Au niveau inférieur du musée, l’installation La Complainte du progrès s’inspire librement d’un site archéologique. Composée de plantes et de strates de terre, elle représente les couches de civilisation successives au moyen de matériaux bruts et d’objets façonnés – céramique, métal et plastique. La dernière couche, sur le dessus, évoque l’époque contemporaine à travers un assortiment d’objets inutiles, légué par les habitants du village de Quinson et le collectif L’Art des mains. Alors que la paléohistoire assimile l’histoire de l’homme à une succession de découvertes – la découverte d’objets comme le biface –, les objets légués au musée invitent à penser que notre époque s’encombre d’une quantité prodigieuse d’objets inutiles. La pièce sonore qui accompagne La Complainte du progrès se compose d’entretiens avec les habitants de Quinson et d’une interprétation originale de la chanson de Boris Vian, La Complainte du progrès (1956), éloge cynique de la culture de la consommation.

in English : On the lower level of the museum is The Complaint of Progress—an imaginative construction reminiscent of an actual archaeological site. Constructed with numerous strata of earth and living plants, the site represents layers of civilization with an array of artifacts and materials such as ceramic, metal, and plastic. The top layer of the site refers to the present moment and features useless tools donated by the Quinson village and members of the local collective L’art des mains. While paleohistory tells the story of man by tracing the development of tools, such as the bi-face, these donated objects suggest that contemporary life is encumbered by an overabundance of useless tools. Accompanying The Complaint of Progress is an audio piece featuring voices culled from interviews with local residents as well as an original rendition of Boris Vian’s La complainte du progrès, a 1956 song that cynically praises consumer culture.

La complainte

Objects were collected in conjunction with workshops with the L’art des mains group that meets every week in Quinson (as well as other interested participants). The building of the archaeological site was made in response to discussions concerning the beginning of the industrial era, a period that most of the members of this group have been a witness to. Most of the members are women between 60-90, and have had to adapt to new tools and new machines intended to "free them up". Even the feminist movement has been used as a source of inspiration for corporate innovation. We looked at objects from the period of 1950 - 2000 and wondered : What objects have been the least adapted ? What tools, machine, objects have been a disillusionment to these women, particularly regarding the idea of progress ? Are these failed objects a sign of maladptation ?

Finally, the motivating idea was to build a collection of objects in response to or in contrast to the usefulness of the tools depicted in the vitrines at the museum, and to question the link between progress and evolution.