L’arrêt / Promenade parmi les raffineries de pétrole, 1973
Exhibition view of Françoise Sullivan. Radiant Trajectories, 2017, Galerie de l’UQAM
Photo: Galerie de l’UQAM
L’arrêt / Promenade parmi les raffineries de pétrole, 1973
12 silver gelatin prints produced in 2016 from the original negatives and 9 texts by the artist, edition 1/2
35.6 × 25.4 cm(each)
Photo: Alex Neumann
Print: Alain Lefort
Collection of the artist
In 1973 and 1974, Françoise Sullivan walked routes bordering the oil refineries in the east end of Montreal Island. The concept of these walks went beyond her concerns over the status of art to consider political, social and economic issues. Her intuition ever on high alert, she turned her attention to the oil crisis, environmental risks and the possible loss of control of the planet. These walkabouts were executed with the assistance of Alex Neumann, who photographed her in action. This series photographs underwent various formulations over the years. L’arrêt (1973/2016) combines twelve black-and-white prints with nine texts from Hegel’s Lectures on Aesthetics (1835) and two shorter handwritten texts by the artist, who at the time L’arrêt was first created, wrote, “We come to a full stop, and this stop is what constitutes this work of art.”