The Memories of Angels

I'm totally excited about this fab new film from the National Film Board.

The Memories of Angels is a stunning portrait of Montreal in the 1950's and 60's, in "sights, sounds and music". Culled from vintage NFB stockshots, the film lies somewhere between poetry, documentary and essay. Without narration, this film effectively paints the portrait of a city that underwent massive transformations in the years leading up to, and during, Expo 67.

Like a DJ mixing music, director Luc Bourdon skillfully "remixed" scenes of a bygone city: busy streets of people, motor cars and streetcars, children playing in yards and lanes, bustling department stores during Christmas, panoramic views of Expo 67... to name but a few. Aesthetically interesting to me was the contrast of black and white and color footage.

The Memories of Angels is playing at Ex-Centris until November 13, 2008.

Place Ville Marie was only one of many grand scale projects in the 1960's.

St-Catherine street's vegas-style neon signs.

Dunn's, a smoked-meat institution in Montreal.

Québecois legend Félix Leclerc with a young Dominique Michel.

Think that snow removal was better in the good old days? Think again!

Montreal's shining moment in the 1960's: Expo 67.

images: nfb.ca

"She's A Rainbow"

"Russian Rapunzel"

The Hockey Night in Canada Theme

I'm not a hockey fan, but I adore the Hockey Night in Canada theme.

The song was written for the CBC in 1968 by Dolores Claman. A classically trained composer, Claman had written a number of successful jingles (including the music for A Place to Stand, the Academy-award winning short film shown at the Ontario Pavilion at Expo 67.)

Having never actually seen a hockey game in person, Claman said that she wrote the tune imagining "Roman gladiators wearing skates".

"It just arrived in my head," she recalled years later.

Since the song was originally classified as an advertising jingle, Claman only received a one-time creative fee of $800. A recent messy court case saw the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation lose the rights to what many consider "Canada's second national anthem".

CTV, Canada's largest privately owned network, has acquired the broadcast rights to the song in perpetuity. A new, classic rendition has recently been unveiled, recorded by 54 members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Brassy yet loungy, the fab new recording pays hommage to the original 1968 version... Needless to say, I love it!

images: (top) cbc.ca

(bottom) hockeyforum.com

The Pavilion of Mexico

The Mexican pavilion at Expo 67 was a striking white structure located at water's edge on Île Notre Dame.

The pavilion's exterior was based on traditional architectural forms and reflected 2 aspects of Mexico. One part resembled an enormous seashell, recalling the country's coastline, while the remainder (where the pavilion's entrance was found) was designed as a barren hill, complete with Mayan temple made of ancient stones, representing the arid Yucatan climate.

The theme chosen for the pavilion was "The Mexican and His World".

A large mural by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo immediately greeted the visitor entering the pavilion. Measuring an imposing 42 feet high by 15 feet long, the work symbolized the Mexican people freeing themselves from myths and constrictive nationalism, reaching out into universality.

A collection of photographs of Mexico's natural beauty, history, traditions, social progress and industrialization was presented in the pavilion's first hall. Large images of mines, farms, and beaches showed Mexico's resources, rich in number and variety. A display of vegetable exhibits reminded the visitor that it was Mexico that introduced corn, chocolate, the tomato and the pimento to the world. Also in this hall, a model of the Piramide de Los Nichos, with its 365 alcoves studding its 4 sides, was surrounded by statues of gods of pre-Columbian mythology.

At the threshold of the pavilion's largest hall, a statue of an Olmec prince greeted the visitor with an invitation to explore the worlds of the Mayas, Toltecs and Aztecs. Stone figures embodied fascinating yet disturbing memories of dead civilisations. Also on display in this hall, a rich collection of pre-Columbian art, as well as religious and secular art objects of New Spain, dating back to the 16th century.

A painted wooden sculpture of Christ, typical of the Mexican baroque period.

Full sized replicas of the 3 Bonampak chambers, featuring the most ancient frescos in the Americas, evoked the grandeur of the Mayan civilization. These vast works in tones of red, yellow, ochre and green covered the inside and outside walls; a reliable portrayal of the period's customs, clothes and events, and the finest examples of classic Mayan painting.

Nearby, the serene beauty of basalt masks inlaid with mosaics and terra cotta funerary statuettes sharply contrasted the rich Bonampak murals. Also on display was a colossal caryatid, one of eight that once supported a temple roof dedicated to the planet Venus, in the sacred city of Tula. An 18th century baroque altar of gold and silver was brought in from Tepotzotlan.

In yet another hall, an important collection of paintings done in 1966 by young Mexican artists illustrated the theme of "The Mexican Facing the World". The works portrayed mankind's relation with Nature, Love, the Community, the Universe and Infinity. A kinetic sculpture came to life at the slightest breath of air, while a composition of metal shapes was set in motion magnetically over a black marble base.

The folk art decor of the Mexican pavilion restaurant.

The pavilion's Acapulco bar and adjoining Santa Anita restaurant served typical Mexican fare. Here visitors could admire folk art decor while sipping tequila and sampling dishes such as giant shrimps in pepper sauce, or fish stuffed with almonds... all to the nostalgic guitars and trumpets of the popular mariachi band.

Michele Richard, posing coquettishly at the Mexican pavilion.

images: (1-4-5-8) personal collection
(2-3-6) expo67.ncf.ca
(7) digital.library.mcgill.ca/expo-67

Vomiting Lisa Frank

Expo 2020

An interesting little news story has been circulating the last few days.

Benoit Labonté, opposition leader at Montreal city hall, upcoming candidate for Montreal mayor (and my new hero) announced at a press conference this week that he has taken steps to try to bring Expo 2020 to the city.

In a dramatic stunt worthy of Jean Drapeau himself, Labonté held up two distinctive red Expo 67 passports and said:

"What do the Expo 67 passports evoke?"

"It evokes Montreal's greatness, the moment when we thought everything was possible in Montreal, that the future belonged to us."

"But mostly, it evokes a great sense of collective pride, probably the greatest in Montreal in the 20th century."

A world exhibition in 2020 (over 50 years after Expo 67) would indeed rekindle that old Expo magic, and the economic boom that comes with it. Labonté has already created a non-profit organization to work on Montreal's bid for the world's fair. Bids officially open in 2011.

In another Drapeau-esque moment, Labonté insisted that the question wasn't "Can we afford it?" but "Can we afford not to do it?"

Expo Lounge fully endorses the Expo 2020 idea.

images: (top) vintage CBC graphic, recreated by Jérôme Cliche
(bottom) tripadvisor.com