McCord Stewart Museum | Portrait of stars by local photographers

The exhibition Portraits and fashion – Photographers from Quebec beyond borders brings together at the McCord Stewart Museum the work of 17 photographers from Quebec who shine on the international scene.

As soon as we enter the first room of the exhibition, we are impressed by the beautiful black and white photographs of Nelson Mandela, Céline Dion, Félix Auger-Aliassime. These portraits are signed by Carl Lessard, one of the most remarkable Quebec photographers. “I always try to seek emotion through images, and for that, people must abandon themselves in front of the lens, and their egos must fly away, to make them more real. It can take 1000 photos before getting the right one, and for other people it will be 200, 50 or 20 photos, and sometimes just one is enough,” confides Carl Lessard, met during the press visit of the ‘exposure.

“We celebrate the talent and creativity of these contemporary photographers, from Quebec or from immigrant backgrounds, who shine throughout the world through their different genres of photographs,” explains Thierry-Maxime Loriot, curator of the exhibition, who is also behind the successful exhibitions The fashion planet of Jean Paul Gaultier: from the streets to the stars And Thierry Mugler: extremely fashionable. It brought together established and emerging photographers from several generations: Monic Richard, Carl Lessard, Max Abadian, Shayne Laverdière, Norman Jean Roy, Royal Gilbert, Nelson Simoneau, Sacha Cohen, Andréanne Gauthier, Xavier Tera, Oumayma Ben Tanfous, Cristina Garceau, Richard Bernardin, William Arcand, Villedepluie, Étienne Saint-Denis and Alex Black.

Photos of stars

The portraits of the stars are numerous and the visitor will be delighted by the photographs of Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, Leonard Cohen, Julia Roberts, Mika, Isabelle Boulay, Xavier Dolan, Charlotte Cardin, Eve Salvail and Zinédine Zidane, in particular. Throughout the exhibition, you can admire the unique style of these photographers through photos of personalities and anonymous people. The rooms are colored according to the different worlds of the photographers, each highlighted in a space reserved for them. Around twenty audiovisual contents produced by Rodeo FX explain the artistic approach of each photographer and also give voice to certain artists photographed.

“These photographs on display are a portfolio of our Quebec cultural heritage and we can be proud of these photographers who represent the diversity of Quebec today. They are distinguished by their humanist approach and by this search for authenticity,” underlines Thierry-Maxime Loriot. The latter wishes to show that all these photographers have Quebec as a common point and that they learned photography here, self-taught or in colleges.

Max Abadian has photographed the biggest stars on the planet, including Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, Jane Fonda, Julianne Moore, Cindy Crawford, and is recognized around the world for his very elegant style. Born in Iran, he first immigrated to Germany, then settled in Montreal in the 1990s, at age 20, and studied photography at Dawson College. He has collaborated with prestigious magazines, Vogue, Vanity Fair And She, and even signed the cover of Lady Gaga’s album The Remix, in 2010. What is the secret to a successful photo?

“You have to, from the first moment, create a bond with the person you are going to photograph. Whether it’s a Hollywood actress, a model or a stranger, we have to build a special relationship with our subject, feel the human side, and have a good energy that comes out during the photo shoot,” he says, in an interview during visiting the exhibition. There are also unexpected moments: “During a photo shoot for a magazine, Lady Gaga asked me to stay to take other photos for her, and ultimately, it was for her album cover! », he explains, still surprised.

When designing the exhibition, what struck Thierry-Maxime Loriot was that no one in his entourage was capable of naming a Quebec photographer. “Take the test around you, people will cite visual arts artists like Jean Paul Riopelle, Paul-Émile Borduas, Marcelle Ferron… but no photographer, even though they are famous all over the world! I hope, with this exhibition, that you will remember their name, and their talent. »

A very beautiful book accompanies the exhibition. Titled Across borders, it brings together more than 268 photos taken by the 17 photographers in the exhibition. It is published by the McCord Stewart Museum and BT Publishers under the direction of Thierry-Maxime Loriot and Anne Eschapasse, President and CEO of the McCord Stewart Museum.

The exhibition Portraits and fashion – Photographers from Quebec beyond borders is on display at the McCord Stewart Museum until September 29.

Visit the exhibition website