Victor Pilon: A multi-gifted artist
Victor Pilon is among the first wave of multidisciplinary artists.
This uOttawa alumnus was recently named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
by CHARLES ROUSSEAU
Victor Pilon
Credit: From Victor Pilon's personal archives.
“I graduated from one of Canada’s
best photography programs, and it draws its strength from the passion and
talent of its academic staff.”
—Victor
Pilon
As an avant-garde creator whose
works help shape Canada and Quebec’s international creative reputations, Victor
Pilon expresses his artistic talents both on stage and in the visual arts.
In 1982, he graduated from the
University of Ottawa with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and then in 1983,
with a BA in photography. He is among the first wave of multidisciplinary
artists: as a director, scenic artist, pictorial designer and photographer, he
works on both theatrical productions and large-scale public events.
He says that for him, it all started at uOttawa. “I have very fond memories of my time at the University of Ottawa. For me, a university’s reputation is based on the professors who teach there. I graduated from one of Canada’s best photography programs, and it draws its strength from the passion and talent of its academic staff. I really appreciate the progress I made in this bilingual program, not to mention the fact that once I graduated, the strong influence that the Francophone professors had on the Montreal arts scene really helped prepare me to take on the artistic community. I was privileged to have such great professors and mentors as Charles Gagnon, Peter Gnass, Evergon, Pénélope Cousineau, Edmund Allen, Michel Goulet, Louise Poissant, and many others. Their dedication and enlightened advice helped me become the artist I am today.”
He says that for him, it all started at uOttawa. “I have very fond memories of my time at the University of Ottawa. For me, a university’s reputation is based on the professors who teach there. I graduated from one of Canada’s best photography programs, and it draws its strength from the passion and talent of its academic staff. I really appreciate the progress I made in this bilingual program, not to mention the fact that once I graduated, the strong influence that the Francophone professors had on the Montreal arts scene really helped prepare me to take on the artistic community. I was privileged to have such great professors and mentors as Charles Gagnon, Peter Gnass, Evergon, Pénélope Cousineau, Edmund Allen, Michel Goulet, Louise Poissant, and many others. Their dedication and enlightened advice helped me become the artist I am today.”
For nearly 20 years, Victor Pilon
was the official photographer for royal visits to Canada and in 1994, Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the Royal Victoria Medal (R.V.M.) for
his services to the Royal Family. In 1990, he joined Michel Lemieux to form
Lemieux Pilon 4D Art as designer and co-artistic director. Since then, he has
created over thirty avant-garde theatre productions, including La Belle et la Bête andThe
Tempest for Montreal’s Théâtre du Nouveau
Monde,
Luc Plamondon’s Starmania
Opéra for the Montreal
and Quebec opera companies, and Delirium and Soleil de minuit for Cirque du Soleil. He has also designed major
public performances for the Montreal International Jazz Festival and for Montréal en Lumiére. Both the quality
and professionalism of these performances and their universal appeal allow
Pilon to translate emotions into pictures and movement that reach out and
captivate his audiences.
On December 30, 2012, His
Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada,
named Victor Pilon, O.C., R.V.M., of Montreal as an Officer of the Order of
Canada “for his contributions to the performing arts in Canada and abroad, as a
director, designer, photographer and pioneering multidisciplinary artist.”
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