Major Cohen-Inspired Exhibition

[Marsbar]

The bard of Montreal, Leonard Cohen, is regularly cited by musicians and writers as a key inspiration and influence. Recognising this, Montreal’s prestigious Museum of Contemporary Art (The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal or MAC) is now commissioning artists to come up with original pieces, performances, films and writings based on Leonard Cohen’s work.

The results will be featured in an exhibition that will coincide with next year’s 375th anniversary of Montreal. As reported by Toronto Star columnist Allan Woods on the weekend, the city is planning to spend more than $100 million on anniversary festivities, many of which will have a cultural component. For instance, the Montreal Opera has commissioned a piece based on The Wall, Pink Floyd’s epic creation that was reportedly conceived by Roger Waters after a 1977 concert at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium (The Big O) that he found alienating.

The Wall, of course, also spawned a 1982 movie of the same name, but we feel safe in stating that Leonard Cohen has inspired far more artistic works than Pink Floyd.

The MAC Cohen exhibit will be entitled Leonard Cohen: Une brèche en toute chose / A Crack in Everything, and will take place in fall 2017, from Oct. 19 to Dec. 31.

The museum’s website notes that “Through his poems and his music and lyrics, Cohen touches a huge audience and influences countless artists across all disciplines and generations around the world. The exhibition is an homage to this global star and touchstone of Montréal culture.

“Created exclusively for the MAC for the occasion, this multidisciplinary exhibition will allow the Musée to offer the public a collection of brand-new works commissioned from and created by local and international artists who were inspired by the great master’s style and recurring themes. These artists represent the visual arts, performance art, music, the written word and film, thus providing visitors with a dynamic, participative and immersive experience.

MAC Director and Chief Curator John Zeppetelli explains that “Leonard Cohen has filled our collective imagination with thoughts and songs on a number of topics that touch us all as human beings. One of the major themes of Cohen’s work, the imperfection of the human condition, is clearly evoked in the exhibition’s subtitle, A Crack in Everything. This expression comes from 'Anthem,' one of Cohen’s most famous songs. Immediately after those words, the artist suggests that there is always room for redemption and hope, because that very crack is what lets in the light that allows life to grow.”

There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
("Anthem" - Leonard Cohen, 1992)

We uncovered many other examples of Cohen-inspired work. I Am A Hotel is a 1983 Canadian made for TV short musical film that was written by Leonard Cohen and Mark Shekter and directed by Allan F. Nicholls. Set in Toronto’s famed King Edward Hotel, the film is based upon Cohen’s personal experiences and his song “The Guests”. The dance routines depicted feature such legends of Canadian dance as Anne Ditchburn, Celia Franca, Toller Cranston, and Robert Desrosiers. The film won a Golden Rose international television award at the 1984 Montreux TV festival in Switzerland.

In 1996, the Bravo! Channel screened a Canadian experimental film entitled Leonard, Light My Cigarette, and it went on to appear at many international film festivals. One of its themes is the exploration of Cohen as cultural pop icon and artist. The music featured is counter-pointed by a complex voice/sound montage built upon the common Montreal expression, "Everyone has a Leonard Cohen story".

An acclaimed 2012 Canadian short dance film, Lost In Motion 11, used Cohen’s classic “Avalanche” as a key component.

Famed US composer Philip Glass was so inspired by Cohen’s poetry collection, Book Of Longing, that he used it as the basis for an original multi-media work of that name.

According to writer Dick Straub, “Cohen and Glass had a prearranged meeting in Los Angeles. Leonard shared an early draft of his poetry book, Book of Longing, with Philip in an afternoon conversation that stretched into evening. According to Glass, Leonard read him most of the draft. In the program for his work, Glass writes that he found the poems intensely beautiful, personal, and inspiring.He continues, “on the spot, I proposed an evening-length work of poetry, music and image based on this work. Leonard liked my idea.”

Reprinted from FYI Music News/By Kerry Doole