Four Horsemen

Marie-Claude Langevin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:14:43 +0000

Artwork identification

Artwork creator(s):

Houdé, François

Artwork creator(s):

Houdé, François

Text author(s):

MacEwen, Gwendolyn

Text author(s):

MacEwen, Gwendolyn

Collaborator(s):

Louise (his sister); Plante, Louis Pierre; Taillon, Luc; Marcoux, Gilles; Magne, Robert (support for the architect)

Installation year:

1989

Remarks on location:

The arwork is located at the Vanier Library, in the stairwell. The work is visible from the 1st to the 3rd floor. A skylight provides natural light.

Artwork description

Source: Concordia University (2010). Public Art Collection. (http://web2.concordia.ca/publicart/index.php)

Description:

Composed of about 300 industrial glass blocks, this work is the last of the artist's works known as the Ming Series. Using horses as a pretext to create a metaphor of building civilizations, Houde creates a dialogue between ideas borrowed from the history of literature, art and science: sandcasted glass depicting the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Albrecht Durer; a metal arch representing a Medieval church portal; sandblasted glass simulating a fragment of the Partehnon frieze; and a movement study by Eadweard Muybridge.

Mention(s) légale(s) des illustrations:

Photo credits:

Text of the artwork:

Go and tell: It is morning,
And this horse with a mane the colour of sea foam
Is the first horse that the world has ever seen.
The white horse which stands now watching you
Across this field of endless sunlight

-Gwendolyn MacEwen

Artwork theme:

Medieval Chinese funerary art that worships horses.

History

History:

Part of the Ming series

Dimensions

Other information

Artist's biography:

Francois Houde

Author's biography:

Gwendolyn MacEwen

Owner(s):

Concordia University

Présences du littéraire dans l’espace public canadien - Glue

Four Horsemen