LEST WE FORGET: HOW WE WILL REMEMBER

Muse News | Michelle Wright

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In honour of our past, present and future soldiers, today’s article will take pause to look at Remembrance Day and how you can pay your respects to their sacrifice. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Remembrance Day.

 

War Memorial by Wiborg. Source. 

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany in Compiègne, France, marking the end of hostilities of the First World War. This armistice took effect “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” and on November 11, 1919 the first annual Armistice Day Ceremony was observed at Buckingham Palace. During World War II many countries changed the name to Remembrance Day. Ceremonies happen today all over the world in honour of the brave men and women who gave their lives and those who continue to serve in areas of conflict.

But where do these ceremonies take place? They happen at cenotaphs, in schools, community centers and parks, but they also take place in museums. Museums that first come to mind are military or war museums, for example the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, which has events all day today. There is a growing concern that once the generation who can remember the war firsthand pass on, how will their stories be told and how do we preserve them? Museums call upon those who remember and their descendants to help tell stories. Two examples of this are right here in Toronto at the Mackenzie House Museum and the Spadina House Museum, with another coming to Museums of Mississauga in September 2020.

From now until January 31, 2020 the Mackenzie House will host the exhibition Eaton’s Goes to War: Family, Memory & Meaning. The exhibition shows the lives of some of the 3327 employees of the T. Eaton Company from Toronto and Winnipeg who enlisted in World War I. John Craig Eaton, the president of the company, offered to pay his employees wages to enlist. Each time one of these employees did so, their photo was taken and displayed in the Toronto store. About 2000 photographs of these men survive and are preserved in an online gallery created by the Archives of Ontario. Last year, a call was put out to the public to visit the collection and share personal stories of these soldiers and their families. The response was overwhelming and the museum could not display all of them, however the Archives of Ontario are working to publicize them through their stories online.

Eaton's Goes to War, Mackenzie House Museum. Source.

Today from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm the Spadina House Museum is hosting a pop-up museum-style event, inviting the public to bring mementos and stories about conflict to share them with others. This type of event is an invitation to the public to become a part of the museum. All are welcome, even if they do not have a keepsake or story. Following the event, there will be a special tour of the Spadina House’s involvement in World War I, particularly Percy Austin's experiences as a solider and Margaret Constance Austin's experiences as a nurse.

Coming back to the GTA September 15 to December 15, 2020 the Museums of Mississauga will be host to the traveling exhibition called WAR Flowers. This exhibition made its way to Toronto  January 24 to March 16, 2018 at the Campbell House and was written about by Serena Yplaar & Amy Intrator as a Weekend Edition called INTERPRETATION IN BLOOM: WAR FLOWERS AT CAMPBELL HOUSE MUSEUM. The exhibition is a collection of letters and pressed flowers from Lieutenant-Colonel George Stephen Cantlie sent to his infant daughter Celia during World War I. Cantlie would pick a flower, no matter where he was on the front, whether it was a dandelion, rose, or a poppy, and press the flower to send to his daughter. The letters that accompanied them were often short with a small description of where the flower was from and he would sign it to his “Wee Celia”. The collection was passed to the Stewart Museum by Celia’s niece and has become the center of a multi-sensory experiences, telling this story along with that of ten other Canadians who were involved in the War. These stories show the ability to find beauty and hope, even in the darkest of times.

One of the original flowers featured in the WAR Flowers exhibit. Photo courtesy of Amy Intrator.

These three exhibitions are just the tip of the iceberg for what is going on today. For other ceremonies and events you can visit the Cit of Toronto, Ontario.ca, or google events near you.

I will leave you with some well known words;

In Flanders fields the poppies blow 

Between the crosses, row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky 

The larks, still bravely singing, fly 

Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the Dead. Short days ago 

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 

Loved and were loved, and now we lie, 

In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 

To you from failing hands we throw 

The torch; be yours to hold it high. 

If ye break faith with us who die 

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders fields. 

                                                       -In Flanders Fields, John McCrae 

INTERPRETATION IN BLOOM: WAR FLOWERS AT CAMPBELL HOUSE MUSEUM

WEEKEND EDITION

BY: SERENA YPELAAR & AMY INTRATOR

This past Tuesday, we had the privilege of attending the media preview for WAR Flowers - A Touring Art Exhibition at Campbell House Museum. The exhibition runs until March 25 and presents a fascinating new interpretation of the First World War through a century-old flower collection. Displayed alongside the work of multiple artists, WAR Flowers is a fresh take on a popular historical topic.

The exhibition is travelling across Canada, having already stopped at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. WAR Flowers was developed in a collaboration between filmmaker Viveka Melki and Alexander Reford, historian and Director of Les Jardins Metis/Reford Gardens in Grand-Métis, Quebec.

During World War I, Canadian soldier George Stephen Cantlie sent flowers home to his young daughter Celia in Montreal. A century later, the preserved blooms teach us how flowers can hold meaning, and more strikingly, how they embody the emotions that form the human experience of war.

Exterior of Campbell House Museum. Photo courtesy of Amy Intrator.

New Perspectives

Bringing a new perspective to Canadian involvement in the First World War may sound like a near-impossible task. From memorials, to museums, to history class, most Canadians are familiarized with our country’s monumental role in the war. WAR Flowers, however, manages to bring a new, human perspective to a familiar piece of history.

As the exhibition's curator, Viveka Melki explained that her background as a filmmaker partially informed the exhibition, but her perspective was also defined by her identity as an immigrant. Melki stated that she didn’t grow up with the same familiarity with Canadian history. Canadian icons like A.Y. Jackson and John McCrae have their place in the exhibit, but these figures are featured alongside Julia Drummond, Percival Molson, and other Canadians involved in the war effort.

The exhibit doesn’t rely on a familiarity with Canadian history. Rather, the exhibit reframes familiar and unfamiliar stories in a new light. The flowers featured in the exhibit are examined using floriography, a Victorian method of exploring emotion through flowers; this unusual approach allows new narratives and themes to emerge in the exhibit.

One of the original flowers featured in the WAR Flowers exhibit. Photo courtesy of Amy Intrator.

Integrating Art and Artifact:

The flowers from the archive of George Stephen Cantlie are some of the most striking pieces in the exhibit. Sent from Europe to Montreal during the First World War, the 100-year old collection is extremely valuable as one of the largest wartime flower collections. The flowers are important artifacts in their own right, but in the exhibit, each flower also becomes a way for multiple artists to explore themes related to war. For example, the poppy, which has often been viewed as a symbol of sleep, explores the theme of “Eternal Sleep.” The theme is addressed through a short anecdote about John McCrae, along with an optical crystal sculpture created by Mark Raynes Roberts, and a customized scent created by Alexandra Bachand.

The "Eternal Sleep" section of the WAR Flowers exhibit. Photo courtesy of Amy Intrator.

Each of the ten flowers in the exhibit inspired artists to come together and create thoughtful pieces reflecting on war. Melki said that she tried to let each artist “have their voice,” which is especially important in filmmaking. Melki described the process as four artists coming together to “make a statement,” and this comes across as the exhibit weaves together the four artists’ individual but complementary impressions of war. The artists' creations work harmoniously, but individually each of the pieces engages the viewer differently. For example, the optical crystal sculptures created by Mark Raynes Roberts are literally illuminated by the lighting in the exhibit, which gives each of the detailed sculptures an even greater sense of depth and emotion.

The crystal sculpture featured in the "Resolve to Win" section of the WAR Flowers exhibit. Photo courtesy of Amy Intrator.

Sensory Innovation

The exhibition uses scent and sound to captivate visitors. Individual alcoves - reminiscent of a gothic church's vaulted ceilings - feature each flower alongside stories of Canadian individuals involved with the war. We were transfixed by the individual scents Bachand created for each flower and its meaning, activated by pressing a button (see below)! This non-intrusive feature gave visitors the chance to engage directly with the experience; the use of scent is particularly evocative as it can trigger personal memories. Melki stated that the use of scent was important to her because it allows the exhibition to reach every visitor in a unique way. Given that smell is a powerful tool of remembrance, we found it fitting that WAR Flowers uses it to great advantage. 

The exhibition also uses sound to transport visitors, from a buoyant classical score to sound effects evoking a sense of conflict - the music shifts seamlessly, interspersed with bouts of silence that we didn't notice until the music started again. One of the most memorable sounds is the skylark, which Melki explained is the national bird of the First and Second World War for Canadians. Melki chose not to include sounds like gunfire, as these could be triggering to certain individuals. She therefore strikes a careful balance, setting the mood with great sensitivity. 

New Directions 

We were both engrossed in the various aspects of interpretation the WAR Flowers team synthesized to capture our interest and foster connections to the flower collection and the war stories. This multi-sensory exhibition demonstrates how exhibitions aren't merely the display of artifacts, but rather an experience inviting the visitor to engage emotionally with stories of real people. 

After its Toronto run, the exhibition will travel to the Visitor Education Centre at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.