February 16, 2010 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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One of my Olympic must-do activities was seeing the Leonardo DaVinci exhibit, “The Mechanics of Man”, at the Vancouver Art Gallery. On Sunday a colleague and I checked things out and although the line-up was long – we waited about 45 minutes – seeing the exhibit was worth it for me.
DaVinci’s anatomical drawings of the human body are incredibly detailed and beautifully etched. They are on yellowed sheets of paper, standard notebook size, and I was surprised to see how intact they actually were. I learned that some drawings have not been surpassed to date and others were the first-known accurate depictions (like his drawing of the spinal column). Pretty amazing stuff!
On every drawing DaVinci made cramped notes in Latin, which are written in his favored “mirror-style” way (ie: backwards). Each drawing had an accompanying description that explained which parts of the body we were looking at, his drawing techniques and methods, as well as other interesting information (such as how he made some discoveries two centuries before anyone else did).
Larger replicas of some drawings are placed on the walls and offer closer observation. Also splashed across the walls are random quotes by DaVinci. Overall, the exhibit was pretty amazing – I’m sure both biology nerds and art lovers will love it – and clearly very fitting for the Olympics!
February 01, 2010 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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Art’s popping up all over the place in Vancouver lately. Here are a few of my favorites:
A-Maze-ing Laughter: There are always people imitating these giant bronze sculptures’ poses while snapping pics. It’s so popular that the grass couldn’t handle the crowds and was recently replaced with bark mulch. A mystery fan even made Santa hats for the sculptures at Christmas.
Location: Corner of Davie and Denman, near English Bay
Monument for East Vancouver: It has people talking – isn’t that what art’s all about? A recognizable cross-shaped East Van symbol has been upgraded to giant public art status. Most impressive at night, when it’s lit up and tough to miss.
Location: At Clark and 6th Avenue
We, 2008: Nice in daytime, but incredible when darkness falls. That’s when it’s illuminated to create a glowing man made out of all the letters of the alphabet. It’s huge, too – step inside for a unique perspective (like my friend Jonathan Sparks did for the photo above).
Location: At Beach and Thurlow, near the Vancouver Aquatic Centre
Artificial Rock #143: Not everyone is a fan (I’ve heard it described as “God’s filling”), but I like it. It’s shiny, lumpy and outer-space-y, and contrasts with the straight lines of the downtown buildings.
Location: Corner of Granville and Georgia, near the Vancouver City Centre Canada Line station
Woodward’s W: Is this considered public art? It’s definitely a Vancouver icon – the neon Woodward’s W lit up the sky from 1944 to 1993, and now it’s back (with energy efficient bulbs).
Location: Woodward’s building, look up from Woodward's plaza near Abbott and Cordova
October 10, 2008 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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I had the opportunity to visit a very cool art gallery recently, located smack in the middle of Vancouver's downtown eastside..and it was well worth the visit. Centre A is Vancouver's International Centre for Contemporary Art and is located at the corner of Carrall Street and East Hastings. What is a real treat is that it is housed in one of the City's most important heritage buildings - the old BC Gas building that was where the interurban trains looped around before heading back out to the suburbs - this all many years ago of course. Now the building is home to some pretty edgy and thought-provoking Asian artwork. If you are visiting Gastown or Chinatown, or shopping at nearby Army & Navy, check out what they have to offer. But keep in mind that it is in one of the City's more colourful neighbourhoods. They are open Tuesday through Saturday.
June 07, 2008 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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I had the fortune of visiting the newly opened Bill Reid Gallery on Hornby Street the other night. (Its in the building that once housed the Canadian Craft Museum, next to Hy's Restaurant...its a bit tricky to find as it is located just up the stairs from the street ). Anyhow, I was really impressed with the incredible collection they had- prints, jewellery, boxes, huge carvings - I mean he did it all! I was also very impressed with what I learned about Bill Reid, the man, and about Haida culture in general. Its definitely worth checking out, especially if you are interested in First Nations art or the Haida culture, or if you are planning a trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii.
January 24, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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A rainy Sunday in January is the perfect time to take the kids to Super Sunday at the
Vancouver Art Gallery. Every third Sunday of the month, the VAG holds this hands on event to expose kids to art of all kinds. We took my 6 year old and a buddy (things are always more fun if you bring a friend). To complement the current B.C. Binning exhibit, kids were provided a sheet with clues to find different paintings, and then provided space and materials to do sketches and watercolors inspired by the exhibit. Other stations are set up throughout the gallery, featuring different media and themes. We were not the only ones with this idea, so it was fairly busy, but everyone seems to go with the flow. Make sure you use the coatcheck, and get your hand stamped for re-entry as no snacks are allowed in the gallery. It is a good idea to take a break and crash on the couches in the foyer between projects. Kids are free with an adult admission; donation encouraged to cover the cost of materials. The best part? They clean up the mess left behind!
October 16, 2006 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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If you're like my wife and I, with a 14-month old toddler perpetually on the go, keeping him entertained is first and foremost. Do you watch re-runs of Elmo on TV, or head out and find something the whole family will enjoy? Considering Elmo makes us want to put our foot through the TV, heading out for entertainment is a must. Last Sunday we discovered
Super Sundays at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Super Sunday transforms the gallery space into a fun-filled place for families with children (12 and under) to learn about art together. Children and adults are invited to draw, paint, sculpt and watch and engage in dance performances. The thing I really liked about Super Sunday was that all the projects are tied in somehow to the current exhibition at the gallery. So it's not just a place to let your kids finger paint and mash modelling clay, they actually learn about the art that surrounds them through hands-on projects. We found the staff to be very helpful and amazingly patient with kids who likely stand just a little too close to the art. To be honest I was surprised how casual the gallery was about the art. You'd think with hundreds of kids tearing through the gallery space everything would be roped off, but the kids get to experience the works just like anyone else. On the Sunday we went, the gallery was packed with parents and kids, the perfect atmosphere for our son who is just starting to socialize with other children, not to mention my wife and I got to take in the exhibition too. Needless to say, the three of us had a great time. So if your family finds itself in Vancouver the third Sunday of any given month, might I suggest heading to Super Sunday at the Vancouver Art Gallery. You won't be disappointed, and it's far and away better than any Elmo re-run you'll find on TV.
March 22, 2006 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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Don't be surprised if you're walking around in Vancouver and you see a man hanging off a cable as in this picture (by
CharlieBrown) I pulled of Flick. It's the filming of X-men 3 last year. This is one of many movies that was shot in Vancouver. The TV and film business is booming and Vancouver and movie and TV sets are everywhere. Especially the
Vancouver Art Gallery seems to be a favorite spot. So keep an eye out for the little "crew" signs, large mobile dressing trucks, large lights and flying men on cables during your next visit. You might even spot a celebrity.
January 04, 2006 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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The
Vancouver Art Gallery has changed the night that admission is by donation. Previously on Thursdays, now you need to go on Tuesday nights from 5 to 9 pm to get the deal.
October 31, 2005 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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One of my favourite annual events in Vancouver is coming up. The
Eastside Culture Crawl is a weekend in November (this year, the 18 - 20th) when local artists open up their studios that dot the semi-industrial eastside of Vancouver. You can visit the studios of everyone from furniture makers to sculptors to painters to potters; some very mainstream, and others very eclectic. It's a great way to get to know the style and spirit of many Vancouver artists, and explore an oft-forgotten neighbourhood. My favourite stop is
Joe Blow Glassworks, to watch the glassblowers at work. A must to cap off your studio-crawl is a gelato from the pink-coloured
La Casa Gelato; an amazing shop with hundreds of flavours of the italian frozen treat.
October 17, 2005 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
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Here is something cool. Yesterday I took the family to the
Vancouver Art Gallery and it just happened to be
supersunday, which meant Family Day. There were kids everywhere, so I didn't feel too bad when my son started to do somersaults in the Chinese Paper Cutting exhibition room.
Since he is only four, I also didn't feel too bad when he decided he had enough of the
Picasso exhibit after a rushed five minute walk through the first floor. Fortunately, there was a mound of a million pennies on another floor that caught his attention enough to convince him to stay. We managed to extend our adventure by participating in one of the hands-on art projects for the kids – tracing our family history with a map of the world, shiny stars and felt pens. Supersundays are the third Sunday of every month and Picasso is showing until January 15, 2006.