My Alerts Montréal, October 3, 2011 – Tomorrow, in the presence of Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec, Henri de Raincourt, French Minister of Co-operation, Michel Robitaille, Quebec’s Delegate General in France, Pierre Mongin, President-CEO of the Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP), and Michel Labrecque, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), the work of art La Voix lactée by artist Geneviève Cadieux will be unveiled at the Paris métro’s Saint-Lazare station in the corridor linking line 9 to line 14.
“The Montréal métro was conceived in the 1960s with the technical assistance of RATP, enabling us to inaugurate a system in 1966 running entirely on rubber wheels, of which we are still very proud. The STM is delighted to highlight the 150th anniversary of its transit network with the gift of this work of art. This gesture is even more symbolic as it is occurring as part of the 50th anniversary of the Délégation générale du Québec in France. I hope that this work of art expresses for all time the spirit of co-operation and fraternity that unites Montréal and Paris,” declared the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the STM, Michel Labrecque.
“A photographic work of art symbolic of our city, La Voix lactée is a powerful image of Montréal that is now transported to Paris. This is a positive initiative that helps reinforce the links that unite Montréal and Paris, broadens the exposure of a remarkable Montréal artist and affirms the character of Montréal as an outward-looking cultural metropolis,” added Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montréal.
A Montréal-Paris cultural exchange
It should be noted that it was the Guimard wrought iron grillwork, gifted by RATP and entirely restored in 2003 at the Montréal métro’s Square-Victoria station, which led the STM to become involved in an agreement to exchange public works of art. The theme chosen was the French language to mark the proximity of thought and culture of the two cities. A major competition was held, and the jury selected the proposal by renowned artist Geneviève Cadieux.
La Voix lactée projects the traveller into the space of the body, the mouth and the lips, sources of the voice and of language. This glass mosaic echoes La Voie lactée that sits atop the Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art. This is the most important artistic competition involving the two cities since the selection of artist Charles Daudelin to create a work of art at Place du Québec in Paris, inaugurated in 1984.
Geneviève Cadieux is an associate professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts photography program at Concordia University in Montréal. She concentrates primarily on producing large-scale photographic images and installations that deal mainly with the human body and landscape. She has taken part in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Canada, United States, Europe, Australia and Asia, and her works of art can be found in many private and museum collections. In 2011 Geneviève Cadieux received a Governor-General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in recognition of her remarkable artistic career.
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