Le métro se rend à Notre-Dame-des-Bois!
Metro-Net was an idea back in the early nineties by the German performance and installation artist, Martin Kippenberger, to build a global underground metro system that he hoped would be thought-provoking and funny. He actually started to construct these entrances in different places around the world, portals that didn't lead to anywhere! He built three of these entrances to nowhere, the first in Syros, Greece (1993), the second in Dawson City, Yukon (1995) and the third in Leipzig, Germany (1997). He died unexpectedly in 1997 and his imaginary subway network suddenly closed down. But Montreal based artist Klaus Scherübel has continued Kippenbergers dream by designing and building, as a hommage and continuation of the German artists work, a large scale sculpture work in, of all places, here in Notre-Dame-des-Bois! Scherübel reached an agreement with the municipality to construct the 'metro' entrance in the rest stop at the village entrance on highway 212 that overlooks Mont Megantic. The new subway entrance is supposed to reflect local architecture in the form of a rustic boom town look (recognizing the village's gold rush origins) as well as the modernist style of the Montreal metro. Marie and I drive by there whenever we go into the village to pick up groceries or beer and decided to stop last month to take a few pictures. I am still trying to find out why Scherübel chose this location so if anyone has the answer let me know! gws
