Figure de l’indiscipline. Domingo Cisneros, un parcours artistique atypique

Between 1974 et 1996, the Canadian artist of Mexican origin Domingo Cisneros was seen as a leading figure in contemporary art in Canada. He played a major role in the process of self-determination that First Nations artists undertook following the infamous 1969 White Paper, the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy. Cisneros was recognized both in the Native and Quebec francophone contemporary art worlds, and was internationally acclaimed within the conceptual and contextual art milieu gathered around the Polish artist Jan Swidzinski. His contribution has nevertheless been forgotten. Coinciding with his seventy-fifth birthday, this article aims to review, conceptually frame, and contextualize Cisneros’s role and impact on the Canadian art scene. It argues that his interdisciplinarity, or “indiscipline,” was instrumental in building connexions and bridges between heterogeneous values, cultural protocols, and epistemological principles

L’art autochtone à l’aune du discours critique dans les revues spécialisées en arts visuels au Canada. Les cas de Sakahàn et de Beat Nation

This article offers a qualitative and quantitive analysis of the critical reception of two exhibitions, Sakahàn:International Indigenous Art (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa 2013) and Beat Nation: Art, Hip-Hop and Aboriginial Culture (organised and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery, 2013-2014). The study treats articles which appeared between 2012 and 2015 in English and French visual-arts publications. The comparative analysis intends to highlight general trends, in order to identify challenges that contemporary Indigenous arts pose for art criticism. A review of the texts shows that all commentators, whether francophone or anglophone, indigenous or non-Indigenous, have welcomed these two exhibitions warmly. The discrepancy between the number of essays in French and those in English reflects the demographic weight of these two linguistic communities and the geographic distribution of First Nations in Canada. This will qualify, without denying, the hypothesis of Quebec's tardiness on the indigenous question. The authors largely recognize the necessity of initiating indigenization of the museum and emphasize the movement to internationalize contemporary indigenous art. Yet many commentators, particulary Indigenous people, dispute the efficacity of the concept of "strategic essentialism" put forward by the commissioners of the Sakahàn catalog. Despite both a real interest in these two major exhibitions and the quality of the commentary, in the end, for events of such a scale few texts have been published on the subject. The criteria for appreciation rooted in the institutional sociology of art endeavour to fully take into account the challenges posed by certain central aspects of the approach of several Indigenous creators, such as the intangible dimensions of their civic engagement, the dissolution of particular outside venues and the sisterhood of certain projects

Genèse d’un projet de construction de maisons à l’énergie solaire au collège Manitou : Un prototype novateur ?

Dans cet article, les auteurs retracent un projet de construction de quatre maisons à l’énergie solaire sur le campus du collège Manitou à La Macaza (Québec). Lancé en 1973 et partiellement réalisé en 1975, ce projet visait plusieurs objectifs : développer de nouveaux modes de consommation d’énergie renouvelable ; répondre à la précarité du logement autochtone ; adapter les prototypes à la spécificité culturelle de communautés autochtones ciblées ; satisfaire certains objectifs d’insertion sociale et de formation des étudiants autochtones aux métiers du bâtiment. En se basant sur les archives du projet et l’entrevue de l’architecte innu Guy Courtois, responsable du seul prototype construit, les auteurs mettent à jour les tensions ayant surgi lors des différentes phases d’élaboration et de réalisation du chantier. L’article suggère des pistes explicatives permettant d’apprécier le degré d’adéquation entre les objectifs énoncés, les prototypes projetés et celui finalement édifié.In this article, the authors trace a project to build four solar-powered houses on the campus of Manitou College in La Macaza, Quebec. Launched in 1973 and partially completed in 1975, this project had several objectives: to develop new modes of renewable energy consumption ; address the precariousness of Indigenous housing ; adapt prototypes to the cultural specificity of targeted Indigenous communities; meet certain objectives of social inclusion and training of Indigenous students in the building trades. Based on the project’s archives and in-depth interview with Innu architect Guy Courtois, in charge of the sole prototype build, the authors uncover the tensions that surfaced during the various phases of development and construction. The article suggests explanatory avenues to assess the degree of adequacy between the stated objectives, the projected prototypes and the one finally built.En este artículo, los autores trazan un proyecto de construcción de cuatro casas con energía solar en el campus del Manitou College de La Macaza (Quebec). Este proyecto, iniciado en 1973 y realizado parcialmente en 1975, tenía varios objetivos: desarrollar nuevos modos de consumo de energía renovable; responder a la precariedad de las viviendas indígenas; adaptar los prototipos a la especificidad cultural de las comunidades indígenas destinatarias; y cumplir ciertos objetivos de integración social y formación de estudiantes indígenas en los oficios de la construcción. Basándose en los archivos del proyecto y en una entrevista con el arquitecto Innu Guy Courtois, responsable del único prototipo construido, los autores revelan las tensiones que surgieron durante las distintas fases de desarrollo y ejecución del proyecto. El artículo sugiere vías explicativas que permiten evaluar el grado de adecuación entre los objetivos planteados, los prototipos proyectados y el que fue finalmente construido

Métissages

A presentation of the sculptural works created during Est-Nord-Est's summer workshops by seven Canadian artists of diverse origins and disciplines. Fraser introduces the project and the theme of interbreeding, while Sioui Durand develops the latter with regard to Native and half-breed imaginaries. Includes a text on each artist. Most of the texts are in French only. Brief biographical notes on artists and curators. 22 bibl. ref