In 1965 Fairview Mall opened in Pointe Claire, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. The main “anchor” stores were Simpsons, Eaton’s and Steinberg’s. Huge chains in their time, they are all gone today. The one-story shopping centre was the second largest covered mall in Canada at the time – today it is a modest two-story affair of no distinction. To commemorate the opening (and to draw in customers)Simpsons purchased from Gimbel’s in New York, a replica of Michelangelo’s David. It was actually part of a group of statues (Moses, Romulus and Remus)that Gimbel’s had commissioned as a publicity stunt that went nowhere and Simpsons spent $10,000 buying and shipping them to Montreal – a lot of money in those days. David was erected in front of the Simpsons in Fairview and that’s when the fun began.
Being an exact replica, David was enormous and naked. “Naked, glorious and unashamed he will continue to stand in the shopping centre . . . civilization has won out against the forces of darkness. Sic temper tyrannis!” proclaimed the Montreal Star. “In a Montreal Plaza the women come and go, talking of Michelangelo” wrote journalist Clayton Sinclair. It did not take long before the complaints began to arrive. The good people of the West Island were unable to deal with the trauma of taking their children to Fairview and explaining the private parts of David to them. At least that’s how they put it. David was “morally bad” and should not be displayed in a public place. No one seemed to feel the need to explain how a museum was also a public place or how the original had managed to live in the main square of Florence for over 400 years without fatally damaging the morals of the people there.
Simpsons declared – almost in the same breath – that they would defend Renaissance culture but no “decorations” were permanent. In the blink of an eye (or within six months) it was briefly on display at the Museum of Fine Arts before Christmas and then was donated to the Loyola Students Association (?). It was given its final home and resting place in the new Vanier library on the Loyola campus. Of course, since it was more than two stories high, the only place it could be mounted was in the central stairwell of the library. As a result, it was the recipient of close scrutiny by everyone ascending or descending the stairs. Fine arts and Anatomy 101.
It was also the recipient of innumerable student pranks. It was painted green for St. Patrick’s Day and had its genitals festooned with hats, giant fig leaves and diapers, banana peels and condoms. In March of 1987, it was draped with a fire hose, toppled over and smashed to pieces, accidentally or on purpose – Spring Break. This was the reception of Michelangelo in the western burbs of Montreal.
