By Bernard Bujold -
I finally returned to the MBAM after an abstinence of almost two years. There had been the lockdown for the Coronavirus in March 2020 and the dismissal of my friend the director Nathalie Bondil on July 13 of the same year. I had mourned the museum, but the exhibition of my photography master, Yousuf Karsh, forced me to return to see the institution again.
The MBAM of September 2021 has changed! The atmosphere is more sober and I had a strange feeling walking through the rooms, as if the walls of the institution had become the pieces on display. Walls that brought back in my mind many pleasant memories of my moments in the museum.
The room that touched me the most emotionally was the glass roof (verrières). This room is synonymous for me with the gathering and opening of exhibitions. Seeing it again without the crowd made me
me to relive all the memories of those once mundane events, whereas today the space is lonely and abandoned.
Have I renewed my friendship with the new MBAM that is the successor to the old one?
It's hard to say, but newborns never replace their deceased ancestors!
What is certain is that Nathalie Bondil's inspiration, dynamism, influence and presence at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will never be replaced. The MBAM 2021 version is something else...
There is also the mask that visitors must continually wear. It's like being in a hospital visiting our sick friends!
How is the Karsh exhibit?
Very good, and even though I was already familiar with Karsh's work before this exhibition, I liked and appreciated seeing the hundred or so original works of the great photographer.
My only criticism is that the exhibition should have included one or more of Karsh's self-portraits. There are several, but none are shown in the exhibition. It is like visiting a church without any images of the god...
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