The Illustration
The
illustration used as the background in this exhibit was painted by André
Michel and Denis Larouche. Monsieur Michel, an artist from Mont St-Hillaire
shares with us his memories of stays among the Montagnais of the North
Shore of the St. Lawrence while Monsieur Larouche, of the Canadian Museum
of Civilization created the wonderful overcast sky.
The
ceramic containers are presented as works of art, but it is nonetheless
important to remember that these containers witnessed very human moments
that we all still experience in our everyday lives. The illustration is
not contrived or imaginary, but rather, it is of modern people in real
situations. It reminds us of the human context within which the pots were
used.
Even
if the Montagnais in the past were not makers of pottery and only occasionally
used pots obtained through trade, the spirit of the moment shown in this
scene is independent of the raw material of the containers in which food
was prepared, be that ceramic or bark in the past, or metal like the one
shown by André Michel.
Created: June 18, 1998. Last update: August 15, 2001 © Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation |