Press kit no. 696-10
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Press Kit | no. 696-10
1 + 1 = 1. When the collections of the MMFA and the MAC collide
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) & Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC)
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS AND THE MUSÉE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN DE MONTRÉAL EXHIBIT TOGETHER SOME OF THEIR MOST REMARKABLE WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ART
A celebration for the fiftieth anniversary of the MAC, this exhibition will embody a genuine dialogue between the two Montreal institutions. Through this aesthetic conversation, the show will reflect the ties of friendship that unite these museums, and will reveal the city’s extensive collection of contemporary art, one of the most impressive in Canada.
Nathalie Bondil states, “In addition to celebrating the anniversary of the Musée d’Art contemporain, this initiative of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is inspired by our profound conviction as citizens: we wish to show that our institutions dialogue and work together in evolution rather than in competition, with the firm intention of building unifying links and fostering the generous spirit of a cultural metropolis for everyone.”
John Zeppetelli adds, “The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is delighted to partner with the Montreal of Fine Arts in an historic event, which will bring together, for the very first time in a joint exhibition, the contemporary art collections of these two great Montreal institutions. As the title implies, 1+1=1 adds, combines and reconfigures, at least for the duration of the presentation, two institutional visions, two different histories and mandates, to create a unified whole, the elements of which are indistinguishable from one another.”
Stéphane Aquin concludes by pointing out that “it is important for us to send a clear signal of unity not only to the city but also to the art milieu of Quebec and Canada. Contrary to the received ideas often promulgated by the media, our two museums do not work against each other. Our relationship is based on friendship and we have the same fundamental mission: to enrich the lives of our fellow citizens.”
The circuit of this exhibition
When one work of art is entered into a dialogue with another, meaning emerges, and a mental picture arises. Viewing these works side by side causes a number of issues and themes to come to light, which the exhibition explores through a presentation revealing the concerns of the time.
The main challenge of this exhibition was to create a circuit or narrative that encompassed several evocative themes. The curators’ job was to identify moments of complicity between works, to make them “speak”. The cumulative effect of these encounters, the various “intentions” and meanings that emerge from them, constitute the chapters of a story.
Exchanges on the nature of identity, the relationship between the individual and society, love and death, dreams and memory, the impulse toward the spiritual, the transformation of the body, and a world in conflict take place in the galleries and as many sections of the exhibition that follow.
The exhibition enables exploration of both museums’ specific approaches to the development of their collections, their complementary aspects, and their respective strong points. For example, installations and multimedia, just like works from the classic practitioners of contemporary art, are well represented at the MAC, while the MMFA has concentrated more on collecting pieces related to disciplines in the fine arts, most notably painting and sculpture, as well as the work of talents from the newly emerging global art scene. The two collections form a remarkable whole, an asset that confirms Montreal’s standing in contemporary art today.
Visual art as seen by several artists represented in the exhibition
David Altmejd
“Right from the beginning, I wanted to make something that would be very different from everything else, simultaneously very strange and very appealing, at a time when it is not very fashionable to be appealing. . . . Why could films be visually fantastic, and not sculptures?”
Valérie Blass
“My work is impure, vulgar, crude, and instinctive, sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, often in very bad taste—just like life!”
Louise Bourgeois
“All my work… all my subjects, have found their inspiration in my childhood. My childhood has never lost its magic, it has never lost its mystery, and it has never lost its drama.”
Geneviève Cadieux
“I think that an artist works intuitively. In any case, that is how it works for me.”
Pierre Dorion
“I would say that I paint from photography, but I take photographs as a painter.”
Rafael Lozano‐Hemmer
“I work with technology because it is impossible not to. Technology is one of the inevitable languages of globalization.”
Bruce Nauman
“There is a tendency to clutter things up, to try to make sure people know something is art, when all that’s necessary is to present it, to leave it alone. I think the hardest thing to do is to present an idea in the most straightforward way.”
Sterling Ruby
“I want to allow people to say, ‘Wow, that’s f—ed up,’ and place their own kind of read on them.”
Françoise Sullivan
“Art as idea and as action. The only way to begin to understand a work of art is in its essential relationship with life’s fundamental values.”
Bill Viola
"In the daylight, we do what we need to do. In the nocturnal dimension it’s a whole different world, and that’s really where the essence of my work lives—in the place that you can’t see. It’s down at the emotional centre. It’s down deep."
Jeff Wall
“People only talk about celebrities. What I’m interested in is social invisibility.”
Lectures in connection with this exhibition
Free admission
1 + 1 = 1.
WHEN THE COLLECTIONS OF THE MMFA AND THE MAC COLLIDE.
By John Zeppetelli and Stéphane Aquin
Wednesday, February 19 – 4 p.m. IN FRENCH
Thursday, February 20 ‐ 4 p.m. IN ENGLISH
IN CONVERSATION WITH...
Alexandre Taillefer, chairman of the MAC, Board and collector with Stéphane Aquin
Wednesday, February 26 ‐ 6 p.m. IN FRENCH
IN CONVERSATION WITH...
Robert Enright, critic and professor, University of Guelph with Stéphane Aquin
Wednesday, March 5 ‐ 6 p.m. IN ENGLISH IN
CONVERSATION WITH...
Bruce Bailey, collector and patron with Stéphane Aquin
Wednesday, March 12 ‐ 6 p.m. IN ENGLISH
Credits
The exhibition 1 + 1 = 1. When the Collections of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and of the Musée d’art contemporain was initiated and is presented by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in collaboration with the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts would like to thank its exhibition partners, Air Canada, Bell, La Presse and The Gazette, for their support. The MMFA’s contemporary art programme benefits from the financial support of the RBC Foundation and the MMFA’s Young Philanthropists’ Circle.
The Museum also wishes to thank Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et des Communications for its essential contribution. Our gratitude also extends to the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Canada Council for the Arts for their ongoing support.
We would also like to thank all our members and the many individuals, corporations and foundations who support our mission, especially the Fondation de la Chenelière, headed by Michel de la Chenelière, and the Arte Musica Foundation.
Instructions that must be followed when reproducing artworks: The work of art is to be reproduced in its entirety, without cropping, bleeding, guttering, overprinting or other alteration of any kind, and the caption and photo credit must accompany the illustration of the work
Source et demande de renseignements :
Thomas Bastien
Press Officer
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
tbastien@mbamtl.org
514‐285‐1600, poste 205
Wanda Palma
Media Relations Officer
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
wanda.palma@macm.org
514 847‐6232
About the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has one of the highest attendance rates among Canadian museums. Every year, over 850,000 people visit its unique encyclopedic collection (free of charge) and its original temporary exhibitions, which combine artistic disciplines (fine arts, music, film, fashion, design) and feature innovative exhibition designs. It conceives, produces and circulates many of its exhibitions across Europe and North America. It is also one of Canada’s leading publishers of art books in English and French, which are distributed worldwide. Over 200,000 families and schoolchildren take part in its educational, cultural and communityoriented programmes each year. The fall of 2011 saw the opening of a fourth pavilion at the Museum – the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion of Quebec and Canadian Art – and a 444‐seat concert venue – Bourgie Hall – housing an outstanding collection of Tiffany stained glass windows. This expansion also brought about the reinstallation of the Museum’s rich holdings in its other three pavilions, which house the world cultures, international art, Medieval to contemporary European art, and decorative art and design collections. Music is now an integral part of the Museum, providing another perspective on the visual arts, through musical audioguides and other innovative activities. The new Studios Art & Education Michel de la Chenelière, which were inaugurated in 2012, have almost doubled the Museum’s facilities for schools, families and community groups. A fifth pavilion devoted to international art and education will open its doors by 2017.
About the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
Truly a museum for the twenty‐first century, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal stands right next to Place des Festivals, in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles and on the Place des Arts site. It is part of Canada’s only cultural complex devoted to both the performing and visual arts. Canada’s premier museum dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, the Musée offers a varied program ranging from presentations of its Permanent Collection to temporary exhibitions of works by Québec, Canadian and international artists. The Permanent Collection comprises nearly 7,600 works, including the largest collection of art by Paul‐Émile Borduas. With the support of its Education and Documentation Service, the museum presents a host of educational activities familiarizing the general public with contemporary art. It also stages numerous multimedia events performances, contemporary music, video, film—further fulfilling its mission of promoting contemporary art.
Thomas Bastien
Attaché de presse
Musée des beaux‐arts de Montréal
tbastien@mbamtl.org
514‐285‐1600, poste 205
Wanda Palma
Responsable des relations publiques
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
wanda.palma@macm.org
514 847‐6232
For more information
Media contact
-
Musée des beaux‐arts de Montréal
- Thomas Bastien, Press attaché
- tbastien@mbamtl.org
- 514‐285‐1600, poste 205
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