On an oval concrete slab at the top of a wooded rise in Mount Royal Park, a small pavilion formed of five limestone monoliths supporting a ring is presented as a lovers’ trysting place. In the surrounding area are fragments of rock that seem displaced, like temple ruins. The artwork forms a place of encounter in which the rocks, which can be used as tables and chairs, offer a convenient spot for conversation.

There are many quotations of ancient architecture in the artwork. Menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs, and tombs are nostalgically evoked with these rocks, marking the lasting gesture of humans who conquer death only through their artistic creativity. “I don’t want to seduce, I want to disturb,” the artist summarized on the effect of strangeness produced by these unusual evocations. 1

On the other hand, the title suggests something magical in the composition, a sort of merry-go-round transporting viewers into another world where the everyday rules don’t apply. With its circularity and verticality, Le carrousel sauvage explicitly fits with the “carrousel” series that Chavignier executed between 1962 and 1969.

1. Pierre Cabanne, “Louis Chavignier parmi nous,” Coloquio, no. 80 (1989): 4 (our translation).

Chavignier’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.