Quebec paper artist who comforted and empowered kids dies from COVID-19

Transcript

Claude Lafortune will be remembered for his kindness and his work to inspire children, his grandson says. 

The Quebec paper artist and children's TV show host died of COVID-19 on April 19. He was 83.

"[Paper is] a material that's very easy to grasp. It's something you can give to a child. And very quickly, the child can start to express themselves," Dominique Lafortune, one of Claude's seven grandchildren, told As It Happens host Carol Off.

"That was very important to him to give that power. The result is not important."

The elder Lafortune hosted 11 shows on Radio-Canada between 1974 and 2000, beginning with Du soleil à cinq cents and finishing with Parcelles de soleil. 

The programs largely consisted of Lafortune making sculptures out of paper. 

The ephemeral nature of paper is another thing that appealed to Claude, Dominique said. 

"He also often said: 'I don't want these paper crafts to last forever. They're going to disappear with me.' And this always upset us very much because we don't want that."

Dominque said he can see Claude's creative influence on his family. He has an aunt who is a painter, another who is an illustrator, and a cousin who is a graphic designer. 

He was a big dreamer and a child at heart.- Dominique Lafortune

Several of Claude's programs, including L'Évangile en papier, La Bible en papier and L'Église en papier, were explicitly Christian and aired during Quebec's Quiet Revolution, a period of change in the Catholic Church's relationship with public life. 

Dominique said that while he doesn't know what sorts of discussions occurred behind the scenes, he thinks the programming worked for Radio-Canada because Claude's goal "was not to evangelize children, but try to show that the Catholic faith had some core values which were precious and that were still part of our DNA."

Claude often said one should love other people in full, despite their flaws, Dominique said. 

"He was profoundly a kind man, a really rare example of someone with no malice."

Dominique said his favourite paper creation of his grandfather's — outside of the paper art he gave his family — was his Don Quixote.

"He was a big dreamer and a child at heart, and I think because of that, that character whenever he made it would touch me very much," he said. 

In his last program on air, Parcelles de soleil, Claude would have conversations with young people about their lives and problems.

Dominique recounted a story in which his grandfather crafted paper stars for a young girl in hospital who was afraid to sleep at night because of the dark. 

"He told her each star is one member of your family that watches over you. But you know, these stars need darkness to shine," he said.

"So that comforted her whenever the room went dark. She was thinking about people watching over her, people who loved her."

Written by Justin Chandler. Interview produced by Lisa Bryn Rundle.