Daleth (history of the Phoenicians)
Description of the work
The artist chose the “daleth,” a Phoenician triangular grapheme that also means “door,” to pay tribute to the Lebanese community in Montreal. This letter, which brings together several elements with strong symbolic potential, allows him to permanently inscribe in a public place very frequented by this community, Marcelin-Wilson Park, the memory of the first Lebanese arrivals in Montreal.
In the form of an open pyramid integrated into a layout made of plants, a path and granite slabs, Daleth presents three paintings. On one side, a road in perspective points towards the top of this triangular mountain where the cedar, emblem of Lebanon, triumphs. This path is the symbol of the traveling trade that occupied the first Lebanese arrivals as much as the door allowing the meeting of diverse cultures that constitutes immigration. On the second side, three oars emerging from the granite structure recall the history of the Phoenicians, ancestors of the Lebanese, who engaged in the trade of cedar wood by boat. On the last side are inscribed the 22 Phoenician graphemes, the first alphabet invented by this people.
Mihalcean’s work is understood as a profusion of symbols that ultimately gives rise to the viewer’s personal appropriation of the meaning of the work. Thus, by including various key elements of Lebanese culture and its history, Daleth offers several perspectives through which to commemorate the first contingent from Lebanon to arrive in the region.
Parc Marcelin-Wilson, Montréal (Ahuntsic-Cartierville), Québec.
Daleth (history of the Phoenicians)
Description of the work
The artist chose the “daleth,” a Phoenician triangular grapheme that also means “door,” to pay tribute to the Lebanese community in Montreal. This letter, which brings together several elements with strong symbolic potential, allows him to permanently inscribe in a public place very frequented by this community, Marcelin-Wilson Park, the memory of the first Lebanese arrivals in Montreal.
In the form of an open pyramid integrated into a layout made of plants, a path and granite slabs, Daleth presents three paintings. On one side, a road in perspective points towards the top of this triangular mountain where the cedar, emblem of Lebanon, triumphs. This path is the symbol of the traveling trade that occupied the first Lebanese arrivals as much as the door allowing the meeting of diverse cultures that constitutes immigration. On the second side, three oars emerging from the granite structure recall the history of the Phoenicians, ancestors of the Lebanese, who engaged in the trade of cedar wood by boat. On the last side are inscribed the 22 Phoenician graphemes, the first alphabet invented by this people.
Mihalcean’s work is understood as a profusion of symbols that ultimately gives rise to the viewer’s personal appropriation of the meaning of the work. Thus, by including various key elements of Lebanese culture and its history, Daleth offers several perspectives through which to commemorate the first contingent from Lebanon to arrive in the region.
Parc Marcelin-Wilson, Montréal (Ahuntsic-Cartierville), Québec.