Présences du littéraire dans l’espace public canadien - Iron

Sliding Edge

Marie-Claude Langevin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:54:59 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Metz, Jacqueline; Chew, Nancy

Artwork creator(s):

Chew, Nancy

Metz, Jacqueline

Text author(s):

Birney, Earle

Text author(s):

Birney, Earle

Installation year:

2003

Remarks on location:

Two locations: one along the seawall and one along West Hastings Street

Artwork description

Source: Photo provided by Marc André Brouillette
Source: Photo provided by Marc André Brouillette
Source: Photo provided by Marc André Brouillette
Source: Photo provided by Jacqueline Metz & Nancy Chew
Source: Price, Gordon (2005),  A Walk with Barbara Cole. Art public, Price Tags Magazine, no. 77, (9 october), p. 28
Source: Photo provided by Jacqueline Metz & Nancy Chew
Source: Photo provided by Jacqueline Metz & Nancy Chew
Source: Urban Art Management (2008). Portfolio.Sliding Edge. (http://www.urbanartmanagement.com/portfolio.html)
Source: Photo provided by Marc André Brouillette

Description:

Along the seawall, a rough yet elegant waterfall made of black rundle stone is installed; the stacked, linear, irregular stone edges are abstractions of geological layers. Standing on top of the waterfall is an iconic, enigmatic human figure - Man in the landscape, poised between Earth and Sky. The text is an excerpt from a poem by Earle Birney, November Walk Near False Creek Mouth. There is another waterfall along Hastings Street, along with black stone benches that are scattered along the pool edge. Cast iron tree grates are shaped like saw blades to remind viewers of the historic use of the area.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

on the sliding edge of the beating sea

Text theme:

Poem: Earle Birney, November Walk Near False Creek Mouth. Dusk, the tide

Artwork theme:

This work involves two streetscapes and refers to the site’s natural and industrial context: a waterfall of stacked stone, an abstraction of the coal cliffs of Coal Harbour, both organic and ordered; sawblade treegrates; long narrow custom concrete pavers and inset wild grasses echo the slip and slide of a waterfront edge. At the waterfall along the seawall is a figure looking North to the wilderness. Text is carved into the stone face, revealed through a moving film of water. At the urban street, an empty stone plinth projects into the pool, while steel text hovers in front of falling water. The text and the figure, both present and absent, revealed and concealed, reflect on a past landscape, or one that can still be found farther along the coast, and at the intersection of nature and culture.

Dimensions

Other information

Note(s):

Budget: Art Design, Fabrication and Installation $200,000

Artist's biography:

Muse Atelier

Author's biography:

Earle Birney

Owner(s):

City of Vancouver

Source:

Jacqueline Metz & Nancy Chew, 106-1956 Haro St, Vancouver V6G 1H6 T604.685.6184 museatelier@shaw.ca

Document(s):

A Walk with Barbara Cole. Art public

Community Services. Cultural Services. Public Art Registry. Artwork : Sliding Edge

Portfolio. Public Art

Le poète dans l’univers

Marie-Claude Langevin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:54:36 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Lauda, Georges; Pannier, Paul

Artwork creator(s):

Lauda, Georges

Pannier, Paul

Text author(s):

Crémazie, Octave; de Saint-Denys Garneau, Hector; Nelligan, Émile

Text author(s):

Crémazie, Octave

Saint-Denys Garneau, Hector de

Nelligan, Émile

Installation year:

1968

Artwork description

Source: L'art dans le métro de Montréal (2008) Station Crémazie. (http://www.stcum.qc.ca/metro/art/)

Description:

Three major Quebec poets - Émile Nelligan (1879-1941), Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912-1943) and, of course, Octave Crémazie (1827-1879) for whom the metro station was named - are represented by iron masks and excerpts of their poetry. The dominant colours of this mural (blue, black and white) evoke the night sky, with curves reminiscent of the trajectories of celestial bodies. Signs of the planets are represented - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - as well as signs of the Zodiac - Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn. With their unusual presence, all these symbols evoke the freedom of poetic inspiration and lyricism. Three excerpts from poems by Saint-Denys Garneau, Émile Nelligan and Octave Crémazie are engraved into the mural. Sculpted in metal, the faces of the poets stand out against the ceramic background.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

Tous ceux dont le coeur pur n'écoute
sur la terre
Que les échos du ciel, qui rendent
moins amère
La douloureuse voie où l'homme doit
marcher...
- Octave Crémazie
- « Les morts »

Ma pensée est couleur de lumières
lointaines,
Du fond de quelque crypte aux
vagues profondeurs...

- Émile Nelligan- « Clair de lune intellectuel »

A-t-on le droit de faire la nuit
Nuit sur le monde et sur notre
coeur
Pour une étincelle - Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau - « Faction »

Text theme:

Poetry

Artwork theme:

The Presence of the poetic spirit in the cosmos, represented by celestial colours and the astrological signs of the planets and the constellations of the Zodiac.

Dimensions

Diameter:

9.8m

Other information

Note(s):

Gift of the Caisse Populaire Saint-Alphonse-d'Youville on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its foundation.

Fontaine de Tourny

Marie-Claude Langevin — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:20:30 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Moreau, Mathurin

Artwork creator(s):

Moreau, Mathurin

Text author(s):

Laberge, Marie

Text author(s):

Laberge, Marie

Artwork description

Source: Photo provided by Marie-Claude Langevin

Description:

Fontain with a poem by Marie Laberge on one side. The base of the fountain lies in a circular granite basin. The fountain features sixteen frogs and four statues around the octogonal pedestal holding the bowl, which is decorated with fishes each of its eight sides. The water is projected upwards by the frogs.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

WATER FROM THE BIRTH OF TIME
WATER FROM THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF EARTH
FROM THE CRESTS OF AGE-OLD GLACIERS,
THE WATERS OF OUR RIVERS, GREAT AND SMALL
HAVE CARVED OUT OUR COUNTRY.
WE ARE OF THIS PLACE, WE ARE HURON-WENDAT, INNU, CREE, ABENAKI AND ALL OUR BROTHERS
WE ARE FROM FRANCE, FROM SCOTLAND, IRELAND, <1>ENGLAND AND FROM FARTHER STILL.
FOR 400 YEARS,
WATER HAS FLOWED INTO OUR OPEN HANDS
HANDS THAT WILL CARRY QUEBEC
FROM NOW TO TOMORROW.
HERE, PAST MEETS FUTURE,
HERE, THE PRESENT SURGES MIGHTILY.
HERE, QUEBEC ASSERTS ITSELF
LOYAL AND PROUD
STRENGTHENED BY OUR PAST
FOREVER COURAGEOUS
AND DETERMINED NEVER TO DIE.

MARIE LABERGE, 2008

L'eau venue du fond des temps
Du tréfonds de la terre du sommet des glaciers millénaires L’eau du fleuve et des rivières Forge notre pays
Nous sommes d’ici, Hurons-Wendat, Innus, Cris, Abénaquis et tous nos frères,
Nous sommes en France, d’Écosse, d’Irlande, d’Angleterre et de plus loin encore
Depuis 400 ans,
L’eau coule dans nos mains ouvertes
Ces mains qui porteront le Québec
D’aujourd’hui à demain.
Ici, le passé croise l’avenir,
Ici, le présent jaillit puissament
Ici, le Québec s’affirme
Loyal et fier Fort d’hier
Courageux pour toujours
Et déterminé à ne pas mourir.

Marie Laberge, 2008

Text theme:

Quebec, Nation

Artwork theme:

Commemoration, Pride

Text reference:

Comme Une Bouteille à La Mer. Marie Laberge a Composé Le Texte Inscrit Sur La Fontaine De Tourny

History

History:

The fountain dates back to the mid-19thcentury. Commissioned by the mayor of Bordeaux, France, to celebrate the arrival of running water in the city, the fountain and five others like it would stand at both ends of the Allée de Tourney up until the 1960s. Produced in the famous Barbezat art foundry, the Fontaine de Tourny was designed by sculptor Mathurin Moreau, who won gold for his work at the Paris World Fair in 1855. The ornaments evoke the imaginary world of the sea. The fountain is being presented by La Maison Simons as a gift to Quebec City for its 400th anniversary.

Dimensions

Height:

6.7m

Other information

Note(s):

Five similar fountains can be found in Europe, in the cities of Porto, Angers, Soulac, Saint-Quentin and Geneva. The mechanical room is located below ground level and contains the control panels. Five pumps feed the fountain with a flow of 100 litres per second (1,600 gallons per minute). The fountain works with a continuous flow of water; additional water is pumped only to compensate evaporated losses. An anemometer (a camera hooked to a pole located near the fountain) measures the speed of time and allows for the adjustment of the jets according to wind forces in order to avoid splashing passers-by and the formation of ice on the pavement. The fountain is active from May to October.

Artist's biography:

Fontaine de Tourny

Document(s):

La Fontaine de Tourny attire l'attention

Québec Inaugure La Fontaine De Tourny, Don De La Famille Simons.

... Je suis fier d'offir la Fontaine de Tourny aux citoyens de la Ville de Québec

La Fontaine De Tourny Arrive

L’histoire de la musique à Montréal

Marie-Claude Langevin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:01:32 +0000

Artwork identification

Alternate title:

Les Arts lyriques

Artwork creator(s):

Back, Frédéric

Artwork creator(s):

Back, Frédéric

Text author(s):

Back, Frédéric

Text author(s):

Back, Frédéric

Installation year:

1967

Remarks on location:

West mezzanine

Artwork description

Source: Métro de Montréal (2008). Frédéric Back- Histoire de la musique. (http://www.metrodemontreal.com/art/back/metro-f.html)

Description:

The huge artwork consists of thousands of superimposed glass slats, lit by 105 tubes and supported by one tonne of steel.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

Hochelaga, 20 Octobre M.D.XXXV. Ledict Cappitaine Iacques
Cartier comanda sonner les trompettes & aultres inſtrumens de
musisque, deſquelz ledict peuple ſut fort reſiouy. Pluſieurs hommes
& femmes nous vinrent cõduyre ſur la montaigne qui eſt par nous
nommée Mont Royal.

Text of the plate :

Histoire de l'art musical à Montréal depuis le premier concert, le 20 octobre 1535, jusqu'aux recherches les plus audacieuses de ses musiciens contemporains.

Artwork theme:

It tells the history of music in Montreal, starting with the first concert on the island, in 1535, at the request of Jacques Cartier, and including famous figures as Guillaume Couture, Dame Emma Albani and Calixa Lavallée, until today.

History

History:

This artwork was the first to be sponsored and installed in the metro. It is one of the historical works commissioned under artistic director Robert La Palme. It was offered by former supermarket chain Steinberg. Its inauguration took place on December 20, 1967.

Dimensions

Height:

2.7m

Width:

13.7m

Other information

Artist's biography:

Frédéric Back

Owner(s):

Société de Transport de Montréal

Présences du littéraire dans l’espace public canadien - Iron

Sliding Edge

(Site 1: Under the waterfall)

Le poète dans l’univers

Fontaine de Tourny

L’histoire de la musique à Montréal

Text of the plate :