A Journey into the Luminous Universe of Jean-Paul Mousseau
Jean-Paul Mousseau (1927-1991), four views of the work Untitled, from the series “Dolmen,” 1961, polyester resin, fibreglass, metal mesh, painted steel, neon. MMFA, gift of Katerine Mousseau. © Estate of Jean-Paul Mousseau / SOCAN (2022)
Among the many works recently examined and treated by the Museum’s Conservation Department is a remarkable light sculpture by Jean-Paul Mousseau: a two-metre high neon luminaire crowned with a pigmented resin structure. Antonia Mappin-Kasirer, who was actively involved in the work’s restoration, describes the process and the challenges encountered by the team.
Antonia Mappin-Kasirer
Known as one of the signatories of the Refus Global manifesto, Jean-Paul Mousseau began his career as a member of the Automatistes and remained an avant-garde artist throughout his practice. In 1961, the MMFA displayed sculptures from his “Dolmen” series, in which he took his exploration of light and colour beyond the painted canvas. In 2019, one of these works was gifted to the Museum by the artist’s daughter, Katerine Mousseau. Entitled Untitled, it required several interventions before it could be exhibited. Thanks to the generosity of Sari Hornstein, who helped fund its restoration, the public will soon be able to admire it and take a journey into the luminous universe of a great Quebec artist.
View of an exhibition at the MMFA in 1961 illustrating several works from the “Dolmen” series by Jean-Paul Mousseau. Published in L’art au Québec depuis 1940 by Guy Robert, Éditions La Presse, 1973, p. 434.
When we look closely at an art object, we discover part of its history: traces left by time, by the artist, or by those who tended to it before us. Untitled tells us the story of an ingenious artist who turned to modern materials – coloured polyester resin, fibreglass, neon – to offer a new perspective on two fundamental elements of visual art: light and colour. “I dreamed of a technique that would [allow me] to break through opaqueness and let light freely penetrate colour,”1 Mousseau explained.
The semi-translucent resin structure of the work is sinuous, angular in places and twisting in others. One moment it calls to mind a body,2 the next a stained-glass window. Inserted into the resin structure are four custom neon tubes (one white, one blue, one red and one yellow). The matte black steel base upon which it rests contains the luminaire’s electrical apparatus. On one side of this vertical base, four buttons are connected to dimmers, which are in turn wired to the four neon tubes.
Detail of the resin structure showing the metal mesh
Detail of the fibreglass sheet reinforcement
Detail of the multi-coloured resin structure with air bubbles
When the light sculpture entered the laboratory, it did not turn on and one of the neon tubes was broken. The surfaces were dirty and the base, abraded. In treating this work, it was imperative that we respect the interactive nature of the variable light controls, which are an integral part of the work’s design and the public’s experience of it: “[The] discovery of this new pictorial medium allows the viewer to become a participant in the various faces of the work through mechanical means, exploiting artificial light to modulate transparency at the whim of the spectator’s imagination,”3 noted the artist. To honour this intention, we had to call upon the skills of various specialists from both inside and outside the Museum.
Antonia Mappin-Kasirer working on the restoration of the sculpture
Richard Gagnier, Antonia Mappin-Kasirer and Nathalie Richard gathered around the work in the laboratory of the MMFA’s Conservation Department
Conversations with Richard Gagnier, Head of Conservation, Nathalie Richard, Decorative Arts Conservator, and Anne Grace, Curator of Modern Art, guided the decision-making process and raised important questions surrounding conservation ethics: techniques and materials had to be chosen with care in order to remain as close as possible to Mousseau’s original concept and the work’s specific context. What was the effect of the variation of light in 1961, and how could we stay faithful to it while updating some of the more obsolete electrical components? Was it possible to find suitable parts for the original models despite their obsolescence? How could we ensure the safe operation of the work without distorting its original appearance and craftsmanship? Our approach was additionally informed by documentation from the Museum’s archives and a meeting with Katerine Mousseau.
Antonia Mappin-Kasirer, Nathalie Richard and Johanne Perron testing the insertion of the restored neon tubes in the new structural supports added to the base
The challenge facing the conservators was to respect the artist’s original intent as much as possible while taking into account functionality, aesthetics, stabilization, the safety of the circuit, as well as the accessibility of the work. Though ingeniously rigged, the original electrical system was quite rudimentary, and the electricians and neon specialists consulted were rather astounded by it.
We approached Philippe Garneau, owner of Global Neon, to produce the replacement neon lights based on the original shapes and colours used by Mousseau. Kirk Bliedung, an electrician at the MMFA, ensured that the electric current flowed from the transformers. He rewired the circuit in accordance with the applicable codes of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec.
Structural supports were also added within the cavity of the base to improve the stability of the suspended neon lights. Once the wiring was installed and the components newly secured, the team proceeded with an illumination test. And then there was light? Not quite...
Kirk Bliedung, electrician at the MMFA, testing the red neon light
The restored neon tubes illuminated
The electrical apparatus in the base of the sculpture, with new structural supports and rheostat
Though the sculpture produced a flickering and then steady light, the half-century-old rheostats (variable resistors used to control the flow of electric current) were showing signs of mechanical wear. One of them was even dangerous – it was sparking – and had to be replaced. After searching far and wide for a compatible part, a new rheostat from Arizona was used to update the circuit. More modern than those used by Mousseau, it represents a technological migration. However, since the rheostat is concealed in the base, it does not change the appearance of the sculpture. We were thus able to guarantee the safe operation of the luminaire, while respecting the artist’s intentions.
At the end of the process, it was with some trepidation that we reassembled Untitled, hoping to replicate the experience imagined by Mousseau in 1961. And it turned out that we did indeed become “participants in the various faces of the work” by varying the work’s light and colours “at the whim of [our] imagination.”
Richard Pelletier, Nathalie Richard and Richard Gagnier assessing the stability of the sculpture
Antonia Mappin-Kasirer testing the functioning of the luminaire by adjusting the lights with the rheostats
Untitled, from the series “Dolmen” by Jean-Paul Mousseau, upon completion of the restoration process
© Estate of Jean-Paul Mousseau / SOCAN (2022)
1 Yves Lasnier, “Grâce au ‘plastique translucide’, le peintre Jean-Paul Mousseau a pu franchir le mur de la peinture!” Le Devoir, Montreal, February 4, 1961, p. 11, [translation].
2 Jean Sarrazin, “Mousseau : couleurs spatiales et chair-matières,” Le Nouveau journal, November 25, 1961, p. 9.
3 Yves Lasnier, ibid. [translation].
