FRANCE-QUÉBEC Images and Mirages An exhibition that starts a dialogue with our french "cousins" FOUR HUNDRED YEARS of discoveries, loves, and friendships, but also of ruptures, discord and disagreements. What is the relationship between France and Québec today? In what direction are we headed at the dawn of the third millennium? These are the Jacques Cartier Wooden medallion dated 1704 which decorated the stern of a XVIII Century ship. questions raised by the France-Québec, Images and Mirages exhibition, presented at the Musée de la civilisation in Québec from March 22, 2000 to September 3, 2001. The exhibition was produced in collaboration with the Musée national des Arts et Traditions populaires in Paris. France-Québec, Images and Mirages focuses on the ambivalent attitudes and paradoxical situations that have developed over the years and which are still the source of misunderstandings today. The purpose of the exhibition is to establish a dialogue between the inhabitants of Québec and of France. By confronting each group's preconceived ideas with the other's real life experience, the exhibition leads visitors to discover and understand the reasons why some ties still exist whereas others have been broken. 1st World War This poster appealed to the nationalist fiber of French Canadians to incite them to enlist. History and Dialogue Although the exhibition is resolutely contemporary, the references to history make themselves clearly felt. They enable visitors to identify the origin and the persistence of common myths and clichés. The historical references are often drawn from accounts by voyageurs or from thinkers whose writings have helped create and pass on certain images of “the other”. The exhibition is divided into two parts: a prologue provides historical points of reference—the establishment of a colony in North America, the Conquest of 1760, the beginning of a specific Francophone destiny on the other side of the Atlantic, the discovery of common interests and projects (language, culture…)—and a dialogue using virtual characters and touching on themes such as language, mental imagery and bridges between cultures. Part of the exhibition is specifically devoted to the evolution of the French language, from the arrival of the first colonists in New France to the present. Significant objects, remarkable works of art The approximately 200 objects (heritage or contemporary), presented in Roosters Rooster weathervanes reminiscent of the emblem of France. the exhibition were carefully chosen to illustrate the subject matter. The exhibition's most significant objects include an immigrant's chest dating from 1670, two altar frontals (17th century), a chest belonging to an Augustinian nun (17th century), a bust of Diderot and 21 (from a collection of 35) volumes from his Encyclopédie, a copy of the Maria Chapedelaine novel illustrated by Clarence Gagnon, a cope probably belonging to Mgr de Laval (17th century), touching military objects from the First World War, as well as pieces of furniture, dinnerware sets, and military accessories… The exhibition also features several works of art—including paintings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries—and contemporary paintings by artists such as Paul-Émile Borduas, Joseph Légaré, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Côté, Antoine Plamondon, Riopelle, Henri Beau… Virtual spokespeople The exhibition takes an original approach: “virtual spokespeople” stop visitors and invite them to partake Virtual spokespeople Virtual and interactive segment by artist Luc Courchesne. in a dialogue in order to better know and understand the other's life experience. These virtual characters are designed and produced using a technology developed by the Montréal artist, Luc Courchesne, who has a broad expertise in the multimedia communications field. Among those who express their opinions on questions such as language, mental imagery or bridges between cultures are Stélio Farandgis (general secretary at the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie), Martine Segalen (ethnologist and research director at CNRS, Paris), Jean-Marie Borzeix (ex-director of France-Culture and of Éditions du Seuil) and Caroline Andrieux (contemporary artist) as well as Quebecers Gérard Bouchard (sociologist) and Claude Poirier (linguist). France-Québec, Images and Mirages, an exhibition that starts a dialogue with our “cousins” from France, at the Musée de la civilisation in Québec, from March 22, 2000 to September 3, 2001. The exhibition was produced in collaboration with the Musée national des Arts et Traditions populaires in Paris. The exhibition receives promotional support from Télé-Québec. Information: Serge Poulin, (418) 643-2158 Public Relations and Communications Issued: March 22th 2000. © Musée de la civilisation