Gerbes

furtive action, 2013
in the context of the event Springtemps, articule, March 29-April 13, 2013

Performers : Daniel Campeau, Samuel Garrigó Meza, Alexandre Geissmann, Denis Lessard, Douglas Scholes
In memory of Daniel Campeau (1958-2018)

Do you believe that an athlete, lengthily celebrated, whose force and skill were recognized by public triumphs, became inferior from the fact of easily carrying a simple bouquet of mixed tulips and jasmines?

Erik Satie, émoires d'un amnésique (1912) Translation : David Stybr

Five or six tall men, of manly appearance, carry large bouquets of flowers or blooming plants and stroll in various points of the city during the Springtemps project : they occupy unusual, paradoxical, unexpected locations, such as a supermarket or the subway at rush hour, busy places or empty places...

The performers have a certain latitude regarding the choice of location for their intervention and the gestures they will make, in conjunction with me. They contribute to the process by choosing a suggested itinerary or by proposing their own. At the end of their itinerary, they can dispose of the flowers as they wish.

In order to maintain their furtive quality, the interventions will not be documented visually as they unfold, but retrospectively, in the context of an informal video interview conducted on the basis of a flexible framework with very simple questions:

• Can you describe your itinerary?
• How did the intervention go?
• What did you feel during the intervention?
• Have you noticed the passers-by’s reactions?
• How did you dispose of the flowers?

Representations of men with flowers are rare in advertising or the visual arts, excepted in certain Renaissance or baroque portraits, and in the work of some contemporary photographers such as the American Duane Michals or the Canadian David Rasmus, in their evocations marked by solemnity and spirituality, or the French duo Pierre et Gilles, who exploit the dimension of kitsch. In effect, generally flowers are more likely associated with feminity, delicateness and fragility. In a masculine context, flowers evoque the dandy figure or that of the newlywed man sporting a carnation, a rose or an orchid on his lapel.

Moreover, bouquets of flowers are associated with the celebration of special occasions, with wealth and luxury, which could be out of place if the intervention unfolds in a less affluent neighbourhood. On the other hand, bouquets of flowers will often bring a smile to passersby met by chance, who will see a precursory sign of a much awaited spring and try to guess the occasion and person the bearer intends to offer them to. The fragility and cumbersome nature of the bouquet or potted plant could also incite the passersby to come closer in order to examine them or smell their fragrance, or to move away in order not to bruise them.

Through all these meaningful connotations and situations, I hope to trigger stimulating reactions, reflections and introspections, in the performers as well as in the general public.

n the context of Springtemps, Denis Lessard proposes floral-themed furtive actions in various Montreal locations. These actions will be discussed retrospectively during the meeting with the artists, April 13, 2013, from 2 to 5 pm.

Denis Lessard invites the public to post messages and photos on Pinterest at the address http://pinterest.com/springtemps/springtemps
If they think that they have witnessed these furtive actions.

Excerpts from Daniel Campeau’s text on his walks

Sunday, April 7 
Bought the bouquet
Visited 2 florists
The first one for baby’s breath 
The second one for creamy white to pale yellow lilies and irises.
The salespersons were men. 
It is very obvious that they love flowers. 
Both spoke of flower fragrances as they smelled them before handing me the bouquet wrapped in transparent film. 

[…]

First walk, Monday, April 8 from 7:30 to 8:30 am.

I chose this first moment, hoping that I would meet some morning workers. The sky is grey. I walk slowly, with my back straight. I am dressed in white, which clashed on this morning somewhere between early spring and late winter. […]

I enter the park. Strollers walk with their dogs. There are many and they discuss among themselves. They throw balls and their dogs catch them back. They are indifferent. A young woman on her bike passes me with a really broad, knowing smile on her face. I think I have contented her gaze. At last a reaction!

[…]

I will resume walking around 4:30 pm to go to the bar Quai des Brumes, for the launch of a biography published by an author friend. I will give her the bouquet.

[…]

I go to Rachel street to reach the bicycle path and walk along Parc-La Fontaine avenue. A jogger turns around and run backwards, saying to me “hmm! that smells good, that’s beautiful” with a broad smile. A young woman looks at the bouquet very enviously. It shows in her eyes. She looks at me. At once a young skateboarder, also smiling, shouts a loud THANK YOU, very pronounced and very happy. I reply to him “my pleasure.” I go down to Roy street to reach Saint-Denis. I meet a young woman with her little girl who is barely 2 years old. She cries out “Aah ghee ghee” with her arms in the air, opening and closing her hands as if to grasp the bouquet. She makes me laugh. Just a little further along, a young couple is sitting in a café’s window. The bouquet goes past their eyes. They put on a broad smile, a giggle almost. A little further along, in front of the greengrocer, a woman tells me : “oh it feels good to see flowers.” On Saint-Denis street, same reaction : women look on and give me a little smile. Two ladies, arm in arm, nod assent at the same time. They approve of and appreciate the bouquet.

[…]

In a more personal light, the morning walk made me wonder. It brought back questions as old as me and probably older, asked by so many human beings: Who sees me? Who is observing me, that I am not aware of? What are they thinking? Which images come to these people's minds? Before each departure, I felt nervous just as if I were on stage.

The late afternoon walk was much more pleasant. The warm spring sun added a festive touch. Reactions were sharper and led to some interation with certain people I met on my walk.

“Gerbes” from Denis Lessard, the 4th part of Springtemps @ articule

Text by Sylvie Laplante

For his project entitled “Gerbes,” and throughout the event Springtemps, Denis Lessard gave us signs: images (iconographic references) and flower bouquets (one was exposed at articule during Springtemps and another was remitted to Robb Jamieson at the end of his “Marathon North”), so as to leave room for speculation and interpretation.

So finally, on Saturday April 13, Denis invited us to the great unveiling of the project in the form of interviews.

At the base of his project, Denis asked four men in his surroundings, to get a big bouquet of flowers, large and visible, with which each would go for a stroll, alone, in the direction of his choice, in the city. The time and place was at the discretion of each. Denis had anticipated about the impromptu nature and the eye that would be put on an individual street man (manliness), holding a large bouquet (feminine, luxurious, fancy) and strolling or standing in undefined public places, and without a specified mean. Denis anticipated that look. He wanted these actions to be furtive. No record would be made. He made it clear with his collaborators about the stealthy character and therefore non representational aspect of the actions. The only account would be the testimony of each protagonist later, at the end of the event. So Denis did not know more than we did on Saturday’s meeting, where all protagonists were present.

Each told a different story, this caused by the way they negotiated their mission, the venue, the infiltration of this action in their personal lives, serendipity and how each ended the action. Each spoke of the perceptions and interpretation of public looks, comparisons and differences in response to men or women encounters … also their own perception of themselves. A discussion with the audience then followed.

Men-flowers / collaborators : Denis Lessard, Daniel Campeau, Samuel Garrigó Meza, Alexandre Geissmann, Douglas Scholes.
http://springtemps.wordpress.com