Tag Archives: montreal

Mosaics, Metaphors, Monuments: Hochelaga Rock in Imaginary Perspective

 

 

Imagine, if you will, a mosaic.

Continue reading Mosaics, Metaphors, Monuments: Hochelaga Rock in Imaginary Perspective

Biosphere, Jean Drapeau

 

Pano_Biosphere_Montreal

The biosphere is a unique and spectacular institution on the St-Helen island at the Jean-Drapeau park. Its massive ‘golf ball’ structure thathoused the American Pavillon during the Expo 67, was designed by the architect Buckminster Fuller.

expo_67_Montreal_Canada_The_Pavillion_of_the_United_States_EX103A

The biosphere proposes a variety of expositions to educate its visitors about various environmental issues. For instance, the main focus is on climatic change, biodiversity, sustainable development, the quality of air and water and more. These subjects of concern should be regarded with great importance in Canada. The environmental state of the world is at a critical point and people need to know and act upon these facts to change the devastating path of pollution. Unfortunately, the biosphere is the only museum of the sort in North America and it hardly has any visibility.

 

Biosphere_Montreal

Our main goal is to increase the growth and importance of the Biosphere by promoting it on social media and by raising environmental awareness. This institution is neglected and should have greater visibility given it is the only museum in North America that discusses the environment.

The Illuminated Crowd, 1985

The Illuminated Crowd is a sculpture located in downtown Montreal on rue McGill College created by Raymond Mason and erected in 1985. The statue is a bigoted piece that represents the ideology of western triumphalism and how those who don’t fall into that ideology are left behind and minimalized. The statue presents the literal light of the west as all powerful and that the farther away from the light you are the worse off you are, presenting those worse off as grotesque and the ones in the light as idealized westerners.

Picture208301_0010038729The intervention’s aims are to express silenced voices and combat ethnocentricity, engage and criticize the concepts of western culture and superiority. Additionally the hope is to remove focus from unsightly art.

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The intervention consists of creating a series of photographs and written stories that represent people from all over Montreal, aiming to represent people all walks of life. These photographs are to be placed on columns along the perimeter of the area, facing the statue, with small plaques telling the photos’ stories. By gathering people and their stories, we hope to combat the ideology of the statue, additionally the placement would remove focus from the statue.

art for intervention

Rediscovering a Lost Lake

Otter Lake (Lac à la Loutre), also known as little St-Pierre Lake, fed into the St-Pierre River flowing to the St Lawrence River. The lake has now disappeared and can only be heard underneath the city through the sewers. The Lake spanned almost seven kilometres, its width at certain points being up to one kilometre, and covered the areas that are now Ville St. Pierre, Montreal West, Nôtre-Dame-de-Grace, St. Henri and Atwater. The name of this lake is said to have come from the Indigenous populations who surrounded it in reference to its shape, that of a baby otter inside a larger otter shape (the island of Montreal). The Iroquois cultivated the shores of the lake but with the arrival of the French and the fur trade in the 17th century the lake became used more and more for coureurs and voyageurs.
This projects aim was to follow the shores of this mysterious lake and document the sights and sounds. Through this experience we can see and hear what exists in these locations today.

There is so much mystery surrounding the exact location of Otter Lake and throughout my research I was only able to find certain points where the lake was known to be located. My goal was to see what this lake looks like today in all the points where I know the lake used to be. Initially I wanted to follow the shoreline but this was difficult due to the mystery surrounding the exact location of the lake as a whole and also the construction happening over many areas that the lake covered. So I mapped different points I found in my research and went to discover all those points. It was through this journey of exploring areas that was I able to rediscover parts of this forgotten lake in the present.

Video #1: Parc du Lac-a-la-Loutre

This park is an homage to Otter Lake, a lake that was completely lost due to the development of the City and the Lachine Canal. It is said that the park now rests on top of where part of the lake used to be. This park is the only remaining reference to the lost lake that spanned about seven kilometres from Ville St. Pierre through Notre Dame de Grace and St Henri and was one kilometre wide at its widest point.

Video #2: Parc du Lac-a-la-Loutre Fence

The fence of the park follows the shoreline of the forgotten lake. There is a lot of mystery around where the lakeshore was exactly located, this is the only point that is certain. This park is located at the corner of Courcelle and Saint-Ambroise.

Video #3: Underneath the Turcot Exchange Wide

Part of Otter Lake is known to have been right under the Turcot Interchange. It followed the railway tracks closely around this location and right around here is the point that the trains crossed the lake on their way to Lachine.

Video #4: Underneath the Turcot Interchange Close

The crumbling Turcot Exchange looms over the location of the former lake. The lake was filled using the dirt excavated for the Lachine Canal that would be an easier was of crossing the island.

Video #5: View Across Highway 20

As cars drive along this stretch of Highway 20 their view on one side are the Turcot Yards. This is where a large part of the lake was before it was filled up. Accessing this area is difficult. This view shows what exists now on what was probably the shore or edges of the lake. We can see the big piles of earth showing the constant construction happening in the area. Imagine standing here and seeing a green swamp and lake.

Video #6: View of Turcot Yards from Above

Trying to get many different views of the Turcot Yards is a difficult task. There are so many things blocking access and a view of the area whether it is the highway, fences, walls, or trees. Here it is from above along Rue Saint-Jacques, through the many trees that block the view.

Video #7: The Turcot Yards

The Turcot Yards are directly above where Otter Lake used to be. The ground was raised six feet since the days of Otter Lake and construction continues due to the ground not being solid. There have been debates about how to use this abandoned area. There are many who have begun arguing that the lake ought to be brought back.

Video #8: Saint-Pierre Exchange

This is the location where Otter Lake ended and it is now known as the St-Pierre Exchange where construction often closes the different parts of the interchange and keeps being delayed.

Video #9: Lachine Canal

The Lachine Canal runs close and at times intersects with the location of the former lake. Due to the shallow and swamp-like nature of the lake it was covered up to make way for the canal that would be a sure way of moving through the island easily. The land that was dug up to make the canal was used to cover up the lake. Now with these debates about bringing Otter Lake back they are saying that water from the canal would be used to fill the lake.

Many people do not know that this lake even existed, let alone the Indigenous presence that surrounded it. The land we live on has a history that so many are unaware of, even histories that are below the surface and hidden.

Disrupting the Visual Narrative of ‘Historical’ Indigenous Peoples: an Intervention on Le Collectif Au Pied Du Mur’s Mural in Pointe-Saint-Charles

Disrupting the Visual Narrative of ‘Historical’ Indigenous Peoples: an Intervention on Le Collectif Au Pied Du Mur’s Mural in Pointe-Saint-Charles  Estelle Wathieu

The district of Pointe-Saint-Charles (South-West of Montreal)  is located on unceded, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) traditional territory.

Map of Pointe-Saint-Charles by La Pointe Libertaire. URL: http://archive.lapointelibertaire.org/node/86.
Map of Pointe-Saint-Charles by La Pointe Libertaire [http://archive.lapointelibertaire.org/node/86].

In September 2013, the Collectif au Pied du Mur inaugurated on Knox Street (Pointe-Saint-Charles) their first and only mural named La Pointe – All Dressed  in the presence of 300 inhabitants of the district. [1] The project dated back from 2003 [2] when a development project (Action Populaire d’Aménagement) that aimed to improve the urban environment of the neighborhood was initiated by Action-Gardien, la Table de concertation communautaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles, an association gathering around twenty community organizations of Pointe-Saint-Charles. Inspired by this initiative, the anarchic group La Pointe Libertaire started their own mural in 2006, but they were instantly sued for vandalism, the wall on Knox Street being the propriety of the Canadian National Railway. After finding an agreement with the railway company, the collective partnered with the Carrefour d’éducation populaire of Pointe-Saint-Charles in 2012, received $20.000 from the artist organization ROUAGE / Engrenage Noir [3] in order to realize the mural painting, and the City of Montreal and the borough of the South-West funded the last $25.000. From November to May 2013, the collective prepared their intervention. Once they agreed on an outline, they presented the project to the inhabitants of the neighborhood during public presentations. The design of the mural being approved by the community, the mural was painted between May and September 2013. [4]

La Pointe – All Dressed: a positive evolution in the discourse around the origins of the neighborhood

Annie Hamel, The King's Daughters’ mural on Wellington Street, 2013. URL: http://www.maisonsaint-gabriel.qc.ca/fr/programmation/350e-filles-du-roy.php.
Annie Hamel, The King’s Daughters’ mural, Wellington Street (Pointe-Saint-Charles), picture by Daniel Bertolino, 2013 [http://www.maisonsaint-gabriel.qc.ca/fr/programmation/350e-filles-du-roy.php].
The theme of the mural was the history of Pointe-Saint-Charles, the fight of its inhabitants for collective autonomy and their hopes for a more egalitarian future. In this sense, La Pointe – All Dressed contrasted sharply with another public artwork that was unveiled on Wellington Street – only five hundred metres away from the first mural – in September 2013. This mural was designed by the artist Annie Hamel for MU, a charity organization producing “turnkey” (to use their own words) murals in Montreal, and depicted eight King’s Wards, the young women that were sent from France by Louis XIV in order to get married to colonists and increase in this way the colony’s population. The mural of the St. Gabriel Elementary School was commissioned by the Maison St. Gabriel Museum to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the first thirty-six King’s Daughters in Montreal. The King’s Wards having been welcomed by Marguerite Bourgeoys and her secular religious community, the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, at the Maison St. Gabriel in Pointe-Saint-Charles, they symbolized for many inhabitants the birth of the neighborhood. However, this narrative completely denies the Indigenous presence on the land before the contact with the European settlers. Before the colonization, Pointe-Saint-Charles was a good fishing and hunting area well-known from the Indigenous peoples that lived on the island of Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). By representing them in their mural, the Collectif au Pied du Mur took a first step towards decolonization – something made possible by the collective decision-making process that was chosen for the realization of this project.

Public consultation ≠ inclusive consultation

Collectif Au Pied du Mur’s mural, 2013. URL: http://lecollectifaupieddumur.tumblr.com/
Inauguration of the La Pointe – All Dressed, 21st September 2013 [http://lecollectifaupieddumur.tumblr.com/].

This public consultation process is in fact a laudable initiative, especially considering the short amount of time that the collective had to paint a mural of this scale. [5] From the beginning, the Collectif au Pied du Mur aimed to realize a mural in which the residents could recognize themselves and that would be anchored in the history of the neighborhood.  Their desire to integrate and co-operate went so far as to invite the inhabitants of the neighborhood to paint with them on Fridays – within the few months of the project, two hundred children left their hand print on the mural and one hundred and fifty adults helped the team at least one time. [6] However, the fact that they visually represented Indigenous peoples on their mural without consulting beforehand any Indigenous community from Montreal [7] is questionable, firstly because Indigenous peoples are marginalized by the Canada settler state and that their depiction by descendants of settlers or immigrants that benefit from the current political system can be offensive and harmful for them. Secondly, because the mural was not meant to empower the Indigenous community, but the residents of Pointe-Saint-Charles. The valorisation of Pointe-Saint-Charles and its multiculturalism, as well as the celebration of its inhabitants and their commitment to the struggle for social justice were the stated goals of this mural.

The ‘historical’ and ‘assimilated’ Indigenous peoples: issues surrounding their visual representation in La Pointe – All Dressed

Detail of the mural, picture by Estelle Wathieu, April 2016.
Detail of La Pointe – All Dressed, picture by Estelle Wathieu, April 2016.

The absence of a dialogue between the artist collective and the local Indigenous communities of Montreal is not the only issue around the representation of Indigenous peoples in this mural. The way that the Indigenous peoples are depicted in the mural is also problematic. Represented on the left part of the mural, they are completely separated from the joyful crowd of the inhabitants of the neighborhood who are demonstrating for social justice. The Lachine Canal makes a clear distinction between the Indigenous past and the modernity symbolized by the industrialization. The risk with this representation is to participate in the discourse of ‘vanishing Indigenous peoples’ that does not correspond to the reality. Another issue lays in the attitude of the Indigenous figures that was chosen by the muralists. In fact, the muralists picture them with a ‘mean look’ that may diabolize the Indigenous peoples in general and convey the idea that they do not belong to the so-called ‘modernity’. But Indigenous peoples still live on this land, they are thus an integral part of the life of Montreal and Pointe-Saint-Charles. In 2006, 555 Indigenous peoples were living in the South-West of Montreal, one of the highest concentration of Indigenous peoples in Montreal [8].  Admittedly, the Collectif au Pied du Mur acknowledged their presence, incorporating Indigenous figures in the crowd, but they represented them as assimilated, advocating for social justice with the others, and not for their own rights. The whole mural gives the image of silent and passive Indigenous peoples: whether excluded from the ‘modernity’ or completely assimilated. Their voices were silenced in order to celebrate the multiculturalism of the neighborhood and the political engagement of its inhabitants.

Disrupting the visual narrative of La Pointe All-Dressed: an intervention

“It is useless for us to become involved in a struggle to improve our image, because native people did not create these images, and they should not be concerned with trying to improve them so that whites will respect them. The society would simply create new racist images for us to work at… ” —Howard Adams, Prison of Grass, 1975 [9]

Inspired by this idea, I chose not to imagine a new version of the mural painting that would that would not be problematic or offensive to Indigenous peoples, but to bring awareness to the issues related the representation of Indigenous peoples in La Pointe All-Dressed.

1- First, I initiated a discussion with two of the painters of the mural, Shaen Johnston and Marco Sivestro – who was also the coordinator of the project. They confirmed me that no consultation had been made with the Indigenous communities of Montreal, but that they would be open to have a conversation about the design of the mural.

2- Then, my physical intervention on the site of the mural meant to disrupt the visual narrative of the mural and to engage directly in a discussion with the inhabitants of the neighborhood. I put a poster on the mural saying in English and French: ”You are walking on unceded, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) traditional territory. Indigenous peoples are not only the past of this land, but its present and future.” (see below the video documentation of my intervention). I chose the form of a poster to keep with the activist spirit of the neighborhood where we can find many political posters in the public space. Moreover, in their book, the authors of the mural themselves encouraged the inhabitants to interact with the mural by adding posters to it.

3 – Finally, this textual intervention will document my critical approach of the mural, as well as my interventions. My hope here is to make my research available to a wider audience, leaving the door open to anyone who would like to engage in discussion with this site or the Collectif au Pied du Mur.

Notes:

[1] Chagnot, Johanne, in collaboration with various groups. Art communautaire militant. Projets 2012-2013. Montreal: Engrenage Noir / ROUAGE, 2013, 36.

[2] Or 2004, according to the website of the Community Clinic of Pointe-Saint-Charles <http://ccpsc.qc.ca/fr/node/251>.

[3] For more information on the organization, see their website. <http://engrenagenoir.ca/rouage/?lang=en>.

[4] For more information about the creation of the mural, see Le Collectif au Pied du Mur. The Pointe All Dressed. Montreal, 2013 (available at the public library of Pointe-Saint-Charles), and their website <http://lecollectifaupieddumur.tumblr.com>.

[5] This information comes from my inteview of Marco Silvestro, the coordinator of the projet and painter of the three Indigenous peoples on the left part on the mural painting.

[5] Measuring 80 metres by 5, the mural La Pointe All Dress is the longest permanent mural of Montreal. <http://lecollectifaupieddumur.tumblr.com/post/61412041445/inauguration-of-the-longest-permanent-mural>.

[6] Le Collectif au Pied du Mur, Ibid.

[7] This information comes from my inteview of Marco Silvestro, the coordinator of the projet.

[8]  Indigenous peoples represent 0,8% of the total population in the South-West of Montreal, when the average is 0,5% and the maximum is 1% for the city of Dorval. Division des affaires économiques et institutionnelles de la ville de Montréal. Portrait de la Population autochtone à Montréal, 2010. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

[9] Cited in Francis, Daniel. The Imaginary Indian: The Image of the Indian in Canadian Culture, Second Edition. Vancouver, BC, CAN: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 18 April 2016.

Estelle Wathieu

Retracing The Footsteps: Rethinking Montreal’s Creation Narrative

Long before Europeans sailed to Canada and began to settle themselves in the new territory, First Nations tribes had already existed there. When Jacques  Cartier sailed over to the New World and planted his famous cross on Mount Royal to mark French territory in Canada, Native villages were already in place and had been for a while.

If one would go walking around Old Montreal today, they’d see very little reminders that First Nations peoples had lived on this land before the arrival of the European powers. Not much remains of the memory that indigenous peoples were once settled here a long time ago and laid part of the foundation of the Montreal we live in today.

OUR METHOD:

Our intervention consists of two main components: an augmented reality experience that can be accessed through a smartphone application combined with a walking tour. This augmented reality will fill in the blanks of Montreal’s creation story that have been overlooked: namely, the contribution of First Nations peoples. The sites we have chosen are the Pointe-A-Calliere Museum, Chateau Ramezay and the Lachine Canal. Upon arrival at these sites, members of the walking tour can hold up their phones and will be able to see the missing parts of the narrative.

OUR GOALS:

We seek to challenge the current narrative in place with our intervention. With the combined walking tour and augmented reality, we hope to raise questions concerning why the contributions of First Nations peoples are diminished compared to those of European settlers.

Reclaiming Hochelaga: Recovering Indigenous Identity

 

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The site for our intervention is the Hochelaga National Historic Site of Canada, located in downtown Montreal and situated on McGill University. Our first goal is to create a clear and accessible path to the Hochelaga Rock. Furthermore, we wish to install a rotating art exhibition within the immediate vicinity that changes with the seasons. We often see the aboriginal community marginalized and their culture placed in opposition to the metropolitan norm. Our mandate is to address this and also focus on bringing attention to the historical site itself while also raising awareness on Indigenous contemporary culture. Our hope is to highlight, encourage, and expose aboriginal culture and heritage within the landscape of our modern society.
The Hochelaga Rock, its neglect, and its inaccessibility bring into question our societies neglect of aboriginal heritage and history. We live in a society that is historically founded on individuals who were forced from their homes and land, yet we fail to recognize or give credence to those who are now for the most part marginalized from society. We hope to give the aboriginal community a voice in claiming back their space and what once existed on the island of Montreal.

Kanien’keha:ka Onwawen:na Raotitiohka Language and Cultural Centre:
http://www.korkahnawake.org/

Jaime Black, The REDress Project:
http://www.theredressproject.org/

Ryan Rice, “Oh So Iroquois”:
https://www.amazon.ca/Kwah-ken-Tsi-Iroquois-Tellement/dp/1894906292