VIDEO PORTRAITS
Michèle Drouin
Video clipsSome videos are in French - Certains clips vidéo sont en anglais.
Video clips © CCCA &
Linda Corbett_Eyeris Inc. 2006
Note: some videos may take 15-30 seconds to preload before playing
History
Michèle Drouin began her formal training at L’École des Beaux-
Arts in Québec city in 1951. Influenced by the figurative
style of Jean Paul Lemieux, she painted and studied ceramics.
By the early 1960’s Michèle began writing, becoming a
celebrated poet on radio and in print. In the 1970’s her painting
was influenced by Robert Delaunay and contemporary
American abstraction. But Michèle was determined to created a
personal style that wasn’t hard-edged - one that
reflected feminism and sensuality, one that played with visual contrasts.
running time: 4:03
start
| |

|
Triangle
1983 was a turning point in Drouin’s work, when she was
invited to attend the Triangle Artist’s
Studio in Upstate New York. Sculptor, Anthony Caro had begun the intensive
workshop where artists were encouraged to experiment
with their process. For the first time, Michèle found herself
challenged to paint on a platform on the floor. After her initial
panic, she was able to break free of the hard-edged
abstraction she had been dissatisfied with and begin a new phase.
running time: 3:11
start
| |

|
Process
In this clip, Michèle describes her process commenting that
the excitement of using colour creates the sensation that she is
working in a medium that has no limits. But because Drouin
works on the floor, the sheer physicality of painting for her is
like an assault on the canvas - pushing and balancing, working
against the resistance of the material.
running time: 4:03
start
| |

|
Painting
The Montréal art scene in the 1960’s and early 1970’s was
dominated by the birth of pure abstract painting - much of it
hard-edged. Influenced by the work of her contemporaries
and of the women’s liberation movement, Michèle developed
her own style - something freer, “with a lot of curves”. But by
1983, she was frustrated with her direction and joined the
experimental workshop at Triangle Artist’s
Studio in Upstate New York. The experience completely freed her and since that
time, “its been like another life”.
running time: 2:59
start
| |

|
Assault
The inspiration for Michèle’s work comes from memories,
sensations, and strong experiences about the difficulties of life
in the world. She plans her large paintings by
first creating small acrylic studies on paper. Next, she paints with her canvas
on the floor using large brushes and sponges. Drouin’s technique
is very physical - incorporating the whole body to gain
control over the large canvas. The first stage, she says, is like an
assault, but as the image develops, a dialogue begins where the
artist must listen to what the painting demands.
running time: 2:52
start
| |

|
Copyright ©1997, 2005, Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art. All rights reserved |
|