Un dictionnaire

Part of:

People:

Melvin Charney (architect)
Melvin Charney (archive creator)

Title:

Un dictionnaire

Date:

1970-2001

Level of archival description:
Project

Extent and medium:

0.10 l.m. of textual records
31 drawings
26 reprographic copies
21 photographic materials

Scope and content:

UN DICTIONNAIRE consists of black and white photographs of wire-service newspaper articles selected by Charney for their depiction of “people and buildings caught in upheavals”. Charney described these images as “monuments which are created by events outside the confines of architectural institutions”, meaning that buildings and locations assume a “monumental connotation” when they become associated with a significant event. UN DICTIONNAIRE consists of 300 plates, each plate a photograph that “traces the contours of relations which affect our grasp of the significance of buildings”. UN DICTIONNAIRE was presented as an installation at Galerie Catherine & Stéphane de Beyrie in Paris in 1994 and at the Canadian Pavilion of the 7th International Architectural Exhibition in Venice in 2000 as well as at Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal in 2001-2002. The publication “Tracking images : Melvin Charney, un dictionnaire...” related to this project was also realized in collaboration the Canadian Centre for Architecture in 2000.

This project series contains correspondence, notes, photographs, installations plans and exhibition space plans related for the aforementioned exhibitions in Paris, at the Venice Biennale and in Montréal. It also contains reprints of panels shown outside the Canadian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Source: Montréal : Musée d’art contemporain. (1979) Melvin Charney: Oeuvres 1970-1979. (p. 21-28)

Reference number:

AP041.S1.1970.D2

Arrangement:

Material in this series was likely kept in it's original order when it was first processed upon it's arrival at CCA.

Language of material:

English, French

Related units of description:

For the plates of the black and white photographs of wire-service newspaper articles of the UN DICTIONNAIRE project, see DR1999:0003:001-041 and DR2004:0001:001-043 in the Prints & Drawings collection. More material related to this project can also be found under the series AP041.S5.D1 Press coverage and the series AP041.S6.D1 Notebooks and sketchbooks.

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