The exhibition Déclic 70, currently running at Galerie sas, is an hommage to photography of the 1970s in Quebec. The photo-documentary movement, which came into its own in this time period, was overshadowed by the Automatistes and their Refus Global, focusing all attention in the art world on the discipline of painting. With Déclic 70 curator Nicolas Mavrikakis aims to shine a light on a group of influential artists who shaped photography – and contemporary art - in Quebec and often go unacknowledged.
The exhibition takes us back in time in more than one way. The images capture the nostalgia of Montreal a generation ago, with vintage cars, flared trousers, and an ever-present socio-political overtone. The ’68 rebellions echo in every print.
The myriad of modest-sized photographs, all black and white, all matted and framed, hung in tight clusters on black walls, made me feel as though I was walking through a vintage magazine spread. You have to get close to observe the details in every print, in effect you are “reading” the exhibition.
What is also noticeable is how documentary photography has changed. In the majority of the photographs the subjects pose for the shot. Aware of the camera and the viewer, they stand still to allow a calm portrait of a scene, an interior, a life. This makes the photographs no less engaging. I especially appreciated Clara Glutsche‘s portraits of residents in the Milton Park neighbourhood, Pierre Gaudard‘s series of Ouvriers (workmen, blue-collar labourers), and David Miller‘s shots of dilapidated, “liberated” buildings in the McGill ghetto.
This is not an extensive survey of photography in 1970s Quebec, but a snapshot of some of the major players. Still, an education in more ways than one.
Galerie [sas], space 416
Group exhibition
Déclic 70
August 25, 2011 – October 15, 2011
www.galeriesas.com
