PEUT MIEUX FAIRE – Cahiers d`exercices (CAN DO BETTER

PEUT MIEUX FAIRE
– Cahiers d’exercices
(CAN DO BETTER – Exercise Books)
A travelling exhibition presented by the
Conseil des arts de Montréal en tournée
and the Centre d’art et de diffusion CLARK
Curator: Emmanuel Galland
PEUT MIEUX FAIRE – Cahiers d’exercices is a group
exhibition that brings together Quebec artists and creators
from various disciplines, regions and generations, all of
whom have participated in the project’s three previous
editions since 2009.
The exhibited works take their inspiration from the famous
Canada Hilroy exercise book. This popular item, ingrained
in our collective memory, continues to symbolize a rite of
passage for Canadian students from coast to coast. Despite
its fragile paper and faded colours on the four different
covers, the notebook has many compelling stories to tell,
some imposed and some more personal.
The invited artists and creators have taken the book from its
practical context into an area of unrestrained experimentation.
Using the same playing field and basic material, the artists
have interpreted the book in a thousand different ways. At
the outset, the curator made one simple recommendation:
to take the side roads in probing the book as both subject and
support. Participants based their explorations on their childhood memories, educational paths or run-ins with authority,
past or present. The exercise book, needless to say, lends
itself to following the line, going between the lines, or invading
the margins.
The resulting augmented versions of the book assume
a wide range of forms: graphic fantasies, geopolitical statements, rebellious interventions, writings and markings,
dynamic collages, folded deviations, or formal research that
extends the boundaries of the artist’s book. Working solo or
in pairs, the participants sometimes even transformed the
notebook into a photo, video or sculpture.
PEUT MIEUX FAIRE (Can Do Better) obviously refers
to the teacher’s comment on the student’s report card, but
also to social conditioning, to the imposition of values of productivity and perfection. Artists themselves cannot always
escape the pressures of newness for the sake of newness,
of competition, of modes of validation that make it hard
to be content with past achievements.
PEUT MIEUX FAIRE – Cahier d’exercices is an evolving
exhibition that is presented here in its fourth manifestation. Preceding it were versions at the Atelier Punkt gallery
(Montreal, 2009), and Artist-Run Centres l’Œil de Poisson
(Quebec City, 2011) and Vaste et Vague (Carleton-sur-Mer,
2012). The exhibi­tion has also been accompanied by outreach activities, including classes at the École secondaire
Antoine-Bernard (Carleton-sur-Mer). The contributions of
all participants in this multifaceted project, particularly
Melinda Pap, are greatly appreciated.
Centre d’art et
de diffusion CLARK
Founded in 1988, the Centre CLARK is a non-profit organization run by a collective of some fifty artists and cultural
workers. Involved in research as well as production and
dissemination, the Centre is a versatile and multi-purpose
space, open to the most innovative forms of artistic expression. In addition to the gallery’s two exhibition rooms, the
Centre created the Atelier Clark in 1998, the only studio
on the Island of Montreal equipped with both specialized
equipment and professional-level technical support that is
open to the entire artistic community. These facilities are
designed to develop and reinforce a network of exchanges
for artists and organizations from here and abroad. The
Centre has become a hotbed of creation and dissemination,
encouraging a spirit of competition and reflections on current
artistic practices.
www.clarkplaza.org
Conseil des arts de Montréal
en tournée
Le Conseil des arts de Montréal en tournée is the largest
arts tour in the entire city. Every year since 1983 Montrealers
have had access to a variety of exhibitions, concerts,
performances, films and other high-quality activities in their
neighbourhoods for free or at very little cost. This tour
presents recent works by Montreal artists and enriches the
cultural life of municipalities and districts. The Conseil des
arts de Montréal is proud to contribute in this way to the
artistic development of our city, this metropolis of culture. To
learn about other art events, log on to:
www.artsmontrealtournee.org