Public Artwork
Les Mots de Sophie
Location:
École Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire, 7660 rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada
See map: Google Maps
Artwork creator(s):
Dutil, Daniel
Text author(s):
Dutil, Daniel
Installation year:
2003
Remarks on location:
The artwork occupies the alcove's entire wall looking onto the men's locker room. The wall is located in the entrance hall, which can be accessed from the West side of the schoolyard and from the South side corridor in the school.
Description:
Wall sculpture occupying an entire wall. The wall surface is divided in the center by a vertical aluminium rectangle. On each side of this central shape, the wall's concrete slabs are covered with galvanized steel sheets, glued onto a piece of plywood. Words related to youth issues were hand-punched into the steel surface. The vertical rectangle consists of a central horizontal piece in brushed aluminium framed by two painted aluminium posts, green on the left and red on the right. In the upper part of this central piece, a blue plexiglass component is a symbol of "the watery matter and the fluidity of the spirit," according to the artist. Above the plexiglass component, a reflecting stainless steel sheet is attached to the lateral posts and to the ceiling.
Text of the artwork:
Efforts Honnêteté Politesse Ensemble Persévérance
Text theme:
Youth concerns
Artwork theme:
Self-reflection Dimensions:
Height:
3.55m
Width:
2.44m Note(s):
The engraved words were suggested by the students of École Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire and chosen by the artist. They speak of the concerns of young people while evoking the poetic character of the socio-cultural environment that has flourished in Trois-Rivières. The central piece of the artwork refers to the geographical environment (the St.Lawrence River) by borrowing its colours from navigation codes (those represented by the colours red and green used to guide boats) and its formal representation from the construction world (the artwork is inspired by techniques and formal elements used in the construction industry, such as the principle of vertical casing).
Owner(s):
Commission scolaire du Chemin-du-Roy; École Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire 
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