The publishing house Mithra-Mythe was founded by photographer Maurice Perron (1924-1999) expressly to distribute Refus global. “My father had made a subscription to [pay] the cost of printing, paper, etc. writes his daughter Line-Sylvie Perron. In a text that he had written in 1994 for the magazine Parcours and that Ms. Perron sent to us, Maurice Perron specifies that each tranche of five dollars paid in subscription gave the right to a copy of the manifesto. Pierre Gauvreau had begun to type the texts of the collection in the summer of 1948. “Once the texts had been typed on stencils, Pierre Gauvreau had patiently printed them on his mother’s Gestetner”, continues Maurice Perron in Parcours. All copies were numbered. Copies 1 to 50 were said to be non-commercial and were given to subscribers and the media. Two other works were published by Mithra-Mythe: the poetry collection Le Virge incendié by Paul-Marie Lapointe (1948) and Projections libérantes, text by Paul-Émile Borduas (1949). After which the publishing house ceased its activities.
After the publication of the work, the signatories continued to speak of Refus global. In the media, of course, but also in private, as archivist Marthe Léger, of the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (BAnQ), has seen by returning to different collections.
“For example, a text written and typed by Claude Gauvreau in 1958 for the magazine Situations shows that he persists and signs, says Ms. Léger. He writes: “Rereading Refus global, I am struck by the precise awareness and timeliness of what it contains.” In another text, signed by Marcel Barbeau, he states: “I would sign Refus global today with unwavering conviction.” Refus global is a refusal to stick to the plastic village. It is a position with a message of high human value. »
Before Refus global, another manifesto, Prisme d’yeux, was launched on February 4, 1948 at the Art Center (3430, avenue du Musée), a wing of the Art Association of Montreal, ancestor of the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal. Jacques de Tonnancour wrote the text of this manifesto signed by 15 painters and sculptors with Alfred Pellan at their head. When the Librairie Tranquille opened on May 8, 1948 at 67, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, the members of the Prisme d’yeux group held an exhibition of their paintings there. Three months later, Refus global was launched there. For several years, Henri Tranquille made a lot of room for contemporary artists in his business.
According to the Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec, a proposal to give Refus global a national status was made to the Ministry of Culture and Communications on September 26, 2013. Ten years later, this proposal is still “under study “, indicates the media team of the Ministry. If the statute is adopted, Refus global would become a “historic event” in the Cultural Heritage Directory, as was the recent creation of the Conseil du statut de la femme. In another email received in June, the Ministry told us that it is “aware of the impending 75th anniversary of the publication of the Refus global manifesto and is currently evaluating how best to highlight this event”.
One dollar. This was the selling price of Refus global when it was released in August 1948. “It’s $13.50 in 2023 dollars,” says Daniel Chouinard, librarian at BAnQ. The price of a paperback. In his biography of Henri Tranquille, Monsieur Livre, author Yves Gauthier estimated that the original price was $1.50.
Several exhibitions this year mark the work of the Automatists. Until October 8, the Musée des beaux-arts de Mont-Saint-Hilaire presents the Marcel Barbeau – Global Mixte exhibition, with works by the painter and also a copy (number 130) of the manifesto. The same museum and the Native House also present works by Jean Paul Riopelle. Also in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, you can also visit the Maison Paul-Émile-Borduas, which he designed and built. In Ottawa, the National Gallery of Canada will present a retrospective exhibition, Riopelle – At the Crossroads of Time, from October 27 to April 7, as part of the centenary of the painter’s birth (he died in 2002). From October 31 to February 18, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will also be holding an exhibition of recent works by Françoise Sullivan, I let the rhythms flow. A centenarian, Ms. Sullivan still continues to work in the studio.
