The city of Montreal has been getting all sorts of attention — not all of it positive — for its public Christmas tree displays of late.
Last year's ungainly, misshapen tree in the Quartier des Spectacles which was supposed to rival the one in Rockefeller Center in New York raised eyebrows all over the world for its misplaced ambition.
This year, the same company that set the tree up, Sapin MTL, capitalized on the bad press and set up a village dedicated to not-so-beautiful trees, the Village du Vilain Sapin, in the pedestrian mall along Prince Arthur St. At its centre is another misshapen tree, with an unusually curly top.
Meanwhile, two more unusual trees are going up near where last year's ugly tree stood.
At the Grand Marché de Noël de Montréal, a 25-foot tall tree topped off with a stern-looking man with an angel's wings on its back.
It's the creation of artist and sculptor Jean-Robert Drouillard. Called Coeur de Plume, it's being billed as a combination of pop art and religious art.
"Jean-Robert Drouillard used the figure of the angel and questions our relationship to the world, to others and to the Sacred versus consumption," says Grand Marché spokesperson Marie-Christine Champagne.
Part of the inspiration for the angel, she says, comes from the 1987 film Angels of Desire, by legendary German filmmaker Wim Wenders.
Also on site — what's being billed as the world's smallest Christmas tree, created by artist Valérie Dupras. It's barely more than an inch tall, and spokesperson Caroline Johnson says it was a response to last year's ugly tree, which was billed as huge.
Both were unveiled on Dec. 1, when the Grand Marché de Noël kicked off at the Esplanade at Place des Arts. It'll be open to the public through Christmas Eve.