Solide Salad
Zany, pop, and colorful, the New Wave that swept through the 1980s brought with it a new sound, style, and attitude. This eclectic and playful program showcases Quebec’s New Wave, kicking off with Michel Lemieux’s performances.
The September 24 screening will be attended by Michel Lemieux
FREE ADMISSION
Filmed in the summer of 1984, this making-of documentary tells the story of how Solide Salad was created by a group of 25-year-old Montrealers. In a post-referendum era, these young creators wanted to place Quebec culture in a contemporary, universalist perspective, drawing parallels between the living arts and the emerging technological arts. By 1984, Michel Lemieux and his troupe were touring nationally and internationally with this innovative and multidisciplinary show inspired as much by the Russian avant-garde of the 20th century as by the New Wave musical movement of the '80s.
The multidisciplinary show Solide Salad, created in the post-referendum context of the early '80s, marked the beginning of a major international expansion of our new culture, with a world tour that was unprecedented at the time.
This innovative work was the subject of an extraordinary film directed by the great Jean Salvy and produced by the audacious Télé-Québec, which also produced a documentary on the show's creative process, L'univers de Michel Lemieux, directed by Jean-Gaétan Séguin.
A 30-minute version of the footage was even shown on Antenne 2's Les enfants du Rock, with ratings of over 7 million French viewers in 1986.
Michel Lemieux
A multidisciplinary artist who graduated in production from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1979, Michel Lemieux never ceases to amaze with the originality and scope of his creative range. In 1980, he took part in a group exhibition entitled Traces/Tracks at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. He began working as a poster artist and photographer in 1981, when he met Édouard Lock, a young choreographer working on new dance in Montreal. Lemieux then became a composer/performer in the fledgling company LA LA LA Human Steps alongside Louise Lecavalier. In 1984, Lemieux's multidisciplinary solo show Solide Salad made its mark on the national and international performing arts scene, and was performed on stage across four continents for years. Since then, this designer, director, set designer, stage director, composer and performer has remained at the forefront of the integration of the performing and digital arts. In 1990, together with Victor Pilon, he founded Lemieux Pilon 4D Art, which has produced unique shows in which meaning and emotion are heightened by the use of new technologies. He also co-wrote with him the major arena touring shows Delirium and Toruk for Cirque du Soleil, each of which toured the world for four years. Michel continues to expand his creative universe with many new creations to come.
Photo: Carl Lessard
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