A Three Body Problem: Mountmaking and Contemporary Art

The practice of mountmaking, when combined with the realm of contemporary art, raises unique issues that alter the relationships between the various parties involved. When artists, mountmakers and curators work together, they face a situation that resembles a phenomenon popularised by science fiction in recent years: a three-body problem. Collaboration leads to a certain unpredictability, giving place to novel solutions. Using three case studies of recent exhibitions and acquisitions at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, we will look at how mountmaking affects not only the display of works, but also their content, reaching a harmony with the artist's intentions and the curator's requirements. Through the works of Québec artists Paryse Martin, Eddy Firmin and Stanley Février, we will observe how this dance between various museum staff and artists unfolds, creating new materiality and generating its own meaning.