He wipes his hand before handing it to me apologetically; he was drinking maple syrup straight from the gallon. He goes on to ask me my date of birth. “You should talk to an astrologer, the moon might try to tell you things in the next few days.” »
I immediately fall under the spell of Glen LeMesurier, who clearly has nothing to do with small talk. He asks me if I want children, if I’m in love, what I hope to get from our interview…
His questions could be intrusive, but they are not. The artist (Scorpio, Taurus ascendant) is interested and playful. His eyes are frank, his smile warm.
He suggested that we go and sit in the Twilight Garden, the green space on Van Horne Street which houses around fifty of his sculptures. I take one last look at the pieces of metal littering his workshop, then I follow up with a follow-up about maple syrup… “Do you drink it often?” »
He enjoys a few swigs occasionally, but he mainly uses the liquid to feed animals around the workshop. The empty pot is then used as part of his work.
You may know his work. For 25 years, Glen LeMesurier has been embellishing Montreal with his works. He’s created several sculpture gardens, given a slew of interviews, and made a ton of friends in the process (friends who lend him money, I’ll soon learn).
Because money is a problem. He always kind of was. Glen LeMesurier does not create to get rich; when the City commissioned a work from him, he tried to convince the decision-making committees that three would be needed to improve the place. Then, he makes them, even if the budget is not exactly there.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Sculptures by Glen LeMesurier on the Des Carrières trail
” I do not have a choice ! I analyze the environment and see that this is what is needed! »
If the sculptor’s financial situation has always been precarious, it has just taken a new turn. The monthly cost of his studio – which he has occupied since 1997 – has recently doubled, he says. The costs relating to his works (materials, insurance, maintenance, etc.) are also increasing. This situation disrupts the professional future of the artist, a great lover of Montreal.
He estimates that he has created more than 230 sculptures exhibited free of charge to the public in the districts of Mile End, Hochelaga, Rosemont and Verdun, among others. And less known fact: around forty of his works can also be found in the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle regional park.
Glen takes out a lemon, a lemon squeezer and two cups from his shoulder bag. He concocts a lemonade while observing his Twilight Garden.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Glen LeMesurier
There are people sleeping here, lovers walking, a woman doing tai chi and a man praying almost every day. The space has been used by the public for years. It’s not a gallery or a museum, it’s a place of wonder.
Glen LeMesurier
He tells me he sees the city like a dream. His sculptures are poetic metaphors of what he perceives in her and in us. By exhibiting them, he believes he attracts interesting people, like satellites gravitating around the same vision.
Among them, Corey Dickinson, a cartographer who has just created a digital map of Montreal including all of Glen’s public works. He told me he was attracted by the transgressive nature of the artist’s work: “I find his art to be really interesting,” he said. Recycled materials, twisted into new shapes and placed in surprising places, transform something that might traditionally be considered “ugly” into something beautiful. »
Into something beautiful and thoughtful.
“I travel around the world to see sculpture gardens and meet artists,” explains Glen LeMesurier. I want to know how the works are made, what they mean, where people come from, what kind of light they find themselves in… Nothing is random in this work. »
He has spent the last few months writing a book about how the velocity and weight of a sculpture affect the person viewing it, and how the art fits into the environment.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Sculptures by Glen LeMesurier on the Des Carrières trail
To continue consciously making the city a daydream, he is now asking for support from the community.
Glen LeMesurier hopes to accumulate $10,000 by the end of the year, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. This is a first for the artist, who is used to relying on others… After all, he readily stops joggers when he needs help to install a new sculpture.
“I tell them: ‘If you like free art, you have to do your part!’ »
Glen’s friends do theirs, anyway: “I borrowed money from them all!” » He laughs and assures me that none of them are angry with him.
The amount raised by the GoFundMe platform will be one more way to help him make ends meet and continue his activities. But what will happen if he can no longer pay for his studio?
“I have to be realistic,” he replies. It will probably be bye bye Charlie and the City will be stuck with a bunch of works of art. »
But he refuses to think about it any further: “I’m here for what, another 20 summers? I might as well continue doing what makes me happy. »
Then he stops. Photographer Josie Desmarais has just arrived to take her portrait. I notice an inscription on my colleague’s sweater: “Anxious Ascendant.” Glen has already had time to ask him the day and time of his birth…