February 26, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
Find more information about Vancouver - Art Galleries & Artists
View a larger image on flickr.com
Exploring the Olympic celebrations in Vancouver, I’ve spotted loads of giant, fiberglass eagles, wings spread and talons outstretched. Eagles in the City are in fact third in a trilogy of sculptures commissioned by the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities – and they’ll be around until April 2010. Follow out the Eagle flight path at eaglesinthecity.com.
Another thriving art scene – and more apt for a rainy day – is a set of galleries along South Granville Street (a short bus ride over the bridge from downtown). During the Olympics, several artists have created sports-related pieces.
Windsor Gallery (3025 Granville St) – Artist Paul Wong’s installation features the bright and cheeky Mural Number 5, which is also on a billboard at the Granville & Georgia Canada Line Station.
Elissa Cristall Gallery (2245 Granville St) – Anda Kubis’s collection Split Second is all about speed, with blurry brush strokes and pixilated colour channeling athletes in action.
Bau Xi (3045 Granville St) – Vancouver painter Lisa Burke’s exhibition shows hockey players on a melting ice rink and athletes trying to free themselves from knotted cords. “Eye candy with a hint of acid,” is how she describes her work.
February 17, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
Find more information about Vancouver - Art Galleries & Artists
View a larger image on flickr.com
Free ice skating, zip lining, kids’ shows and fireworks are all on offer at the BC Canada Pavilion at Robson Square. Today I was making the most of the free entry into Vancouver Art Gallery.
This also meant FREE entry to the Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man exhibition, which to be honest, is what’s attracting massive crowds every day. A long wait to get in was well worth it, with scores of detailed anatomical drawings by da Vinci. It was amazing to learn how accurately he depicted the human body back in the 1500s.
Working my way up through the Visceral Bodies, Visions of British Columbia and CUE Artists’ Videos exhibits, I eventually reached the top floor. Expecting a promotional sea of pamphlets and pins, instead I found myself in a rainforest!
BC Pavilion was a wonderful interactive spectacle, split into different spaces. I smelled, touched and learnt about all kinds of West Coast wood, stepped over salmon runs (or rather films of them, projected onto the floor) and passed through a curtain of mist onto which a BC family shouting a cheery greeting was also projected (COOL!). Next door were animated games showing us how serious BC is about recycling and sustainability.
I got to sit on an electrically-powered Fuel Cell bus before finishing up in a room lit by neon poles and interactive screens showcasing BC’s love of nature, hockey and community spirit.
February 16, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
Find more information about Vancouver - Art Galleries & Artists
View a larger image on flickr.com
Granville Island is pretty much Vancouver’s art capital, packed with galleries, pottery, gold and silversmith studios and even the prestigious Emily Carr University. Can it get much artier?
Thanks to a 2010 Winter Games exhibit, Portraits in the Street, yes it can. I’m in the bohemian Railspur Alley, gawping in wonder at a painting of hockey superstar Wayne Gretsky by none other than pop art maestro, ANDY WARHOL.
Twenty four framed photos and paintings of Canadian Olympians and Paralympians line a brick wall, making for a perfect sunny afternoon stroll. Others include a relaxed black & white shot of Canada’s most decorated ski racer, Nancy Greene Raine (now Director of Skiing at Sun Peaks resort).
Scary but impressive, is a masked close-up of legendary hockey player, Cassie Campbell, taken by Bryan Adams. Yes, musician BRYAN ADAMS.
February 15, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Art Galleries & Artists
Find more information about Vancouver - Art Galleries & Artists
View a larger image on flickr.com
In downtown Vancouver for some shopping at The Bay, and Pacific Centre mall, I took a stroll along Granville Street to see the Cultural Olympiad’s LunarFest. Different installations all link Canada culturally with Taiwan, starting off with the Lantern Forest. Steel trees support thousands of brightly-coloured lanterns that are designed by schoolchildren from both countries. At night they’re all lit up like big fireflies.
Next to the lanterns are sculptures called Love, Life and Light. Again these are transformed into neon brilliance at dusk. Brue Voyce’s mythical creation, ‘Confusion Fusion’ is made from recycled materials like pop bottles. And artist lu Ping-Cheng has built an elaborate umbilical cord, symbolically connecting Taiwan and Canada.
Further down the street, people are posing for photos inside sculptural cut-out shapes of Olympic skiers, skaters and boarders. I can’t resist.