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Mobile sculpture, 1976 Extruded aluminum, enamelled sheet steel, and stainless steel Height 7,6 m × diameter 3 m Location: Place-Saint-Henri station, mezzanine and great volume |
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This large sculpture, suspended in an open shaft between the mezzanine and great volume of the station, consists of two rings of three large aluminum tubes each, their inner surfaces enamelled in warm colours. With one section above and one section below, the work can be admired from both the mezzanine and the platforms. The sculpture was originally motorized; the motor no longer functions but the sculpture can be turned by hand or by wind in the station.
Completely different from de Tonnancour's other works, the mobile was conceived with the participation of station architects Jean-Louis Lalonde and Julien Hébert. In the artist's words,
My idea was to create a sculpture that would turn so slowly that people would wonder, am I dreaming or is the sculpture really moving? I thought it would bring a note of mystery to the station. At the time, movement was a new dimension in the arts; everything had to move!Planning for the sculpture began in March 1976. Contracts with the contractor, Pentagon Construction, and the manufacturer, A. Faustin Ltd., were signed in March 1977. Plans were finalized in October 1977, and the work was installed in January 1979.
(Info STM, "Les artistes du métro de Montréal: Jacques de Tonnancour", Métro, 21 January 2003, p. 7)