Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Avenging Angel or Art Aficionado?

There is a sculpture of an angel in Montreal on Sherbrooke Street that I am in love with.


I've previously posted pictures of him but this one gives a different view.  He stands upon a very high pedestal so I climbed some nearby stairs in front of a church to get a different angle on the angel.  With a bit of cropping, I think I made it look as if he's strolling into town, or possibly limping in...perhaps in the guise of an Avenging Angel (he looks a little trigger-happy to me!)...or maybe just on his way to see the latest exhibit at the Musée des Beaux Arts across the street.

***UPDATE: Finally discovered the name of the artist and sculpture:  The Eye, by David Altmejd
go here for more information.

21 comments:

  1. From this angle you've made your angel look Godzilla-ish. He's going to pick that museum up like a little box and shake the jewels around.

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    1. Oh, I love that idea of the art museum being a little box of jewels, picked up like a toy by our fearsome angel. Maybe he's bringing it on back home for his sweetheart back at the Pearly Gates Estate!

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  2. That is quite an amazing piece of statuary isn't it. There is something rather un-angel like about it.

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    1. I love how this statue turns our sweet, clichéed ideas and images of what an angel looks like completely upside down and inside out. Wait till I give you the full front view!

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  3. Poor fallen angel... Looks like it's transforming into a - oh no, dare I say it - human! :) The sculpture is mesmerizing... I mean it *says* so much!

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    1. One can read so much into this sculpture, that`s partly what makes it so fascinating to me. Are we all, perhaps, angels fallen to earth?

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  4. oh yeah, very rough and very cool. I like!

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    1. Angel with attitude! Glad you like him, too.

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  5. Great angle on the avenging angel - the artist loks very familiar......who is it?

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    1. Thanks for prompting me to delve a little deeper into finding out the artist responsible for this remarkable work. His name and the title of this work was not posted anywhere I could find while at the site. Turns out he's a Montreal artist, David Altmejd, and the piece is called The Eye. I've posted a link to his description of the piece at the end of my post now.

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  6. Oh gosh - what a fabulous shot!

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    1. Thanks so much! Had great subject matter to work with.

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  7. Looks as if he has been through a rough flight. Yes, a great sculpture that is. Thank you for the inspiration.

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    1. Yes, the weather was brutal as he made his descent; definitely ruffled his feathers.

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  8. That's a wonderful perspective, Lynn. You did great with that shot.

    I see that he strolls along my old haunts. I used to work for Holt Renfrew on Sherbrooke at Mountain. (they had part of their head office in the National Trust Building)

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    1. You worked at Holt Renfrew, Hilary?! I am too intimidated by that store to even walk through its doors. Well, I did once, promptly got lost, felt embarrassed and flustered just by looking at the prices on the scarves, and finally found my way back to the exit. I do love taking pictures of their window displays, though!

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  9. Ha! I worked for their Accounts Payable department but I also felt VERY intimidated in the store (where the rest of the head office was and where I had to venture from time to time).

    One of my fonder memories though were of Guy (not the street) and Sebastien.. who worked for their display department, and made magic out of their windows amid tantrums and hissy fits. Gosh, they were cute! They'd be in their 60s now. I wonder if they're still partners. :)

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    1. Hmmm...that mention of Guy and Sebastien jogs a distant memory of my own of a charming fellow who lived in the upstairs flat of the big old stone house I lived in on (formerly known as) Dorchester Blvd. I think his name was Guy and I believe he was a, what we called then, a window dresser (probably some fancy name for it now). He was adorable. My own boyfriend was quite smitten with him...but that's a story for another day (or not!). What IS it about Holt that is so intimidating? It can't just be the price tags. Can it??

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    2. Ha.. Guy.. what would the chances be? Nah! :)

      No, it wasn't only the price tags. It was the snooty employees they hired as sales clerks. Most were making minimum wage but were paid to act as if they owned the joint.

      How I miss Montreal though. I'll have to get back for a visit sometime.

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  10. Take that "were" and make it a "was," willya? ;)

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    1. Why, willingly! (actually, didn't even notice)

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