Melvin Charney C.Q. (28 August 1935 – 17 September 2012) was a Canadian artist and architect. Melvin Charney Jardin de sculptures

Career

Charney grew up in a working-class family in

The Plateau Le Plateau-Mont-Royal () is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The borough takes its name from its location on a plateau, on the eastern side of Mount Royal and overlooking downtown Montreal, across its south ...

neighbourhood of Montreal, the eldest of three sons of Hyman and Fanny Charney. Fanny was originally from what is now

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, and worked in a sewing factory. Hyman Charney was from Poland, and worked as a paint salesman as well as an accomplished woodworker and decorator, creating doors for synagogues and churches. Hyman was also interested in visual arts, and from a young age, Melvin took Saturday classes at the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

. Later in his childhood the family was able to afford to move to the edge of

Outremont Outremont () is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by F ...

. He studied architecture at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, and worked in Paris and New York before returning to Montreal in 1964, where he opened his architecture practice and began teaching at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

. Charney submitted a design for the Canadian pavilion at

Expo 70 The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

which would be fashioned from construction cranes and scaffolding. His submission, while not successful, signalled Charney's shift away from building design to

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

. His depiction of historic buildings demolished to make way for

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

and the Montreal Olympic Games in the short-lived Corrid’art exhibit is reported to be a primary reason why mayor

Jean Drapeau Jean Drapeau (; 18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include ...

ordered the exhibition demolished. Notable public art works by Charney in Montreal include the

sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by ...

at the

Canadian Centre for Architecture The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; ) is a Architecture museum, museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between rue Fort (Fort Street) and rue Saint-Ma ...

and the sculpture ''Skyscraper, Waterfall, Brooks — A Construction'' at

Place Émilie-Gamelin Place Émilie-Gamelin (known informally as Berri Square, ) is a city square in central Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was created to mark the 350th anniversary of the city. Bordered by Berri Street, Saint Hubert Street, Sainte Catherine Street, an ...

, both constructed after Drapeau left office. In 2003, he was named a Chevalier (Knight) of the

Ordre national du Québec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (National ...

for his outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the growth of Quebec. In 2006, he was named a Commandeur of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

by the government of France for his contributions to culture. He was married to writer

Ann Charney Ann Charney (born 1940) is a Canadian novelist, short story writer and journalist. Career Her most recent novel, ''Life Class'' was published in 2013. It is a story of displacement and ambition played out in the art circles of Venice, New York a ...

References

Canadian architects Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors 1935 births 2012 deaths Canadian people of Belarusian descent Canadian people of Polish descent McGill School of Architecture alumni Yale School of Architecture alumni Academic staff of the Université de Montréal Artists from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people People from Le Plateau-Mont-Royal Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Knights of the National Order of Quebec Public art Canadian contemporary artists {{Commons cat