Multigenerational Perspectives on Sound Art in Montreal
The artistic environment in Montreal is unique, featuring a fluidity of aesthetics and expressive forms. With this is mind, this survey includes the viewpoints of six creators and sound artists from three distinct generations, who have all experienced this context: Monique Jean and Jean-François Laporte (1960s generation), Patrick Saint-Denis and Cléo Palacio-Quintin (1970s), and Adam Basanta and Émilie Payeur (1980s). In this text, these artists all address four main themes: the definition of their artistic practices, their thoughts on pluri- and/or multi-disciplinarity, their perceptions of the artistic environment when they began working as compared to today, and their perspectives on learning in an institutionalized setting versus being self-taught. The answers published here shed light on a diversity of perceptions, which feeds into a diversity of practices, in addition to different contextual trends specific to each generation, and personal viewpoints on a city’s institutions and artistic activities.