The Joust, a fountain with mist and flames

La Joute (1969) is a public sculptural installation by Quebec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle, located in Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle in the Quartier international de Montréal.

The ensemble of bronze sculptures contains a central fountain surrounded by a number of freestanding abstract animal and human figures inside and outside the fountain basin.

The fountain operates on a 32 minute sequence. It begins a few minutes before the half hour, every hour from 7 to 11PM. during the summer. The sequence starts when the fountain jet expands to form a dome over the sculptures. Then at the back end of the park the grates on the ground start to mist. The 12 grates each mist, one after the other in sequence, taking about 90 seconds to sequence from one to another until they reach the fountain. After about 18 minutes, machines inside the fountain start to produce a particularly dense cloud. The fountain jet then turns into a dribble. On the hour, nozzles in a ring surrounding the central sculpture shoot up jets of flame through the water, producing a dramatic ring of flame. The flame lasts for about seven minutes. The fountain stops, the misting stops, and then the fire is "doused" by the fountain which has restarted. The mist sequence, without the fire in the fountain, occurs every hour throughout the day.

Photo 476, June 2010

The Joust, a fountain with mist and flames

Photo 474, June 2010

The Joust, a fountain with mist and flames

Photo 475, June 2010

The Joust, a fountain with mist and flames

Photo 477, June 2010

The Joust, a fountain with mist and flames

Photo 478, June 2010

The Joust, a fountain with mist and flames

Photo 479, June 2010