Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal 2013 - part 8
In 2013, the Montreal International Mosaïcultures exhibition was at the Montreal Botanical Garden. The theme was Earth of Hope. With 48 spectacular works from 18 countries, the Botanical Garden was transformed into a wonderland from June 22 to September 29. The exhibition has been extended to October 6 for people to see the works awarded by the jury and by the public.
On June 9, 2013, I was fortunate enough to have a day pass; I was able to visit and photograph the mosaicultures as they were being assembled. Here are my best photos taken before, during, and after this sensational exhibition. The works are numbered from 1 to 48, as in the order of the plan in 2013.
I made eight projects of six works to show you all the horticultural and environmental creations of this exhibition. A ninth project will soon follow with the 25 award-winning works.
Here is a short video that quickly shows the assembly of some works.
In this project, you will see of horticultural works from : Canada, Spain,
France & United States.
43. Canada – Repentigny – The generation bridge
This plant sculpture places the family in the foreground of a green city where water is an integral part of the environment. This centerpiece of the work is a bridge, like a passage between the past and the future, uniting ideas and generations.
Trees in the streets and the greening of the city to fight against heat islands, to protect the riverbanks and thus to allow the maintenance of biodiversity, is to meet the needs of present and future generations.
In order to protect the St. Lawrence River and its ecosystems, the city of Repentigny initiated in 2010, in partnership with the Comité Zone d'Intervention Prioritaire des Seigneuries, a vast project of ecological rehabilitation of the shoreline. This project has resulted in awareness and information activities, the planting of 1000 shrubs in the Parc de l'Île-Lebel, a highly frequented area, and the production of a practical guide for shoreline property owners.
The Parc de l'Île-Lebel has an area of 15.7 ha along the St. Lawrence River, where we can see more than 37 species of birds.
For more information, you can consult these links:
44. Espagne – Barcelone – Gaudi's Salamander
The work presents a salamander, a popular motif in Catalonia.
This salamander can be found in the Guel Park, which is located in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. This park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as are all the works of the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. The park is the most important heritage landscaping in southern Europe. It was designed and built between 1900 and 1914. Gaudi's salamander is set in a staircase that symbolizes the diversity of Catalonia, its citizens, its personality and its landscapes. The multicolored salamander represents, in many ways, the diversity of Catalan culture and the rich biodiversity of its landscapes, which stretch from the mountains to the sea and present a complex mosaic of greens, reds, yellows and blues.
Guel Park was originally intended to be a housing development that would have housed houses designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi. Too avant-garde for its time - early 1900s - the project was abandoned and the land and its facilities were donated by the Guell family to the city of Barcelona.
For more information on the architect Antoni Gaudi, the Guel Park, and to see sensational photographs of the salamander, go to these links:
45. France – Department of Moselle
Memories of a dinner when we were kids...
This work illustrates the memories of the inhabitants of Moselle, when as children they had the chance to taste simple dishes with vegetables and fruits that had the tastes and flavors of their land.
In Moselle, for many years, the Conseil Général (the local institution) has preserved this richness and promoted the artisans who, like many around the world, cultivate the authenticity of their territory, their land.
To know the local producers in Moselle, click here:
Appetizer : The plate of the garden of flavors
2/3 of mesclun salad (mixed lettuces). 1/3 of garden flowers, olive oil, vinegar, rice vinegar & pepper.
Mix gently the vinaigrette, add a little salt flower and serve at once.
***
Main course : Carpaccio of tomatoes, scents of the garden
Two beautiful tomatoes per person, rosemary flowers, basil, thyme, olive oil, balsamic vinegar (old), salt & pepper.
Slice the tomatoes into thin strips. Sprinkle them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with rosemary flowers and fine basil leaves. Let stand for one hour in a cool place (not cold).
Slice the tomatoes into thin strips. Sprinkle them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with rosemary flowers and fine basil leaves. Let stand for one hour in a cool place (not cold).
***
Dessert : Fruits of the summer, a sweet perfume with herbs
All the fruits of the garden, a large handful of calament, some thyme flowers.
Infuse a large handful of calament in sugar water for 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator. Put the fruit in a soup plate, cover lightly with syrup of calament. Decorate with flower heads of thm and serve.
Moselle is one of the four departments of Lorraine, a region of France known for its gastronomy. It is here that the recipe for a famous pastry, the macaroon, is said to have been refined.
In "April 1854, Binès Lazard and his wife Françoise, put the finishing touches to their discovery: the consistency is supple and soft... the taste finely sweetened with a delicate aroma of freshly blanched almonds. [ ... ] Today, as in the past, the Macarons de Boulay are still formed by hand, one by one, with a silver spoon," * they are shipped all over the world, to people who wish to buy them.
You wish to buy some? Go to this link: *
46. Canada – Trois-Rivières – The bridge
In the past, there was nature with its vegetation, its ecosystems and its ecological niches. It was the colorful and soothing life. On the other hand, Man has pushed nature aside to establish his urban environment, with its cold structures and accelerated pace of life, which is a priority for him because of the industrial and economic advantages it brings.
Today, Man bridges these two vital spaces. He joins the useful to the pleasant by letting nature take a place in his city. He finally understands the interest that nature can have for him: the beauty of the landscape, the improvement of the quality of life, the reduction of pollution and heat islands, in particular.
In the future, these two very different worlds will be in perfect harmony.
To the southwest of Trois-Rivières, the St. Lawrence River gives way to Lake Saint-Pierre *, one of the four UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves in Quebec. On both shores of the lake, as well as on the 103 islands it contains, 288 different species of birds pass through each year, 72% of all those found in Quebec.
* The Lac-Saint-Pierre Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 480 km2.
The Laviolette Bridge is the longest steel-frame bridge in Quebec. Officially inaugurated in December 1967, it required three years of work at a cost of $50 million, a colossal sum for the time. Before its construction, the people of Trois-Rivières had to take a ferry that linked the port of Trois-Rivières to the Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval wharf in Bécancour.
This bridge is very beautiful. Here, you can see a picture: Pont Laviolette — Wikipédia
47. Canada – Nunavut, Cape Dorset – Nanuk
Nanuk is the name given to the polar bear in Inuktitut.
The polar bear shown here was inspired by the dancing bear sculptures made by Inuit artists in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. The symbolism associated with this representation is based on the joy of living and the heavy responsibility of life.
In his dance, the bear is totally concentrated in the passion of what he is doing, with his nose in the air, both to smell the weather and to express his ecstasy of living. Balancing unsteadily on one of his large paws, he is about to strike the ground as heavily as possible to express his joy.
Here, the glacier is melting, hence the water spurting under Nanuk's paw.
This work has something dramatic about it since Nanuk in Life while his life is threatened by the melting of the glaciers!
This work has something dramatic about it since Nanuk in Life while his life is threatened by the melting of the glaciers!
The Arctic was set to have warmed twice as much as the global average in 2020 compared with pre-industrial temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
I sincerely hope that the governments of all countries will take measures to stop global warming and the disappearance of species, including the polar bear, which could disappear by the end of the century.
Here two interesting links:
48. United States – California – These farmers who feed the planet!
The state of California is the largest agricultural producer in the United States. California's farmers feed the world. The region's climatic diversity allows for a wide variety of crops: grapes, olives, wheat, rice, lettuce, a variety of fruits and nuts... and almost every vegetable imaginable.
From generation to generation, the farmers have played the role of guardians of the environment. For centuries, they have cultivated and protected our land.
This exhibition pays tribute to the traditions and knowledge passed down through the generations. The symbiotic relationship between man and nature could not have been perpetuated without respect and sound land management.
California Polytechnic State University, San Louis Obispo, is the most recognized agricultural college in California for its training. This learning-by-doing education produces leaders in agriculture. The future of the world depends on teaching good agricultural practices, harmonized with nature, that allow for better management of land and agri-food production, in a perspective of sustainable development.
California organic product sales totaled more than $10.4 billion in 2019, an increase of 3.5 percent from the prior year. Organic production encompasses over 2.5 million acres in the state and California is the only state in the U.S. with a USDA National Organic Program.*
France – Moselle – Little turtle making the Sun
The work "Little turtle making the Sun" by artist Christine Sioui Wawanoloath has inspired several creations, including this one by the team of the Jardins fruitiers de Laquenexy located in Moselle in eastern France, in collaboration with the Jardin botanique de Montréal. A three-week ephemeral work at MIM in 2013.
Christine Sioui Wawanoloath is the artist who created the sketch that inspired the work "Born With the Sun" that you can see in part 4 of this series.
Here her site web: http://iosazaso.wixsite.com/sioui-wawanoloath
In the summer of 2022, for the first time, the Montreal International Mosaicultures exhibition will be in Quebec City, at Bois-de-Coulonge Park.
