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Thoughts and Musings of Artists and Specialists

Length: 90 minutes

Through spontaneous accounts and personal reflections, this audio tour takes you on an exploration of the decorative arts and design collection from the perspective of numerous artists and specialists, including guest curator Rachel Gotlieb.

Dale Chihuly, The Sun, 2003, blown glass, steel. Purchase, gifts of J. Sebastian van Berkom, Marcel and Caroline Elefant, an anonymous donor, Jacqueline Desmarais, Sun Life Financial, John A. and Phyllis Rae, Polaroid Eyewear, New Look Eyewear and the thousands of Museum visitors and members who contributed to this acquisition.

1/1 — 3:07
Dale Chihuly, The Sun, 2003

Figuration

Susan Collett, Bloom III, from the series “Laurel”, 2014, partially glazed paper clay, slip, oxides. Anonymous gift.

Tanya Lyons, Golden Gown, 2007, brass mesh, hotworked glass. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, Louise and Laurette D’Amours Bequest.

1/2 — 1:32
Susan Collett, Bloom III, from the series “Laurel”, 2014
2/2 — 1:22
Tanya Lyons, Golden Gown, 2007

Abstraction

Ralph Bacerra, Charger, 1986, glazed and lustred earthenware, painted decoration. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection.

1/1 — 2:45
Ralph Bacerra, Charger, 1986

From Style Moderne to Streamlining

Jeannette Meunier Biéler, Desk, about 1932-1933, tubular chromeplated steel, glass (not original). Gift of Philippe Baylaucq and Sylvie Biéler Baylaucq.

1/1 — 2:21
Jeannette Meunier Biéler, Desk, about 1932-1933

The École du meuble

Pierre Gauvreau, Warning to the “Pauèzes”, 1947, oil on plywood. Purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest.

1/1 — 2:32
The École du meuble

Canadian Design on the Rise

Hugh Spencer, Project G Hifi Stereo, 1963 (example of 1964), rosewood, leatherette, anodized and brushed aluminum, plastic, TC4 amplifier, Elac Miracord 10H turntable, 3/400, produced by the Clairtone Sound Corporation, Rexdale, Ontario. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, gift of Eric Brill.

1/1 — 2:58
Hugh Spencer, Project G Hifi Stereo, 1963

Design for the Twenty-first Century

Ying Gao, Uncertainties 1, 2013, Vest: polyvinylidene fluoride, steel pins, electronic components, steel snaps, thread; Shorts: cotton, silver, gold, thread. Gift of the artist.

5.5 designers, Chair Fitted with a Crutch, 2006, recycled chair (varnished wood, painted wood), lacquered steel, label (ink on paper, polyethylene). Gift of Sylvie Cataford and Simon Blais.

Zoë Mowat, Trestle Bowl (short) and Trestle Bowl (tall), 2017, 3D-printed porcelain, produced by OTHR, New York. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, acquired through the Luc d’Iberville-Moreau Fund, by exchange.

1/3 — 1:34
Ying Gao, Uncertainties 1, 2013
2/3 — 3:20
5.5 designers, Chair Fitted with a Crutch, 2006
3/3 — 1:46
Zoë Mowat, Trestle Bowl (short) and Trestle Bowl (tall), 2017

Cantilevered Modernism

Maarten Baas, Zig Zag (Rietveld) Chair, from the series “Where There’s Smoke”, 2003, burnt cherry, epoxy resin, polyurethane, produced by Baas & Herder’s Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Purchase, the Museum Campaign 1988-1993 Fund.

1/1 — 2:03
Maarten Baas, Zig Zag (Rietveld) Chair, from the series “Where There’s Smoke”, 2003

Persistence and Variations

Hans Coper, Vase, about 1960, glazed stoneware. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection.

Pascale Girardin, Untitled, 2001, earthenware, coil forming, incised before firing. Gift of Sylvie Cataford and Simon Blais.

Steven Heinemann, Untitled (Disc No. 1), 2000-2014, slipcast earthenware. Gift of the artist in memory of Eva Heinemann.

1/3 — 3:07
Hans CoperHans Coper, Vase, about 1960
2/3 — 1:23
Pascale Girardin, Untitled, 2001
3/3 — 2:21
Steve Heinemann, Untitled (Disc No. 1), 2000-2014

Past Forward

Audie Murray, une paire de chaussettes, 2017, chaussettes en coton, perles de verre, textile synthétique. Don de J. Serge Sasseville à la mémoire de François Dell’Aniello.

Yannick Pouliot, Empire : possessif, 2007, various materials. On loan from Alain Tremblay.

Edwin Holgate, Table Lamp for the Jasper Tea Room, Château Laurier, 1929, painted metal, cardboard and fabric, fabric. Gift of Jonathan Rittenhouse.

Emily Carr, Raven Bowl, about 1925-1930, painted earthenware. Gift of Michael Millman in memory of Rose, Florence and Leo Millman.

1/4 — 2:05
Audie Murray, a pair of socks, 2017
2/4 — 2:27
Yannick Pouliot, Empire : possessif, 2007
3/4 — 1:29
Edwin Holgate, Table Lamp for the Jasper Tea Room, Château Laurier, 1929
4/4 — 1:50
Emily Carr, Raven Bowl, about 1925-1930

Shaping Mobility

Giuseppe Marinoni, born in Rovetta, Italy, in 1937, Lovell Bicycle, 1978, steel, aluminum, plastic, leather, produced by Cycles Marinoni Inc., Terrebonne, Quebec. On loan from Cycles Marinoni Inc.

1/1 — 3:38
Giuseppe Marinoni, Lovell Bicycle, 1978

Material Matters

François Dallegret, Ressort Chair Prototype, 1967, anodized and laminated aluminum. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, acquired through the Roy Poretsky Fund and the Luc d’Iberville-Moreau Fund, by exchange.

Kino Guérin, Nebula Console Table, 2011 (example of 2018), bent veneer-faced laminated plywood. Gift of Kino Guérin.

Dear Human, Stacking Baskets with Strap, from the series “Or Something In Between”, 2016, recycled paper, ink, paint, nylon, galvanized steel. Purchase, Ruth Jackson Bequest.

Susan Edgerley, I Hear Your Whisper, from the series “Ethereal”, 2003, flameworked glass. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, Louise and Laurette D’Amours Bequest.

Robert Hendery & Co., Victoria Skating Club Cup, 1867, silver, silver gilt. Gift of the Honourable Serge Joyal, P.C., C.C., O.Q.

Laurent Amiot, Chalice, early 19th c., silver. Purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest.

Anonymous (écuelle and cover) and Georg Friedrich Imlin (stand), Écuelle with Cover and Stand, 1725-1731 (écuelle and cover), 1773 (stand), silver gilt. F. Eleanore Morrice Bequest.

Jean Puiforcat, Soup Tureen, about 1935, silver, silver gilt, produced by Puiforcat orfèvre, Paris. Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection.

1/8 — 4:23
François Dallegret, Ressort Chair Prototype, 1967
2/8 — 2:04
Kino Guérin, Nebula Console Table, 2011
3/8 — 2:14
Dear Human, Stacking Baskets with Strap, from the series “Or Something In Between”, 2016
4/8 — 1:40
Susan Edgerley, I Hear Your Whisper, from the series “Ethereal”, 2003
5/8 — 2:01
Robert Hendery & Co., Victoria Skating Club Cup, 1867
6/8 — 2:00
Laurent Amiot, Chalice, early 19th c.
7/8 — 1:47
Anonymous, Écuelle with Cover, 1725-1731
8/8 — 1:45
Jean Puiforcat, Soup Tureen, about 1935

Well-being

Hellenistic Period (323-31 B.C.E.), Eastern Mediterranean, amphoriskos (Perfume Bottle), 2nd-1st c. B.C.E., core-formed glass, combed decoration. Gift of Harry A. Norton.

1/1 — 1:42
Hellenistic Period (323-31 B.C.E.), Eastern Mediterranean, amphoriskos (Perfume Bottle), 2nd-1st c. B.C.E.

Office Design

Douglas Ball, Clipper CS1 Workstation Capsule, 1992, maple plywood, maple, laminated maple, polycarbonate, thermoplated painted steel, plastic, fibreglass, leather, lighting and ventilation system, computer, prototype produced by Leon Goldik and Jeff Sokalski of Douglas Ball Inc., Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec. Gift of Douglas C. Ball.

1/1 — 3:11
Douglas Ball, Clipper CS1 Workstation Capsule, 1992

Communications - Seals

Qing dynasty (1644-1911), China, Seal of Empress Dowager Cixi, between 1861 and 1908, rock crystal, silk. Gift of George Warre.

Roman Empire (27 B.C.E.‑476 C.E.), Intaglio Ring: Bust of Serapis, Late 2nd‑early 3rd c. C.E. Jasper, iron. Gift in memory of David Ross and Anne‑Marie Roigt Ross, from Ronald, Leslie, Eric and Francine Ross

1/2 — 2:10
Qing dynasty (1644-1911), China, Seal of Empress Dowager Cixi, between 1861 and 1908
2/2 — 1:39
Roman Empire (27 B.C.E.‑476 C.E.), Intaglio Ring: Bust of Serapis, Late 2nd‑early 3rd c. C.E.

Designing for the Everyday

Artist unknown to date, Tagata Sāmoa, American Samoa or British Samoa, Siapo pupuni (Large-sized Barkcloth), about 1950, paper mulberry tree bark fibre, natural pigments. Gift of Mrs. C. J. Davies.

1/1 — 1:05
Artist unknown to date, Tagata Sāmoa, American Samoa or British Samoa, Siapo pupuni (Large-sized Barkcloth), about 1950
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