A WILD AND WOOLLY RIDE THROUGH THE IDEALIZED WEST From April 10, 2002, to March 15, 2003, at Québec City’s Musée de la civilisation Photo : Jacques Lessard Take a wild and woolly ride through the idealized West and its big dreams, big skies, and love of freedom and authenticity! Experience it all at Cowboy at Heart, a blockbuster exhibition at Québec City's Musée de la civilisation from April 10, 2002, to March 15, 2003. The exhibition is presented by the Commission de la capitale nationale in cooperation with continuous music network Galaxie, TVA, Le Journal de Québec, and CJMF FM 93, with special assistance from the Fédération équestre du Québec, the Festival western de St-Tite, Loews Le Concorde hotel, and Place Laurier. The exhibition is funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec under the program Soutien aux institutions muséales 2001-2002 for specific projects. The Country & Western experience plunges us into the heart of North America and lets us discover the very soul of the land. Country & Western is a way of life and existence, a form of expression that has traveled far beyond North American borders. The exhibition invites us to unlock the mystery of “cowboys at heart” and hit the Country & Western trail with pioneers, heroes, and legends from the popular world of the West—Radisson, Davy Crockett, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bill, Will James (Ernest Dufault), the Lone Ranger, Pit Verchères, John Wayne, Dolly Parton, Willie Lamothe, Renée and Marcel Martel, Shania Twain, singers Les Cowboys Fringants, and other rodeo cowboys, country singers, and Western actors. A Part of Popular Culture “It’s a universal part of popular culture that’s especially alive and well in Québec, where festivals and rodeos abound and line dancing is very popular,” stressed Ms Claire Simard, Musée de la civilisation general manager, during the media visit. “But Country & Western, particularly as found in Québec, has long been neglected and not afforded any serious thought. One of the mandates of Musée de la civilisation is to illustrate the many facets of Québec society, so it couldn’t keep silent on such an important reality. In its own way, Cowboy at Heart is an exhibition about identity, much like I hear you singing, Téléromans, and Mad About Hockey presented in recent years. Musée de la civilisation wanted to take on the challenge of ‘exposing’ a little understood and, let’s be frank, sometimes denigrated aspect of popular culture,” concluded Ms. Simard. Photo : Jacques Lessard Giddy up…to the Exhibition! Cowboy at Heart explores three main themes of the Country & Western experience: a new beginning, heroism, and the quest for authenticity. A new beginning…like the pioneers who traveled across North America and pushed back the frontiers. They left everything behind and took over the continent…at the expense of the first nations. Discover the exploits—both real and imagined—of these explorers, these first “frontiersmen.” Heroism…like the hard-working cowboys on horseback, driving the herds from the plains to the markets. A model of freedom, mobility, and solitude, these heroes abandoned the plains, only to reappear idealized in literature, songs, movie sets, and comic strips. The quest for authenticity…like the larger-than-life sentiments and emotions expressed in country music, a popular patchwork genre of humble origins that portrays the many aspects of human life—in very simple, sincere songs that salute the sun as it greets the mountains! Québec has developed a special flavor of Country & Western based on its French roots and North American identity. Photo : Jacques Lessard Will James—an Imposter? Horse tamer, author, illustrator, and Hollywood stuntman and actor Will James—a.k.a. Québec native Ernest Dufault—lived out his dream of becoming a cowboy. In a hall adjacent to the exhibition, you’ll find works by James from the Mr. and Mrs. A.P. Hays collection, including oil and watercolor paintings, pencil and ink drawings, novels, and photographs. This is the very first time these pieces have left the United States! A World of Sights and Sounds Exhibition visitors can admire nearly 700 collection pieces along an itinerary designed to evoke a winding Western trail bathed in the bright light of the open plains, the dancing light of the prairies, or the spotlights of the stage. Items displayed include a magnificent selection of native Western objects o a covered Concord wagon (late 19th century) • an impressive mounted bison • superb bronze pieces • saddles • traditional cowboy gear (boots, hats, chaps, and more) • posters, scripts • movie costumes and props (Gene Autry’s costume, a sculpture of John Wayne, and more) • original comic strip art (Durango, Jerry Spring, Pit Verchères, and more) • a screening of the very first scripted Western, The Great Train Robbery (filmed in 1903) • musical instruments • singers’ and musicians’ costumes and accessories (Hank Snow, Marcel Martel, and more) • female singers’ dresses and stage ensembles (Renée Martel, Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, and more) • cowboy boots given to Jacques Chirac by Bill Clinton • items from modern-day rodeos and festivals (including a miniature St-Tite village), not to mention the show set from Le Ranch à Willie used in the television series Willie. At various points in the exhibition, visitors can listen to audio recordings, including “Mille après mille” (Willie Lamothe), “Les cow-boys du Québec” (Julie Daraîche), “Mon enfant, je te pardonne” (Paul Brunelle), “Une autre chambre d’hôtel” (Gildor Roy), “Banlieue” (Les Cowboys Fringants), and a number of other songs interpreted by Gene Autry, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, the Daraîche family, Georges Hamel, Carole Laure, Renée Martel, Patrick Normand, Zachary Richard, Kenny Rogers, Lucille Starr, Mara Tremblay, Shania Twain, and others. Photo : Jacques Lessard An original audiovisual production summarizes the main themes of the exhibition. Visitors can join a trucker—one of today’s cowboys—as he listens to a Country & Western radio show that sparks his imagination. Lastly, photographs by Jean Vachon (Lux Québec 2001 grand prize winner, published portrait series) feature stunningly lifelike portraits created during the most recent St-Tite Western Festival. Cowboys for Families The exhibition includes a whole section for families featuring an activity space entitled Adventures in the Far West. A sound stage has been re-created to explore the myths of the Far West and how they've changed over time—the perfect opportunity for families “to play cowboy” and peek behind the scenes of a film set! The same area will serve as an occasional stage for live entertainment. A Publication by the Same Name Visitors who want to look deeper into the whole Country & Western mystique won’t want to miss our special publication, Cow-boy dans l’âme : sur la piste du western et du country, co-authored by anthropologists Bernard Arcand and Serge Bouchard and co-edited with Les Éditions de l’Homme. For those who read French, it's the perfect complement to the exhibit. Cowboy at Heart, a memorable journey across North America, from April 10, 2002, to March 15, 2003, at Québec City’s Musée de la civilisation. Presented by the Commission de la capitale nationale in cooperation with continuous music network Galaxie, TVA, Le Journal de Québec, and CJMF FM 93, with special assistance from the Fédération équestre du Québec, the Festival western de St-Tite, Loews Le Concorde hotel, and Place Laurier. The exhibition is funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec under the program Soutien aux institutions muséales 2001-2002 for specific projects. THE WEST IN OBJECTS, IMAGES, AND COUNTRY MUSIC Informations: Serge Poulin, [418] 643-2158 Relations publiques et communications Issued : April 10, 2002

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