Spain to Morocco

Benjamin‐Constant in His Time

January 31 - May 31, 2015

In a few days, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) will open its new exhibition. It will offer to visitors a very exotic experience, a travel into the past when the Oriental style and subject matter were fashionable in the European art. Undoubtedly, what drew the painters to depict oriental topics were the richness of colours, the variety of the ornamental designs and themes, the lushness of clothing and decoration, as well as the pure exoticism they could so freely portray in their works. All of these oriental elements could be seen in an enormous and most striking painting that greets visitors at the top of the staircase leading to the exhibition's entrance. The photo of that painting is just below. It depicts the interior of a harem in Morocco, and it was painted by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant.

The exhibition mainly focuses on the works of Benjamin-Constant, but it also covers the general trends of the Orientalism style, also presenting works of other artists. Just below, to the left, you can see the bronze bust of Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant framed by a rich oriental carpet. To the right, an exotic rug frames an oriental-looking salt-glazed stoneware vessel. Hover your mouse over the photos for more information and the names of the artists.

This exhibition also offers a number of magnificent portraits. That of a Moor below, to the right, is by Benjamin-Constant. Note the man's fearless and straight gaze. Also notice the free-stroke manner in which his head-piece and the white textile flowing to his shoulders is painted. It almost reminds one of the expressionist's style of painting.

In the middle of a cold Canadian winter, the whiff of the colourful southern exoticism is well appreciated. Do not hesitate to visit this exhibition. It will widen your window of knowledge of this unique chapter of art history. 

The exhibition is also accompanied by a catalogue available at the museum's store.

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For more information, visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts's website.

2015 Montreal Auto Show: Performance Zone

Montreal International Auto Show 47th Edition: Performance Zone

January 16 - 25, 2015

The performance Zone of the Montreal International Auto Show features a unique collection of cars and motorcycles. Their distinguishing feature is that every one of them has been modified by the owner or previous owners in order to create a one of the kind vehicle. Some are true museum pieces.

Some pieces on display are intended to dazzle, like the car above and the two motorbikes below.

The others are placed in such a configuration as those below, as if to suggest a sculptural installation. The first photo shows the Ford F1 from 1951, and the second, the Volkswagen Beetle from 1952.

The Performance Zone is a rather unique exhibition of the intense creative impulse of some car and motorbikes affectionados.This is a show in itself within the larger Montreal Auto Show and not to be missed!

To find more about the Montreal International Auto Show visit their website:

http://www.salonautomontreal.com/en

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PAC Museum: The Greeks - Exhibition

THE GREEKS 
Agamemnon to Alexander the Great

December 12, 2014 - April 26, 2015

Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex, present the world premiere of the original exhibition The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great. The exhibition spans over 6,000 years of Greek history and culture and takes visitors on an exceptional and fascinating journey back to the origins of the cradle of Western civilization, its heritage and the traces it has left in the hearts and minds not only of the Greek nation but of all the people.

The exhibition brings together more than 500 priceless of artefacts from 21 Greek museums, coordinated by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Greek Antiquity is a rich period populated by mythical heroes and historical figures, under the watchful gaze of the gods on Mount Olympus. The exhibition is divided into six zones that introduce this great civilization and showcase rare and priceless artifacts. Visitors will meet many famous characters in Greek history, from Homer to Aristotle, Plato, King Philip II of Macedon and King Leonidas of Sparta.  The heritage of ancient Greece, which we can still see all around us today in our politics, philosophy, arts and literature, mathematics, architecture, medicine and sports, is clearly illustrated in the exhibition. Visitors are invited on a tour of Greek history, starting in the 6th millennium BC, explaining all the roots. 

The exhibition takes us all the way up to the days of Alexander the Great, a larger-than-life figure who was only 20 years old when his father, Philip II, was assassinated. But Alexander was ready to succeed him, thanks to his education, his training and the formidable Macedonian army. Within barely a single generation, the ancient world was transformed from a series of independent city-states into a unified empire under Alexander the Great. The young prince who became king, emperor then god in the eyes of the world, died of a malignant fever at the age of 32. But his legend survived, as did Greece’s extraordinary legacy to the Western world. 

The exhibition offers visitors a whole range of interactives and items to handle, from a Cycladic female figurine to a reproduction of a warrior’s helmet and a sword. There are over twenty videos in the various exhibition zones, most of them produced by the National Geographic Society, the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens and the Canadian Museum of History. 

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

The End of the Beggining: McCord Museum

THE END OF THE BEGINNING - Le Début de la fin

December 12, 2014 - March 15, 2015

The McCord Museum, as part of its Artist-In-Residence Program, is presenting an installation and a video work created by a Montreal artist Frédéric Lavoie who selected objects and images from the Museum's collection. His work offers a highly personal interpretation of the Museum's collection. 

Frédéric Lavoie has been given complete freedom to explore at length the McCord Museum's Notman Photographic Archives, ethnological and archaeological objects, costume and textiles, decorative arts and paintings, prints and drawings. He decided to create a work that examines the strange nature of our relationship with objects from the past. "I approached the McCord Museum collection from the perspective of post-apocalyptic fiction. The traces of events like war, natural disasters and epidemics in its archives led me to a cross-curricular exploration of the various collections that focussed on the diverse nature of the types of objects preserved at the Museum. The final work is presented as a video narrative constructed from the remains of a fallen civilization."

Some of the objects selected by the artist are displayed in showcases and trace the film's narrative. To shoot the video, in addition to working with images from the collection, Frédéric Lavoie made copies of several objects with the help of other visual artists.

The basic idea of the exhibition is that the history repeats itself, and the end of one phase becomes the beginning of the next historical reality which yet proceeds in the same circular manner as the one preceding it. Their are many allegorical comparisons from the present and even imagined future to the North American past events and realities.

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For more information visit the McCord Museum's website:
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en

Love In Fine Fashion: McCord Museum

Love In Fine Fashion

November 20, 2014 - April 19, 2015

McCord Museum will present the exhibition Love In Fine Fashion, featuring some thirty elegant wedding dresses and an equal number of accessories, shoes, bags, gloves, stockings, garters and caps dating from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, all from the Museum's extensive Costume and Textiles collection, which includes 150 wedding dresses.

Every item on display has borne witness to a true love story, beyond the one constructed for the exhibition. The oldest among them–a cap and collar–date back to 1816, while the most recent are a 2008 wedding gown created by Helmer Joseph and a dress by Marie Saint Pierre from the same year, worn as a wedding dress by a young woman who loved the design. A grande dame of mid-20th century Montreal fashion, Gaby Bernier, is represented by one of her creations, as are designers Serge & Réal, with a dress created for a lavish 1984 Montreal wedding, and Michel Desjardins, whose elegant silk duchesse satin dress dates from 2006.

The exhibition is divided into eight themes that form the backbone of the story, which evolves along with the idiomatic expressions that express the sweethearts' shifting sentiments. Their initial meeting is haute en couleur[colourful] (zone I). He thinks she is fine comme une soie [fine as silk--lovely] (zone 2). Is she la perle rare [that rare pearl--the one] (zone 3)? And are they cut from the same cloth (zone 4)? For she does not alwaysfait dans la dentelle [wear kid gloves] (zone 5). Quelle tournure pendront les choses [How will things turn out] (zone 6)? For things can come apart at the seams (zone 7). But she is not à la traîne [hemming and hawing] (zone 8). Will their union be couronnée [crowned] with success?

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For more information visit the McCord Museum's website:

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

MMFA 2014: Warhol Mania

Warhol Mania: A Brand-new Look at His Advertising Posters and Magazine Illustrations

November 5, 2014 – March 15, 2015

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is presenting this new exhibition featuring Andy Warhol's fifty posters and an impressive selection of magazine illustrations created by the artist throughout his career. The items on display come from a private collection of Montreal collector and art historian Paul Maréchal. He started collecting Warhol's illustartion works and posters in 1996. Six years later in 2002, he acquired the last item and had to stop because Warhol's works became too prohibitively expansive. 

The exhibition also coincides with the publication of two catalogues written by Paul Maréchal about Warhol works. Both catalogues are available at the museum's bookstore. 

As a leader of the American Pop Art movement, Andy Warhol saw his works, together with his image, given wide media coverage. Amongst his final few disigns is the poster below, where he uses his own image. There were only 300 copies printed of this poster, most of which no longer exist.

It is important to note that Warhol illustrated more than 400 magazine issues, including more than fifty covers. Although they represent an important part of his career, few of the original drawings have survived. Indeed, more than 90 per cent of the illustrations were never returned to the artist. They were simply destroyed, the usual practice in a magazine’s graphic arts department. The magazine was considered to be the original; the drawing was just one stage in its creation.

Items on display represent only about 25% of Paul Maréchal's private collection. Yet a visitor will see some remarkable works.

A Pop Art icon, Warhol was an illustrator, painter, printmaker, avant-garde filmmaker and music producer. He was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh and died in New York in 1987. He completed a bachelor’s degree in commercial art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, and then worked in New York as a commercial artist for Glamour magazine, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. He received the Art Directors Club medal for his newspaper advertisements in 1952 and was honoured with other awards during the course of the decade.

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For more information, visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts's website:

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