Raymond Massicotte
Born on January 17, 1941 in Trois-Rivires.
Learned to whittle wood at the age of six, while living in an orphanage.
Produced his first sculpture a spinning top at the age of ten, in boarding school.
Learned various trades along the way, helping to develop his creativity, and devoted himself to sculpture in his spare time.
Later developed an interest in the workings of the Universe, which completely changed the direction of his work.
Went to university in 1987 to learn how to work with stone.
His motto: Make the impossible possible.
Videos of Raymond Massicotte
My First Pocket Knife
“I first began carving in 1947, when I lived at an orphanage run by the Sisters of the Rosary. I was six years old at the time. I knew a kid who was allowed to go home. One day, he came back with a pocket knife. I got him to trade his knife for three Lifesavers [candies] that my mother had given me. When I was in the schoolyard, I'd gather branches and work on them. I got to understand wood quite well.”
I Loved to Work with Wood
“In 1956-1957, I was a log driver at La Tuque. It was a real workout! We would leave at the end of April when the snow began to melt, and we would travel downriver on log rafts. I did that one year for about six or seven months. I always had a small axe and a pocket knife with me. A pocket knife is the oldest tool in the world! When I had time, I carved all sorts of things into the trees, such as heads, faces, crows, and I would leave them behind in the woods.”
A Vision of the Piece
“I never studied, but I always knew what to do. I knew everything I could do with a piece of wood and a pocket knife. I found it easy to carve whatever came to mind. When faced with a block of wood or a chunk of stone, I had already envisaged the work and how to carve it before I even started.”
A Nameless Force
“I was always aware of an energy or a force that I couldn't describe a nameless force that existed, that drove me, as if I were programmed to do such and such thing at every stage in my life. And I still feel its presence today.”
Raymond Massicotte
Gallery of Raymond Massicotte
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Raymond Massicotte at the community centre in Trois-Rivières, at the age of thirteen.
Photo from Raymond Massicotte’s collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.2
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Raymond Massicotte (right), with his classmates and his sculpture professor at the Université du Québec à Montréál, 1987.
Photo from Raymond Massicotte’s collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.3
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Raymond Massicotte and the violin he carved from a single block of stone, 1988.
Photo from Raymond Massicotte’s collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.4
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Raymond Massicotte and his sculpture of a winning racehorse.
Jean-François Blanchette, 2006
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.5
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Clitoris Flower
Last quarter of the 20th century
Painted wood, metal
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0072-Dm
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Holy Grail
Carved from a single block of wood and painted
This work was inspired by the legend of the Holy Grail: the sacred cup representing the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice. The blood-red rose is also symbolic of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0073-Dm
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Hiroshima
1997
Bas-relief sculpted from a single piece of pine measuring 7.5 cm thick and painted
The artist imagines the horror created by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the American bomber
Enola Gay on August 6, 1945.
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0041-Dm
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Space Exploration
Ca. 1980
Painted wood
In this work, the artist interprets the first photograph of the red and white spots of Jupiter.
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0042-Dm
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Conquest of the Cosmos
Ca. 1980
Elm
This piece, made from a single block of wood, expresses the author's interest in the evolution of the Universe.
This view shows:
• Earth before the formation of the continents (bottom right)
• Saturn (top right)
• The space shuttle and the Canadarm (top left)
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0093-Dm
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Conquest of the Cosmos
Ca. 1980
Elm
Another view, showing:
• Earth, before the formation of the continents (bottom left)
• The white and red spots of Jupiter (bottom right)
• Saturn (upper left)
• A propeller, the means of freeing humankind from the force of gravity (centre)
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0094-Dm
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Conquest of the Cosmos
Ca. 1980
Elm
Another view, showing:
• A human fetus (lower centre)
• The space shuttle and the Canadarm (upper right)
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0098-Dm
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Conquest of the Cosmos
(Detail: The Fetus)
Ca. 1980
Elm
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0097-Dm
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The Mary Celeste — Bermuda Triangle
Ca. 1980
Carved in the round from a single piece of wood and painted
The artist interprets the legend of the sinking of the
Mary Celeste off the coast of Bermuda in 1864. A complex system of pumps explains how the ship was swallowed by the sea, then returned to the surface without a single soul on board.
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0099-Dm
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Sects and Religions Will Pass Away/Beliefs
1976–1985
Painted wood
According to the artist, the bird at the top of this work symbolizes flight and liberty. As prisoners of the Church, however, he suggests that our thoughts are trapped, like the snake around the bottom.
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0095-Dm
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The Throw Top
1987
Stone and wax
Raymond Massicotte was a woodcarver for many years. When it was suggested that he wouldn’t find it as easy to carve in stone, he took a stone sculpture course at the Université du Québec à Montréal. While his colleagues were still learning the rudiments of files and sandpaper, he carved this stone top.
The artist is as proud of this work as he was of his first wooden top, shaped with a pocket knife in the orphanage yard when he was ten years old.
A throw top is similar to a conventional spinning top, but is slightly larger and is spun using a cord wound around its body.
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0092-Dm
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Stone Violin
1988
Stone and wax
In response to the excitement and surprise which greeted the creation of his stone top, the artist produced this violin from a single block of stone, proving that he had truly mastered the material.
Marie-Lousie Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0096-Dm
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Drawing of a rose: “I love you, Carmen”
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.18
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Drawing of a wandering tattler in summer. This bird winters on rocky coasts and coral reefs along the shores.
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.19
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Drawing of man and the Universe
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.20
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Drawing of the Ancients
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.21
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Drawing of the Ancients
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.22
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Preparatory freehand drawing for the sculpture
The Mary Celeste — Bermuda Triangle.
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.23
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Freehand drawing for the sculpture
The Mary Celeste — Bermuda Triangle.
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.24
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Drawing of an imaginary spacecraft.
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.25
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Drawing of an imaginary being.
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.26
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Drawing of an imaginary creature
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.27
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Drawing of an imaginary creature
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.28
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Drawing of an imaginary insect.
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.29
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Raymond Massicotte carving a rosebud with a penknife
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.30
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Raymond Massicotte carving a rosebud with a penknife
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.31
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Raymond Massicotte carving a rosebud with a penknife
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.32
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Roses carved with a pocketknife by Raymond Massicotte.
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.33
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Raymond Massicotte carving roses with a pocketknife.
Photo from Raymond Massicotte's collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.4.34
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