ONE SHOULD ALWAYS BE
A LITTLE IMPROBABLE
 Oscar Wilde

IT IS A JOY TO BELIEVE
IN ALL SORTS OF THINGS
Jérôme Minière

WHAT IF THE WORLD WERE NOTHING BUT A STORIED HALLUCINATION, AN ILLUSION? IN THE MIDST OF SUCH DELIRIUM, WOULDN’T IT BE IMPERATIVE TO SHOW WIT AND TO UNLEASH CREATIVE FREEDOM?

By the means of fantasy, the theme Unbelievable and Marvelous proposes to jostle certain preconceived ideas, to challenge the world’s apparent stability and to modify the way we view it. It is well known that fiction and extravagance have always been effective antidotes for somber sadness; as much to elude the boredom of conformity as to challenge the unyielding rigidity of certain rules. In that sense, carnival and circus characters - among whom the fantastic, the unbelievable, and the marginal intermingle - offer us rich metaphors which provide, through a distorting mirror, a glimpse of the paradoxes and contradictions contained in reality. Admittedly, in certain respects, reality is sometimes senseless, laughable, and ludicrous. With the same acuity, poetry and delirium, through license toward common sense, offer a witty reply that pricks the certainties of reality and submits it to lucid and disturbing gaze.

In selecting artists for this Symposium, we pay special attention to practices that are related to painting and which contribute to this art form through media such as collage, drawings, or sculpture. These approaches possess characteristics inherent to the world of the circus such as virtuosity, humour, the spectacular, the fabulous, the theatrical, and the games of metamorphosis.

Thus, the theme Unbelievable and Marvelous - which could just as well have been entitled Varieties or Masterstrokes - aims to redirect traditional issues of “taste” towards those of desire and those of “beauty” towards those of intensity, by revisiting notions of sophistication and vulgarity, naiveté and knowledge, futility and seriousness, the unusual and the banal, mastery and spontaneity, criticism and entertainment. These practices testify of the changing and unpredictable nature of things and manage to blend sordidness with enchantment by investigating imaginary worlds where strangeness - which is not only disturbing - can also appear seductive and magnificent. We favour artistic practices of a narrative nature; in particular, approaches which largely promote drawing as a medium. We refer to current pursuits that bridge certain aspects of historical or contemporary art with, for example, the art of the grotesque (unreal, abundant decorative pleasantries, ridicule), with 18th and 19th century graphic arts such as story books, fantasies and scientific curiosities, satirical prints (creativity, iconoclasms, praise of the bizarre) and with the tradition of Mexican ex-votos (naiveté, expressiveness, awkward execution). To describe the general spirit of the works produced during this event, we also refer to the influence of comic strips and particularly “fanzines” characterized by a cutting aesthetic, and crude, twisted, and irreverent poetry.

Grimaces, tumbles, and pirouettes
Thus, through the mischievousness of a stroke, a venomous palette, or concoctions worthy of a mad scientist, the projects selected for this Symposium will appear to obey solely the whim of the artist to fascinate us and to mock conventions, to the detriment of harmony, order and the quest for idealized beauty. This 27th edition promises to be unusual, lively, and off-the-wall.

MARTIN DUFRASNE, Guest Curator

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES OF MR MARTIN DUFRASNE GUEST CURATOR FOR BAIE-SAINT-PAUL’S 27th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

Mr. Dufrasne lives and works in Montréal and Chicoutimi. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from UQAM and an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree from UQAC. His projects explore notions of exchange, displacement, and transformation through multiple forms of expression: installation, photography, and action. In parallel to his individual projects, he has been pursuing work as a duo with fellow artist Carl Bouchard since 1998. His corpus comprising installations, performances, and photography deals with subjects related to identity, relationship, and community issues.

Martin Dufrasne’s works have been presented individually and collectively in Québec, in Ontario, in Colombia, in Mexico and in France and particularly, at the Séquence gallery in Chicoutimi and Gallery 101 in Ottawa. His works have also been exhibited in actual art centres such as Le Lieu in Québec City and Skol and Clark in Montréal. For nearly ten years, he has been the recipient of grants provided by Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Canada Council for the Arts.

The diversity and plurality of Mr. Dufrasne’s artistic knowledge, the great quality and originality of his project as well as his broad experience with the art scene make him a natural choice as project manager of the next edition of this significant event.

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