Installation Dialogues
Three creative spaces
by Anne-Marie Bouchard, Lise Bonenfant and Catherine Lachance
The Installation Dialogues exhibition was held for the first time at La Chambre Blanche in Quebec City in August 2009, in continuity with various exchange and creation projects initiated by artist-run center Vidéo Femmes on the topic of the female creative process. It is first defined as a collaborative and interdisciplinary project which focuses on the legacy and myths of the female artistic tradition, and the specificity of the "feminine" in the creative process in contemporary art. The artworks in this exhibition are inspired by fiction, documentary, and experimental video. They attempt to reflect and answer a sole question; does the gender of the artist affect the design, creation and reception/analysis of her work? Without pretending or wanting to define a "women works" collective, Installation Dialogues explores the various figures and strategies of "the feminine" in art through the production and distribution of video artworks and installations from different approaches and mediums.
Installation Dialogues emerged thanks to the participation and creative contribution of each of the artists involved in the project. Video artists Lise Bonenfant, Catherine Lachance and Anne-Marie Bouchard, respectively worked in collaboration with painter-sculptor Lucienne Cornet, actress-filmmaker Paule Baillargeon, choreographer Melanie Therrien and musician Lyne Goulet. Installation appeared to them as a meeting place, as a common playground. The permeability of the artistic process allowed them to question how the "feminine" is revealed in each of their practices, demonstrating that the issue is not limited to a particular generation, discipline or medium.
In producing and disseminating this exhibition, Vidéo Femmes wishes to update its views, but also to reflect the dynamism of its artists and extend the impact of their work. Installation Dialogues shows that the potential of thought and critical thinking of any work of art requires a complete technical and intellectual immersion from the artist, and a commitment that involves all spheres of life. In this context, it is impossible to separate the "woman" from the artist, and even more so to define a "woman" or "artist" category. Although Installation Dialogues comes down to the presentation of three installations, our research is still in motion, it is not exhausted, and the art practiced by the artists remains interesting as it is constantly questioned.
Three Creative Spaces
Faced with three installations - Short forays into the fairies' wings, Patience... time and The Actress - not only is the viewer "making the picture" 1, but through their active participation, they are influencing the projects' efficiency. Throughout their experience, they are invited to take over and "perform" the artworks, or encouraged to take on a critical role and introduce the story. In any case, their perceptions are shaped by the scenography of the project. Each device reflects the pattern of a thought, which they can explore in all its twists and turns, in order to build themselves their own representation.
1Françoise Parfait, Vidéo : un art contemporain, Paris, Regard, 2001, p. 167.
Short forays into the fairies' wings
Petites incursion entre les ailes des fées
In this presentation, a series of three interactive spaces begins with a video display of magnified images and sounds collected in nature (flowers, waves, small animals, birds and insects). Video: 45 min The second space introduces abstract segments controlled by computer, playing randomly in the presence of a spectator, dimming when no one is in this specific viewing space. Images and sound bring on illusions of fantastic creatures using video & sound manipulation and transformation. Video: 10 / 5 min sequence
In the third space, a computer plays three dance sequences simultaneously (one night blue, one light negative, one glowingly white). The viewer's moves cause the sequences to alternate briefly on screen, so that the "dancing fairy " glows more and more. At the end of this short 3 minute dance, the viewer's image is integrated into the dark blue fairy's dance circle, in which she/he can see themself dance for as long as they desire. (3 minutes loop)
ANNE-MARIE BOUCHARD
Experimental video artist, she works video as visual matter rather than objective witness. Her video work is inspired by intimate memories, ephemeral instants, like poetic bubbles in a fraction of time. Her camera work always suggest the presence of the person behind it, and the viewer is invited to look through her eyes, through her imagery. Her work is constructed in a poetic structure, where detail magnification, vivid colors, extreme slow motion and grain contribute to create a highly personal signature. Her video installations immerse the viewer into her poetic imagery. Anne-Marie Bouchard graduated in Film Production from Concordia University, Montréal in 1995 and earned an M.A. in Arts Visuels degree from Université Laval, Québec in 1999. Since then, she has directed several experimental videos and installations. Her work has been shown in festivals like Les Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois in Montréal, le Festival International du Film sur l'Art (FIFA), Festival du Film Francophone en Acadie (Moncton, NB), Traverse Video (Toulouse, France), Zero Film Fest (Los Angeles, USA), amongst others. To be continuedx www.annemariereine.wordpress.com
Collaborators :
MELANIE THERRIEN
Professionnal dancer Mélanie Therrien works with talented choreographers Harold Rhéaume, Lydia Wagerer, Karine Ledoyen, Daniel Bélanger and Emmanuel Jouthe. She danced in professionnal events as stimulating as Dusk Dances, Osez !, Le fil de l'hisoire, Le Chemin qui marche, Tableau d'une exécution au Trident et Ma sxur Alice. Mélanie is a Expression-création teacher at l'École de Danse de Québec's Danse-Études program.
LYNE GOULET
Saxophonist and singer, Lyne Goulet evolves fluently in different musical styles : jazz, contemporary music, lounge, blues, worldx She has performed in various music festivals and has recorded albums with Interférence Sardines, Marie H. Blay and a few others. She is involved in the Ligue d'improvisation musicale de Québec with her accomplice Fred Lebrasseur, and teaches music to children at l'Accroche-note music school.
Patience... Time
Patiencex le temps
A mixed media installation and documentary exploring Lucienne Comet's creative process, directed by Lise Bonenfant . Video : 17 min
LISE BONENFANT
She belongs to a women's generation who felt compelled to express themselves. Independant filmmaker for 32 years, she directed about 60 films, mostly documentaries. Engaged socially, she is dedicated to give a voice to those who are in need. In each documentary, she seeks to explore new forms and to actualize her filmic signature. She strives to innovate, explore and surpass herself.
Collaborator:
LUCIENNE CORNET
Painter and sculptor, she was born in France, where she studied Fine Arts and began to teach. In 1969, she moved to Québec City, where she still works and lives. She won in 1992 the Prix de l'Institut Canadien de Québec, and in 2001 she was recieved Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres Françaises. Human body, animal and vegetal share space in her work, created in both organic and metaphoric processes.
The Actress
L'actrice
Viewers explore three short video sequences, with the first two showing the actress getting ready on set to interpret an Aging Queen's role, interacting with the film crew and director Catherine Lachance, including a voice over monologue of the actress' train of thoughts. The viewer then walks to the last video piece sequence, which shows the actress playing her role, complete with special effects, as we would see it in the cinema. Each sequence, 5 min.
CATHERINE LACHANCE
Fiction director, Catherine Lachance's work has revolved around her fascination for the actor's work, which she exposes and reveals. Her involvement in Québec City's artists' centers Vidéo Femmes and Spirafilm brought her first to work as an assistant director for documentary. Now living in Montréal, she works in the short and feature fiction film industry.
Collaborator:
PAULE BAILLARGEON
Born in Val d'Or, she attended l'École Nationale de Théâtre. She left in the wake of her class' protest movement a short while before founding Le Grand Cirque Ordinaire in 1969. She has acted in more than 20 feature films, directed by Denys Arcand, Gilles Groulx, Anne-Claire Poirier, Léa Pool and Jean-Claude Lord, amongst others. In parallel to her acting career, she is also a director herself. She wrote and directed her first short film in 1975, Anastasie oh ma chérie. Since then, her feature fiction work and her documentary films have won awards in festivals both in Canada and around the world.
Vidéo Femmes acknowledges the financial support of the Ville de Québec and the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec for making this trip possible and wishes to thank the Women's Art Resource Centre for their welcome and the Musée de la civilisation from Québec for their help.
WARC Gallery gratefully acknowledges the support of our members, volunteers and the following funders:
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