<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>MCQ: News Desk: France-Quebec</TITLE>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type><BASE
href=http://www.mcq.org/presse/aametissages.html>
<META content="Adobe GoLive 4" name=generator>
<META content="Musee de la civilisation - Copyright 1999" name=AUTHOR>
<META content="Musee de la civilisation" name=COMPANY>
<META content=mcqweb@mcq.org name=EMail_ADDRESS>
<META content="French, english" name=LANGUAGE>
<META
content="Chronological description of the main press releases produced by the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City."
name=DESCRIPTION>
<META
content="Collection, Museum of civilization, press release, exhibitions, museum, communications, civilization, dissemination, Québec, Quebec City, Press Room, right."
name=keywords>
<SCRIPT language=javascript><!--
hometop = null;
emailtop = null;
maptop = null;
hyperlienstop = null;
flechegc =null;
homebottom = null;
emailbottom = null;
mapbottom = null;
hyperliensbottom = null;
top1 =null;
flechegcd =null;
function change(img, src) {
}
// -->
</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT language=javascript1.1><!--
function change(img, src) {
img.src = src;
}
// -->
</SCRIPT>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY aLink=#8d98d1
background=http://www.mcq.org/presse/images/aafond-spresse.gif bgColor=#ffffff
link=#0508d8 text=black vLink=#050169>
<DIV>Dear Colleagues in ACTR: I thought some of you might find the details here
of interest . . . it looks an excellent exhibition</DIV>
<DIV>to try to see at some point during our busy conference schedule!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Denis Salter.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><A name=TOP></A>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<TABLE border=0 width=550>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD width=515><IMG src="http://www.mcq.org/images/blanc.gif"> <IMG
align=top alt="[ Press Release ]" border=0 height=114
src="http://www.mcq.org/presse/images/en-CO-titre.gif" width=545><BR>
<P><IMG src="http://www.mcq.org/images/blanc.gif"><A
href="../english/index.html"
onmouseout="change(hometop, '../images/NAV-home.gif');"
onmouseover="change(hometop, '../images/NAV-home2.gif');"><IMG align=top
alt="[ aller page accueil ]" border=0 height=18 name=hometop
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-home.gif" width=33></A> <A
href="mailto:communications@mcq.org?subject=News%20Desk&cc=webmestre@mcq.org"
onmouseout="change(emailtop,'../images/NAV-email.gif')"
onmouseover="change(emailtop,'../images/NAV-email2.gif')" ;><IMG
align=top alt="[ courrier e-mail ]" border=0 height=18 name=emailtop
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-email.gif" width=33></A> <A
href="../aamap.html" onmouseout="change(maptop,'../images/NAV-map.gif')"
onmouseover="change(maptop,'../images/NAV-map2.gif')" ;><IMG align=top
alt="[ carte du site ]" border=0 height=18 name=maptop
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-map.gif" width=33></A> <A
href="aaindex.html" onmouseout="change(flechegc,'images/aaspresse.gif')"
onmouseover="change(flechegc,'images/aaspresse2.gif')" ;><IMG align=top
alt="[ fleche gauche ]" border=0 name=flechegc
src="http://www.mcq.org/presse/images/aaspresse.gif"></A></P>
<P><BR><BR><!--tableau texte commence ici, markof--></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<TABLE border=0 cellPadding=5 cellSpacing=0 height=250 width=510>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><FONT color=#0508d8
face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular
size=4><B>CROSSINGS</B><B><BR></B>Seen by Robert
Lepage<BR></FONT>
<DIV align=left>
<P><I><BR></I>A Tower of Babel, an Anatomy Theatre, curiosity
cabinets, an interwoven forest, numbered steles, a calligraphy
wall, these symbolic compo-nents are forceful images designed to
illustrate that human beings, language, nature, science and
technology… everything is crossed! This is the fascinating
message of the <I><B>Crossings</B></I> exhibition presented at
the Musée de la civilisation in Québec, from May 3, 2000 to
September 3, 2001, developed from an original idea and concept
by creator <B>Robert Lepage</B>. A bold exhibition in both
content and form. A truly outstanding production!<BR></P></DIV>
<DIV align=right>
<P><I>It was as a privileged witness to the phenomenon of the
globalization of cultures that I first embarked<BR>on the
adventure of producing this exhibition. But, to my astonishment,
this theme would take me well beyond cultural considerations and
make me understand that the reality of crossings has
ramifications right down to the tiniest part of what constitutes
our identity. All of these voyages, all of these distantt
projects […] that should have removed me even further from my
origins, finally had the effect of<BR>bringing me back to my,
now transformed, but authentic self. And it is precisely this
tugging back and forth between the ideas of authenticity and of
purity, which is at the heart of this
exhibition.<BR></I><B><BR></B>Robert Lepage [<I>free
translation</I>]<B><BR></B></P></DIV>
<P><B>
<TABLE align=left border=0 cellPadding=4 cellSpacing=4
width=153>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><A href="images/foret.jpg"><IMG border=0 height=188
src="http://www.mcq.org/presse/images/foret.gif"
width=130></A><BR><FONT size=2><I>Interwoven
forest</I><BR>Yvon Bellavance<BR>photo : Jacques
Lessard</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>CULTURES AND SCIENCES…
AT A CROSSROADS</B><BR>Crossings apply as much to cultural as to
scientific phenomena. Featuring impressive portrayals in which
works of art, objects, iconographic documents and multimedia
presentations intermix, the exhibition takes a highly original
approach to some important questions at the dawn of the third
millennium—cultural identity, racism, transgenesis,
heterotransplants… A person of French “extraction” is no more a
reality than a true blue, “pure laine” Quebecer, and cloning is
a kind of “mixaphobia”, points out Robert Lepage. Other remarks:
more than 170 million people live in a country that is not their
own. There are 3 000 different languages, not to mention local
dialects and regional patois. By using bar codes in all blood
banks, it almost impossible for a White person to know if the
blood he is receiving comes from a Black donor. Would you agree
to receive a pig heart transplant? (heterotransplant)? In short,
the exhibition is essentially a reflection on the notion of
purity.<BR><BR><B>“SAVE MY SOUL”</B><BR>An idea of impurity is
associated with the phenomenon of crossbreeding—moreover in
French the etymology of the word “métissage” evokes the idea of
being “mal tissé” or the product of “bad weaving or mixing”. The
exhibition relativizes the idea that one generally has of purity
and tries to show that despite our origins, we are all
crossbred. Whether in racial or cultural terms, whether in
relation to cloning, transgenesis or heterotrans-planting,
crossbreeding poses the question of one’s identity and soul,
namely the fear of losing, of debasing, or of denaturing it
through contact and mixing with the Other. The exhibition
invites visitors to overcome this fear and to explore all the
wealth and creative potential offered by crossings, a preferred
type of relationship in the 21st century.<BR><BR><B>AN INNER
VOYAGE</B><BR>The exhibition’s presentation is more
impressionistic than didactic. It extends an invita-tion to
embark on an inner voyage; the visitor finds his own way through
the exhibition and is confronted by the idea of being a
crossbreed himself.<BR><BR>The exhibition’s two main themes are
personified by two gigantic structures: the <I><B>Tower of
Babel</B></I> and the<I><B> Anatomy Theatre</B></I>. The Tower
of Babel poses the question of the glob-alization of cultures
and societies. Eleven alcoves present powerful images, from the
breaking up of the universe to the fusion of heavenly bodies,
from the separation from the initial androgyne to the reunion of
couples. An ascent in the form of a spiral leads to a nuptial
room, a symbol of amorous fusion, of the coming together of the
two sexes.<BR><BR>The <I><B>Anatomy Theatre</B></I>, harking
back to the first dissection rooms, proposes an explora-tion
into the heart of our body, in search of the seat of the soul.
Through animated debates, visitors are faced with conflicting
ideas in a multimedia environment. Presided over by Robert
Lepage himself, several important issues in the third millennium
(transgenesis, heterotransplants) are dissected in an ingenious
multimedia environment.<BR><BR>Two curiosity cabinets and a
“tissé”, or interwoven, forest encircle these two
installa-tions. <I><B>Curiosity
<TABLE align=right border=0 cellPadding=4 cellSpacing=4
width=149>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><A href="images/cabinet.jpg"><IMG border=0 height=188
src="http://www.mcq.org/presse/images/cabinet.gif"
width=130></A><BR><FONT size=2><I>Curiosity
cabinets</I><BR>Claudie Gagnon<BR>photo : Jacques
Lessard</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Cabinets</B></I>,
referring to associations of strange and ill-assorted objects,
were created by artist Claudie Gagnon who drew inspiration from
the main themes ex-plored in the exhibition. The
<I><B>Interwoven Forest</B></I> (La fôret tissée), by scenic
artist Ivon Bellavance, represents the twists and turns of the
unconscious in which our thoughts are organized. Each concept we
evoke is subtly tied to a complex network of associations of
ideas, like the roots of a tree.<BR><BR>The <I><B>Numbered
Steles</B></I> (engraved with mathematical inscriptions), a
<I><B>Mirror</B></I> (a symbolic and paradoxical object that
divides and reunites, a perfect symmetry between the visible
world and the reflection of the visible world), a
<I><B>Calligraphy Wall</B></I> (evocation of the exchange of
ideas between languages all over the world) complete the
exhibition’s archi-tecture.<BR><BR><B>ONE IDEA, SEVERAL
IMAGES</B><BR>The use of images characterizes both the artistic
approach of the actor, stage director and producer, Robert
Lepage… and that of the exhibition. Striking images, images that
structure the message. The public enters and circulates inside a
large installation created by artists, where forceful
portrayals, strange objects, photographs, and audio-visual and
multimedia presentations add a special dimension to the subject
of the exhibition. In addition to the <I>Ex Machina</I>
production house, artists Claudie Gagnon (visual arts) and Ivon
Bellavance (textile art) as well as architects Annie Lebel,
Geneviève L’Heureux and Stéphane Pratte from the Atelier in situ
contributed their works to the exhibition.<BR><BR><FONT
size=2><I><B>Crossings</B></I>, a truly outstanding exhibition!
At the Musée de la civilisation in Québec from May 3, 2000<BR>to
September 3, 2001. The exhibition receives promotional support
from
Télé-Québec<B>.</B></FONT><B><BR><BR></B>Information:<BR>Serge
Poulin, (418) 643-2158<BR>Public Relations and
Communications<BR>E-mail: <A
href="mailto:spoulin@mcq.org">spoulin@mcq.org</A><BR><BR>Issued:
May 2, 2000.<BR></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><IMG src="http://www.mcq.org/images/blanc.gif"> <A
href="../english/index.html"
onmouseout="change(homebottom, '../images/NAV-home.gif');"
onmouseover="change(homebottom, '../images/NAV-home2.gif');"><IMG
align=top alt="[ aller page accueil ]" border=0 height=18
name=homebottom src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-home.gif"
width=33></A> <A
href="mailto:communications@mcq.org?subject=News%20Desk&cc=webmestre@mcq.org"
onmouseout="change(emailbottom,'../images/NAV-email.gif')"
onmouseover="change(emailbottom,'../images/NAV-email2.gif')" ;><IMG
align=top alt="[ courrier e-mail ]" border=0 height=18 name=emailbottom
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-email.gif" width=33></A> <A
href="../aamap.html"
onmouseout="change(mapbottom,'../images/NAV-map.gif')"
onmouseover="change(mapbottom,'../images/NAV-map2.gif')" ;><IMG
align=top alt="[ carte du site ]" border=0 height=18 name=mapbottom
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-map.gif" width=33></A> <A
href="aaindex.html"
onmouseout="change(flechegcd,'images/aaspresse.gif')"
onmouseover="change(flechegcd,'images/aaspresse2.gif')" ;><IMG align=top
alt="[ fleche gauche ]" border=0 name=flechegcd
src="http://www.mcq.org/presse/images/aaspresse.gif"></A> <A href="#TOP"
onmouseout="change(top1,'../images/NAV-top.gif')"
onmouseover="change(top1,'../images/NAV-top-on.gif')" ;><IMG align=top
alt="[ haut de page ]" border=0 height=18 name=top1
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-top.gif" width=33></A><BR><BR><IMG
align=top border=0 height=1
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-top-on.gif" width=1> <IMG align=top
border=0 height=1 src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-home2.gif" width=1>
<IMG align=top border=0 height=1
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-email2.gif" width=1> <IMG align=top
border=0 height=1 src="http://www.mcq.org/images/NAV-map2.gif" width=1>
<IMG align=top border=0 height=1
src="http://www.mcq.org/images/Hyperliens2.gif" width=1> <IMG align=top
border=0 height=1 src="http://www.mcq.org/images/aaspresse.gif"
width=1></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>