La force is a cast-iron sculpture installed in Mount Royal Park near Beaver Lake. The ramifications of this massive piece imitate the shape of crushed rocks, and the surface, treated with different finishes applied to the cast during fabrication, offers a stunning variety of textures and colours. Sometimes smooth, sometimes textured or rough, rusted in places, La force lets the expressive potential of the material shine through. The fused metal, fixed in a shape at a specific moment, and the steel frame, visible in some places, show off the fabrication method. Ultimately, this mass of material shows nature in all its strength.

The sculpture was executed with a technique that Vaillancourt developed: iron casting from a Styrofoam mould. This technique, awkwardly midway between sculptural tradition and the new avenues of modernity, helps to give the work the look of raw mineral.

Vaillancourt’s artwork was executed for the International Sculpture Symposium in Montréal (1964), the first time a symposium was held in North America. The goals of this concept, created a few years earlier in Europe, were to have artists create monumental sculptures in a context of encounters with the public and to provide public spaces with international-calibre artworks. Instigated by sculptor Robert Roussil, this symposium gathered 11 sculptors from nine countries and attracted more than 40,000 visitors. It was seen as one of the events that brought Québec into artistic and cultural modernity.