November 27, 2012 | Theatre,

Imagination as the Fourth Dimension: A look into Lemieux Pilon 4D Art

I like to catch up on the news during my morning commute to school. My preferred medium for accessing information? Twitter, like a good twenty-first–century citizen. I am on the train, scrolling through my Twitter feed, and I come across a tweet from ArtsEmerson advertising the trailer for its upcoming presentation of La Belle et la Bête. I click on the link and watch the trailer. By the end of it, I feel like my head has exploded. Excuse the hyperbole, but at the time I believed that had happened. I look around and am bewildered to find everyone around me perfectly still, their dead-pan masks of boredom that are adopted on public transportation completely indifferent to the commotion I am experiencing. In my mind, life had become 4-dimensional: particles of light were floating everywhere, holograms were mixing with solid objects, and I felt like I had lost my ability to discern between what is real and what isn’t. This was my first encounter with Lemieux Pilon 4D Art’s work.

Founded in 1983, Lemieux Pilon 4D Art is a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, Artistic Directors, have created a new art form, masterfully integrating theatre, film, dance, poetry, visual arts, music, and sound into their productions. The result is an incredible spectacle that immerses audiences with its dazzling storytelling elements – and blows my mind.

Lemieux Pilon 4D Art has more than 30 original productions to its credit. The Montreal-based company has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, Europe (France, the U.K., Germany, Austria, and Spain), Latin America (Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico), and Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea). Some of their more acclaimed productions such as NORMAN, La Tempete, Anima, Orfeo, Grand Hotel des Etrangers, Free Fall, and their collaborations with Cirque du Soleil, Delerium and Midnight Sun, have changed the landscape of dramatic arts as we know them. Everywhere they go, audiences are dazzled and amazed.

I, dumbfounded, immediately wondered what sort of minds could come up with art like this. Michel Lemieux, the founding artistic director, fused together his daring sense of inventiveness and his outstanding knowledge of all things technical he learned from his education at the National Theatre School of Canada. He was joined in 1990 by Victor Pilon – director, scenographer, visual designer, and photographer. Since then, Lemieux and Pilon have collaborated on countless projects to create work that challenges audience’s perceptions of reality. I have to say, I would be willing to pay a hefty fee for an hour’s experience viewing the world through Lemieux and Pilon’s eyes. Learn more about Lemieux and Pilon here.

I found that one of the most notable features of their work is that in addition to the spectacle, they manage to retain the basic storytelling elements that draw us to art in the first place. La Belle et la Bête, for example, utilizes innovative technology to show a horse galloping on stage, a man fighting a younger version of himself, and a holographic love scene, yet the central message is not lost with the dazzling imagery and special effects. Lemieux and Pilon maintain that the story is essentially one of resilience and the redemptive power of love despite all odds. And the critics agree.

I’ve been raving about Lemieux and Pilon’s 4D art far too long. Check it out for yourself. Just make sure you’re in an environment where it is acceptable to react.

Don’t miss ArtEmerson’s presentation of La Belle et la Bête running December 05–09. Buy tickets here.