Selected reviews from After Notman exhibitions and book in PDF

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The Gazette, Montreal, Saturday, September 6, 2003, Weekender section
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Quebec - Lifestyle and Travel Magazine Number 4: September- October 2004
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La Presse, Montreal, Wednesday, November 14, 2003
Hundred years in Montreal
by Nicolas Bérubé
translated by Anna Rau
For three years, photographer Andrzej Maciejewski wandered through the streets of Montreal, following
steps of William Notman. He applied himself to re-take the same photographs as the ones taken by
Montreal photographer on the turn of the last century. The result is a moving and unique journey through
the time, a testimony of changes that the city went through during last hundred years.
Hundred years ago, the tallest sky-scraper of Montreal, was seven storeys. Rue Sainte-Catherine with
electric lines running through the tops of wooden posts, supplying power for the tramways, the carriages, the
gentlemen wearing high hats and ladies with umbrellas. In winter, the smoke from coal furnaces darkened
the sky and the snow was hand-shoveled in the streets.
The everyday life of the metropolis at the turn of century, had been immortalized by William Notman, a
pioneer of photography in our country. Notman, who lived with his family at the intersection of rue
Sherbrooke and Clark, in the large house, which bears his name today, left more than 400 000 archival
photographs, taken by him and his collaborators all over the country.
Thirty of the Montreal photographs have been actualized by photographer Andrzej Maciejewski, who is
currently exhibiting his fascinating diptychs at the McCord Museum. Maciejewski followed Notman's steps
with scrupulousness of a monk: the same corner of the street, the same hour, the same frame. Same busy
passer-byes, crossing the street, rushing to their appointments, with a friend or maybe with a lover. One
hundred years later.
It was a book from similar project, about American West, that inspired Andrzej Maciejewski with an idea of
photographing 100 years from the life of the city. “I was impressed by the idea of recapitalizing past hundred
years, he said. Some places changed completely, while others remained almost identical. It's an
investigation, which is very exciting.”
The result is astounding. When we compare two photos taken from the top of Mont Royal, we can see that
Montreal has grown like a haricot plant. Rue Peel, which hotels and tramways were replaced with motor
cars and numerous sky-scrapers. Place d'Armes, with taxis waiting for their clients exactly in the same spot
where carriages waited hundred years ago.
The photographer also shows us some interiors, like the kitchen of the Chateau Ramezay, with a man
leaning against the mantelpiece. This kitchen is still intact today and has been a museum also those days.
Maciejewski took care to take his photographs at the same time as Notman, and thanks to that the angles of
shadows are exactly the same. A concern for detail which complicated his work very much. “Technically,
this project turned out much more difficult than I thought when I was starting it, he said. Some
photographs I had to repeat two or three times, because I wasn't satisfied. It's laborious, but I like all this
work”
Andrzej Maciejewski was born in Poland, he came to Canada in 1985, at the age of 26, and now lives in a
small village Moscow, in Ontario. He admits that until he commenced his project, he didn't know much
about Montreal. He was discovering the city through Notman's lens. “It was strange. I didn't know Montreal
at all, but I became familiar with Montreal from hundred years ago. It was a little bit like the world amiss.
..”
To get to exactly the same vantage point as Notman, Maciejewski had to place himself on the roofs, the
balconies, he even climbed the tower of Notre-Dame basilica five or six times. “Surprisingly, I didn't need
any permits to realize my project. People gladly cooperated. I would show them the photos by Notman and
they wouldn't mind at all. People who live in Montreal really love their city.”
His first choice was Toronto. “But the quality of photographic archives of Toronto wasn't good enough, he
said. To make such a project successful, I needed very good old photographs as a starting point.”
In this aspect Montreal is lucky: the quality of Notman's photographs is such that you could say they were
taken yesterday. “Notman was a powerful man, passionate about photography. He had many collaborators.
He had studios in Halifax, Victoria, Vancouver. As the west of the country wasn't yet colonized, he obtained
numerous commissions from Canadian Pacific to document that region. He was in the right place at the
right time...”
Better or worse?
The city has changed so much during last hundred years, that it's impossible to avoid this question: was it
more beautiful before? With abundance of public market places the Vieux Montreal was a place full of life,
and the rush hour hadn't been invented yet. The Jacques Cartier bridge neither. “At the beginning I had
this tendency to think that it was more beautiful before, explains Maciejewski. But the longer I proceeded
with the project, the stronger was my impression that we easily get misled by romantic view on the past.”
Studying old photographs he learned for example, that the snow in the streets was hand-shoveled by people
who then had to load it onto the carriages drawn by horses. He noticed that the front elevations of the old
buildings seem to be in much better condition now than in the 19 th Century. The city was then covered
with black dust coming from the coal that was used for heating.
“I was also surprised with the houses of the rich of the past century. All that wealth on one side, and on the
other hand all people starving to death or shoveling the snow in the street to make their living... I believe,
that today life is much better.”
Andrzej Maciejewski currently works on another ambitious project: to traverse with his camera the rest of
Quebec and the western provinces of Canada. He has already chosen 150 photos from Notman archives and
he will limit this amount to about 50 for the final project. He plans to photograph the cities, but also small
villages, the countryside and some remote places. “I learned that some villages, today quiet, used to be very
active hundred years ago. I suppose that this project is going to change my perception of the places that I
want to visit...”
Apart from being exhibited, the photographs of Montreal by Notman/Maciejewski have been published as
an album. On the last page there is a small black point, surrounded by hand-drawn circles, like in the child's
drawing. Author, with a smile: “To be continued in a century.”
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2011/01/the-variegated-townof-montreal.html
Monday, 10 January 2011
'The Variegated Town of Montreal'
Speaking of "then and now" views, check out the nice (if somewhat slow-loading—you have been
warned) William Notman / Andrzej Maciejewski pairings at the McCord Museum of Canadian
History website. Andrzej Maciejewski did a really nice job of matching the historical Notman
photographs. Includes interiors as well as exteriors, and check under the "Photographer" tab for
Andrzej's comments (there's even audio, if you mouse over the pictures). Ed Hawco told me about
this.
It struck me as I looked that it's not an entirely fair way to appraise the progress of the city, for the
simple reason that the early photographer—Notman, in this case—has a free hand to present the
most comely views, whereas the modern photographer is constrained in what he can present by
what the historical photograph shows. As is clear from one view (#3) that is now almost completely
blocked by buildings, this in some cases leads to modern photographs that one wouldn't necessarily
take or frame the same way if one had a free hand.
As I've no doubt said before (TOP will probably end when I've told all my stories at least twice),
I've always wondered why cities don't have official photographers—just someone to wander around
on a permanent basis capturing records of the way the city looked as it evolved. I suppose the
politicians would find it an easy expense to cut, but if it were permitted it would be valuable for the
historical record and for civic pride, identity, and interest.
Mike
http://voir.ca/voir-la-vie/art-de-vivre/2010/08/05/dapres-notman-balade-dans-le-temps
D'après Notman
Balade dans le temps
par Aurore Lehmann
Avec l'exposition en plein air D'après Notman du Musée McCord, l'artiste torontois Andrzej Maciejewski nous
livre un siècle d'évolution de Montréal. Fascinant.
Accoudés à la barrière du belvédère du mont Royal, le regard fixé au loin, ils admirent la vue… à un
siècle de distance. Fixés sur la pellicule d’un photographe du studio canadien Notman en 1916, les
promeneurs, en haut-de-forme et crinoline, contemplent, sous leurs pieds, les quartiers bourgeois,
anglo-protestants, et, au loin, les quartiers ouvriers du Sud-Ouest, misérables. En 2000, tee-shirts et
chaussures de sport aux pieds, des sportifs du dimanche auxquels se mêle la foule des touristes sont
captés eux aussi, cette fois-ci par l’appareil du photographe torontois d’origine polonaise Andrzej
Maciejewski, sur le même belvédère. Devant eux se déploie une tout autre ville. Les clochers, autrefois
points culminants, ont été remplacés par les gratte-ciel. La cité de jadis semble avoir été avalée, tout
entière écrasée par la modernité. Seul vestige du passé, le pont Victoria résiste au temps et agit comme
un rappel de l’époque de la révolution industrielle.
Depuis 2006, le Musée McCord expose chaque année en plein air, sur l’avenue McGill College, des
photographies tirées de la collection Notman – 400 000 images issues du travail du plus grand studio
photo en Amérique du Nord au 19e siècle. Cette année, l’installation, qui comprend une trentaine de
panneaux, s’emploie à nous faire réaliser un véritable bond dans le passé, en confrontant les clichés de
deux photographes, le deuxième, Andrzej Maciejewski, ayant reproduit, de manière méticuleuse,
l’angle de vue et les conditions (période de l’année, lumière) choisies par le studio Notman, un siècle
auparavant. Un ingénieux dispositif, faisant appel à la technologie de l’affiche lenticulaire, permet de
visionner l’avant et l’après sur une même image et, du même coup, de mieux saisir l’ampleur et la
nature des changements.
Une autre réalité
L’effet est saisissant et relève parfois de la pure poésie, les personnages du passé semblant s’incruster,
de manière fantomatique, dans l’architecture présente. Un travail de fourmi, explique Hélène Samson,
conservatrice et directrice des archives pour le Musée McCord: "Il a fallu plusieurs années à
Maciejewski pour reproduire les photos du studio Notman." De la place Dominion au square Viger, en
passant par le Vieux-Port, le travail du studio Notman témoigne d’une autre réalité: "C’était des
passionnés d’urbanisme, d’architecture, explique Hélène Samson. En regardant ces images, on réalise à
quel point de nombreux pans patrimoniaux de notre histoire ont disparu."
Aussi (re)découvre-t-on à mesure de la promenade que l’avenue McGill College possédait sa
synagogue au début du 20e siècle, que l’île Notre-Dame était un lieu de villégiature, et la place
Jacques-Cartier, un marché fourmillant. Et de réaliser à quel point le mont Royal, omniprésent sur les
clichés du studio Notman, s’est effacé à notre vue. Ces détails de l’histoire (la petite et la grande), le
Musée les met à la disposition du public sur son site Internet et, une première, sur l’écran de téléphone
des visiteurs, par le biais d’une application très simple à utiliser.
English translation (by Anna Rau)
After Notman Wondering through time
by Aurore Lehmann
With the outdoor exhibition After Notman organized by McCord Museum, Toronto artist Andrzej
Maciejewski shows us a century of Montreal's evolution. Fascinating.
Leaning on the railing of the Mount Royal lookout, staring off, they admire the view ... a century away. Fixed on
the film of a Canadian photographer Notman in 1916, walkers, top hat and crinoline, contemplate, under their
feet, the middle-class neighborhoods, Anglo-Protestants, and, further, the working class neighborhoods of
Southwest miserable. In 2000, the Sunday sportsmen in t-shirts and sport shoes, among the crowd of tourist,
were captured in the same spot, by the camera of Toronto photographer of Polish origin, Andrzej Maciejewski.
Completely different city unfolds before their eyes. The bell-towers, in the old times the predominant points,
have been replaced by sky-scrapers. The city of the past seems to have been swallowed, completely crushed by
modernity. The only mark of the past, the Victoria Bridge, resists time and acts as a reminder of the period of
the industrial revolution.
Since 2006, the McCord Museum exhibits each year in the open air, on McGill College Avenue, photographs
from the Notman collection - 400,000 images from the work of the largest photo studio in North America in
the 19th century. This year, the show, consisting of thirty panels, strives to make us realize a huge leap in the
time, by comparing the photographs of two photographers, of whom the second, Andrzej Maciejewski, who
meticulously reproduced the angle of view and the conditions (time of year, light) chosen by the Notman studio
a century ago. An ingenious device, using the lenticular poster technology allows you to view the before and after
on the same image and at the same time, to better understand the extent and nature of the changes.
Different reality
The effect is striking and is sometimes pure poetry, the characters of the past seem to merge with today's
architecture in a ghostly manner. “It was a painstaking work” explains Hélène Samson, curator and director of
archives for the McCord Museum: "It took Maciejewski everal years to reproduce Notman's photographs." From
the Dominion Square to Viger, through the Vieux-Port, the Notman studio images reflects a different reality:
"He was passionate about urban planning, architecture, explains Hélène Samson. Watching these images we
realize how much of our heritage has disappeared. "
We may also (re)discover that avenue McGill College had its synagogue in the early 20th century, the Île
Notre-Dame was a resort and Place Jacques-Cartier, a teeming market. And realize how much the Mount
Royal, so ubiquitous on Notman's photographs, faded from our view. The Museum provides these details of the
story (small and large) on its website and for the first time, on the phone screen, through the very easy to use
application.
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Art on Paper (USA)
Vol.8 No. 2 November 2003
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Selected publications
1. Ian McGillis Montreal Review of Books / 13th issue, Volume 7, No. 1
„Montreal is extremely fortunate in having had a photographer as great as William Notman to
provide a visual document of itself during a crucial period in its history, from 1863 to 1918. This
bilingual book sets out to provide a present-day mirror to Notman's portrait, with photos taken from
1991-2001 presented on facing pages. Maciejewski rises magnificently to the Herculean challenge
of exactly reproducing the perspective, light conditions, and seasonal settings of Notman's centuryold originals. Comparing and contrasting, one can't help but lament the many architectural treasures
lost, but it's also evident that Montreal has been better than many major cities at preserving its
heritage. Anyone interested in history, photography, and the city of Montreal won't want to miss
this book.”
( http://www.aelaq.org/mrb/article.php?issue=11&article=294&cat=8 )
2. Globe and Mail /Nov. 22, 2003
"I wonder what it looked like a century ago," asked photographer Andrzej Maciejewski in this
bilingual book published to coincide with an exhibit that runs until next summer at Montreal's
McCord Museum. He answers the question by taking 33 turn-of-the-20th-century photos of the city
from the Notman Archive, determining the month, time of day and perspective from which they
were taken, then making a photo under the same conditions at the turn of the 21st century.
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20031122.BKGIFT22/TPStory//?pageRequest
ed=all )
3. Alasdair Gillis Canadian Camera
(book review, copy unavailable)
(„Fine addition to the bookshelves of historians, art lovers and anyone with an enduring affection
for the city of Montreal.” - see: http://www.amazon.ca/After-Notman-Dapres-MontrealCentury/dp/1552977145 )
4. Lynn Warren Encyclopedia of Twentieth-century Photography
"Many of the most active Canadian photographers both at home and abroad exemplify the most
advanced of emerging international trends. Experiences in so-called rephotography, a type of
appropriation, were explored by Andrzej Maciejewski in his book 'After Notman'(2003). The
photographs taken by William Notman, his sons and associates between 1890 and 1911 were taken
again by photographer Andrzej Maciejewski (b. 1959), using the same lens format, respecting the
angle and viewpoint of original from almost a century removed. Most photographs concentrate on
Montreal and give striking examples of the urbanization and modernization that have occured in
most North American cities.”
(http://books.google.ca/books?id=YeK7FXhKrw0C&pg=PA234&lpg=PA234&dq=Andrzej+Macie
jewski+rephotography&source=bl&ots=ig6Hd6uQ6M&sig=ep5uHU8tSLZM6kVNrCPZf5S9NZk
&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result)
5. Yves Laberge (Institut québécois des hautes études internationales) Revue d'histoire de
l'Amérique française, Volume 57, numéro 2, Automne 2003, p. 307-309
1. Ce grand livre bilingue offre un bel exemple d’une tendance artistique assez originale,
présentée comme la re-photographie, prisée à la fois par les amateurs d’art, les photographes et les
historiens. Pour la définir, la re-photographie exige qu’un photographe contemporain reproduise
aujourd’hui un ancien cliché, selon le même cadrage, afin de montrer ce qui aurait changé dans la
composition d’un paysage.
2. Fidèle à ce principe comparatif, le photographe Andrzej Maciejewski a récemment suivi les
pas de William Notman (1826-1891) et de son fils, William McFarlane Notman, qui avaient
photographié Montréal à la fin du xixe siècle. Rédigés dans les deux langues, les textes de la
première partie du livre retracent leurs parcours professionnels et décrivent l’ampleur de l’immense
collection de leurs photographies, conservées et numérisées au Musée McCord.
3. La partie centrale du livre (p. 54-119) fonctionne selon un principe comparatif très efficace ;
on présente systématiquement, de part et d’autre, deux vues presque identiques d’une trentaine de
lieux célèbres : le Port de Montréal, le Square Dominion, le Square Viger, la Place Jacques-Cartier,
le Musée Redpath, mais aussi de quelques intérieurs, comme l’Hôtel Windsor, le Château Ramezay,
le luxueux Club Mount Stephen. Chaque page compte une photo de grand format et d’une grande
qualité. Sur chaque page de gauche, on peut admirer une photographie d’un lieu prise par Notman
(père ou fils), pour la plupart autour de 1890 ; à droite, on aperçoit le même site, exactement
reproduit selon un cadrage parfaitement identique, mais un siècle plus tard, photographié cette foisci par Andrzej Maciejewski. Le résultat est vraiment admirable, mettant en évidence le passage du
temps et les effets de l’urbanisation, sans oublier l’indéniable talent des deux photographes.
4. Le projet de Maciejewski est une réussite éclatante, bien que d’autres ouvrages aient déjà tenté
d’établir une telle approche comparative. Je pense à cette magnifique série d’images anciennes et
nouvelles sur la ville de Québec intitulée Québec, les images témoignent (Éditions Sylvain Harvey,
2001) de Jocelyn Paquet et Jean Provencher, ou au très beau Autrefois Paris. Aujourd’hui (Reader’s
Digest, 2001), sur les monuments de la capitale française à un siècle d’intervalle.
5. Personne avant Andrzej Maciejewski n’avait réussi une telle précision dans le cadrage et de
justesse dans les angles de prises de vue. Dans les dernières parties, l’auteur fournit de judicieuses
remarques expliquant son approche technique pour chaque planche, et ajoute un complément
méthodologique sur « le point d’observation idéal » (p. 139). Ce livre passionnera les historiens, les
urbanistes, les géographes et les amateurs de photographies. Par la qualité de son travail, j’estime
que D’après Notman. Regards sur Montréal restera certainement le plus bel album de photographies
paru cette année sur notre continent.
Tous droits réservés © Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 2003
(http://www.erudit.org/revue/haf/2003/v57/n2/009165ar.html)
English translation (by Anna Rau) :
1. This great bilingual book brings a beautiful example of very original artistic trend, called
rephotography, appreciated alike by art lovers, photographers and historians. To define it – rephotography means that a contemporary photographer reproduces today the old photograph, with
the same cropping, in order to show the changes which have occurred in the composition of
landscape.
2.
Photographer Andrzej Maciejewski, obedient to this comparative principle, begun to follow
the steps of William Notman (1826-1891) and his son William McFarlane Notman, who had
photographed Montreal at the end of the 19th century. The bilingual textes in the first part of the
book, describe their professional way and the range of the immense collection of their works,
preserved and maintained by The McCord Museum.
3.
The inner part of the book (p. 54-119) pursuits the comparative principle very efficiently;
thirty pairs of nearly identical views of famous places in Montreal, are presented on the
neighbouring pages: le Port de Montréal, le Square Dominion, le Square Viger, la Place JacquesCartier, the Redpath Museum, there are also photographs of some interiors: Windsor Hotel, le
Château Ramezay, the luxurious Mount Stephen Club. Each page contains the photograph of large
format and high quality. The photograph taken by Notman (father or son), mostly around 1890, may
be admired on each left page, and the photograph of the same place, reproduced with exactly the
same cropping, but one hundred years later, by Andrzej Maciejewski, is placed on the right page.
The result is admirable indeed, giving the evidence of the passage of time and the effects of
urbanization, and of the great talent of both photographers.
4.
The project of Maciejewski is a brilliant achievement, however other works had already
presented similar comparative approach. I am thinking of the magnificent series of old and new
images of the Quebec City, titled “Québec, les images témoignent” (Éditions Sylvain Harvey,
2001) by Jocelyn Paquet and Jean Provencher, or the very beautiful Autrefois Paris. Aujourd’hui
(Reader’s Digest, 2001), about the monuments of French capital in one hundred years interval.
5.
Nobody before Andrzej Maciejewski achieved such precision in cropping and accuracy in
vantage point. In the last part of the book the author makes sensible remarks, explaining his
technical approach to each picture and adds the methodological supplement about “the ideal
vantage point” (p. 139). This book will fascinate the historians, the town-planners, the geographers
and the photography lovers. I asses that After Notman: Views of Montreal" thanks to the quality of
its realization will surely remain the most beautiful photography album this year on our continent.