Installed in Saint-Léonard Park near the library, Armand Vaillancourt’s artwork is composed of two masses of sandstone each of which has a steel ladder leaning against it. Each boulder has a message inscribed on it. On one are music staffs and the words of two verses of the song Quand les hommes vivront d’amour by Raymond Lévesque. On the other is a sentence in Italian, “Noi siamo con voi,” which means “We are with you.”

The boulders, punctuated with hand imprints, refer to the community context within which the artwork was created, whereas the ladders suggest appropriation, even physical appropriation, of the artwork by the residents. The title, Justice et paix (Justice and peace) refers to the social and political context for the artwork.

In this sense, Lévesque’s lyrics intersect with the artist’s conception of art, which involves commitment and the desire to built a better world: “I dream of acting within a society that produces a necessary product, essential to life, a society that produces ideas that make us think. The shape that art might take is only the pretext for ‘carrying’ ideas. The resulting image may encourage people to wake up, to revolt ...” 1

1. Armand Vaillancourt, quoted in Zone Art, http://www.zone-art.ca/artiste-prestige/armand-vaillancourt (our translation).

The artwork Justice et paix was produced during the Quinze jours d’arts visuels in Saint-Léonard, an event held in September 1986, the theme of which was “Des mots pour créer” (Words to create with). Ten professional artists from four disciplines were invited to take inspiration from a text to create an artwork in front of the public. The objective was to “encourage access to art for everyone and bring it into everyday life” 1 by providing the public spaces of Saint-Léonard with new artworks. 1. “Quinze jours d'arts visuels à Saint-Léonard,” Le Journal de Saint-Léonard, 3 September 1986, p. 8 (our translation).