By Bernard Bujold -
Many people tell me they consider the artist Hélène Boudreau vulgar and a Facebook friend even called her a pin-up: "... the influencer, who makes money as a pin-up ...."
Personally, I consider her an artist in her own right! If a UQAM Fine Arts graduate is not a real artist, then what is she? Certainly not a plumber...
In fact, her entire media story is linked to her graduation in visual arts from UQAM, a school that replaced the École des Beaux-arts de Montréal. It was precisely in 1969 that the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal was integrated into the UQAM Art Family.
Hélène Boudreau reminds me of Armand Vaillancourt, who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1951, for his rebellious side and she has the "business" side of another artist and friend, Claude Théberge, who was an incomparable salesman! Théberge had also studied at the Montreal School of Fine Arts in 1961.
In terms of female artists whose direct style she possesses, I note the singer and painter Diane Dufresne, especially in 1970 period; Corno with her paintings of naked bodies; Madonna who has always provoked with her body and finally Lady Gaga who also pushes the limits of the conventional.
To believe or think that Boudreau is simply a pin-up girl is to diminish and even despise her status as an artist. Helene Boudreau has stated that she used to make over $20,000 a month from her provocative photos and artwork (drawings and tattoos) and that since the UQAM media crisis, she would have four times as many subscribers on her site, 5,000 each paying $20 a month ($100,000 for this month, minus 20% commission to the internet agency).
With the free promotion campaign that UQAM gave her, her career is launched. If she knows how to keep the fire going and lasts, that's when we'll see if she's of the caliber of Dufresne, Corno, Madonna, and Lady Gaga!
To be continued...
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