Russia in four years?

The Russians were everywhere in Vancouver.  Not just because they're a big Olympic team and had lots of athletes and their fans wandering the streets.  But also because the next Winter Olympic City is Sochi, Russia. 


The Sochi Organizing Committee was out in full force.  They took over the entire Telus World of Science building to get the whole planet excited about visiting Russia.  And I have to say, it worked.  Suddenly I'm wondering if I couldn't make the trip to Sochi in four years.  Here's a photo of the transformed World of Science building.

There are several reasons to go. First of all, the weather looks amazing.  It might even be warmer than Vancouver, with average highs well into the 50s and lows in the 40s.  (One day last week it was 73 degrees.) And Sochi looks set to build some amazing facilities for the games, complete with a rail system to carry visitors to the snowy mountains above the city.  Here are a couple of views of the model on view at Sochi House in Vancouver.

Let's hope the Gods of the Olympics smile on me in four years and I find myself on another Olympic adventure.

More from the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Yes, the Vancouver Art Gallery is home to several events of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.  But it's also one of Vancouver's premiere art centers.  And while we went to the gallery for the Olympiad exhibits, we also spent time in the galleries that house works from the museum's permanent collection.


I love museums that have a strong point of view.  It's obvious that the Vancouver Art Gallery focuses on photography and video installations.  They have impressive collections in both categories. I've never been to a museum that presents video installations in such an elegant way.  I'm not always a fan of video, but it's hard not to like art that is so lovingly curated. Unfortunately video doesn't make for good blog posts.  So I'll focus on other works in the Vancouver Art Gallery permanent collection.


I'm guessing that Every Building on 100 West Hastings Street (2001, chromogenic print) by Vancouver artist Stan Douglas is an homage to Ed Ruscha's 1996 work, Every Building on the Sunset Strip. Whatever it is, it's a stunning photograph.  The perspective is nearly perfect even though it's the result of photo foolery, taking pictures of individual buildings and bringing them together in a single, massive image.  

Another brilliant photographic work is Selected Works from Vancouver Apartments (1997-1998, chromogenic prints) by Vancouver-based artist Chris Gergley.  This work present image after nearly-identical image of the entrances to mid-century apartments.  I'd love to see all the images from this work. This is a photographer that appeals to my love of repetition, particularly when the repeated items are so different.

I didn't realize that Jeff Wall is a Vancouver native.  But now that I know that, it makes sense that the Vancouver Art Gallery has a nice trio of Wall photographs.  I loved this oversized image that felt almost like a window cut into the gallery and opening onto Vancouver.

I can't leave this post without showing two works by Vancouver artist Ken Lum.  First is Panda (2007, lacquer sheet, acrylic paint, and aluminum). 

And then there is this magical work, Cetology (2002, plastic chairs).  Yes, it's made with plastic lawn chairs. How can you not love this?

Secret Code: Part II.

I've already mentioned several works at Code 1, part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.  But there were a few other installations I wanted to note.


First is  Wang Yuyang's Artificial Moon. This giant globe is constructed of over 4,000 industrial light bulbs greeted visitors as they entered this warehouse turned art space.  And it was a dramatic greeting.  I particularly liked the way the light bulbs seemed to mimic the mottled surface of the moon. (Thanks for the photo Felix.)

For sheer art installation fun, it's tough to beat Ken Rinaldo's Paparazzi Bots.  These robots are wired to identify a person then work tirelessly to follow that person and take as many pictures as possible.  It's pretty dang fun to be stalked by a robotic camera.  Here's one robot that took a liking to me.

No I'm not dancing the Flamenco, I'm just trying to take a picture of me as seen by one of the Paparazzi Bots.

Supposedly these photos get posted to the Web.  But I've been following the photo stream on Flickr and I haven't been able to figure out how they are posted.  But I'll keep watching.

If you long for the boom box culture of the 1980s, then Foreign Voices, Common Stories (Ghettoblaster) by Canadian artist James Phillips might be for you.  This installation celebrates a design sensibility that seems to have no place in our modern, smaller-is-always-better world.  These machines make modern music lovers look like a bunch of wimps, with our namby-pamby iPods and itty-bitty ear buds.  (Although I did notice that the actual sound coming from the boom boxes was powered by iPods attached to the ghetto blasters.)  Each boom box was equipped with a motion detector so as you walked through the installation, the whole thing came to life with a variety of voices telling stories from around the world about the cultural significance of the ghetto blaster. We take portable music for granted because it's just so easy.  But there was a time, when you had to commit to taking your music with you.  And this installation perfectly captured that sentiment.

Olympic bodies.

The Olympics don't just bring sport to a city, they bring an array of other exciting activities including those that are part of the Cultural Olympiad.  And the Vancouver Art Gallery located at Robson Square (a major downtown Olympic space) offered several presentations that were part of the celebration.  I already mentioned Michael Lin's spectacular Modest Vail that adorned the outside of the building. Inside, the gallery hosted a temporary exhibition that was part of the Cultural Olympiad called Visceral Bodies.  (Interestingly, there was another temporary exhibit called Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man that wasn't part of the Cultural Olympiad.  It featured anatomical drawings from da Vinci's journals and was a perfect intro to the more abstract nature of Visceral Bodies.)

Visceral Bodies was a first rate show with some first rate artists who explored the changing perceptions of the human body, often contemplating how science has changed our ideas about ourselves.  Many of the works were surprisingly powerful and I was caught off guard by how much emotion they inspired.  The exhibit lived up to its name by forcing some truly visceral reactions.

Here are just a few of the many stand out works.  (Note: Photography was not allowed.  So these photos are taken from the Internet and do not represent installation views.)

The show featured two works by one of my favorite artists, Marc Quinn.  Both were spectacular.  First up, Carl Whittaker - Amiodarone, Aspirin, Ciclosporin (Heart Transplant) (2005, polimer wax, drugs).  As is frequently the case with Quinn's work, this cast of an actual heart transplant patient asks lots of questions about the thin line between life and death.  The sculpture is cast with a mixture of wax and the drugs that help to keep the patient alive.  And while the cast was made from a living person, the final scultpture evokes death.

Also on display was Quinn's Early Self Portrait (2007, rose marble).  There were lots of things that make this work interesting.  Quinn is known for making self portraits including a work cast from his own blood and maintained in a frozen state.  The marble sculpture at the Vancouver Art Gallery responds to some of the artist's earlier work.  Several years ago Quinn created a series of marble portraits of athletes with missing limbs.  The works elicited a fair amount of outrage and disgust.  As a response, Quinn created this sculpture created from actual MRI images of a developing fetus.  The strange creature has yet to develop arms and legs. I was surprised at how much this looked like a Cubist sculpture.

Another artist known for making casts of his own body is Antony Gormley. His large installation works can feature hundreds of casts of himself.  Other works use the artist's body as a starting point but then abstract the information to the point of non-recognition.  Drift II (2007, 2mm square section stainless steel bar) is one such work.

One of my favorite works in the show was Memoria I, 24.10.07 (2007, calcium sulfate with cianacrilate application, resin base, and stainless still supports) by Mexican artist Gabriel de la Mora.  I knew nothing about Mora before this show but I'll definitely be on the look out for more of his work in the future.  This family portrait consists of exact replicas of the family members' skulls.  The skulls are made by rendering in three dimensions the MRI images taken of each family members' skull. Mora even got permission to exhume the bodies of his dead grandfather and still born sister to complete the portrait.  It was hauntingly beautiful.

I'll mention one last work that was so disturbing I couldn't experience it as intended by the artist. Teresa Margolles is another Mexican artists whose work I didn't know.  Her art explores the unnecessary and rampant violence that has overtaken her country.  Vaho (No. 1 - 3) (2006, acrylic, organic material) is a work that begins with the autoposy of a Mexican murder victim.  The art on display in Vancouver consisted of acrylic boxes splattered with organic material released during the autopsy.  Near these boxes was a pair of headphones where visitors could listen to the sounds of the autopsy victim being cut open.  I couldn't bring myself to put on the headphones. I suppose some might find this work gratuitous.  But sometimes, the only way to break through the noise of modern life and get people to pay attention to the attrocities that surround us, is to shock. And few things are better suited to accomplish that than art.

Big laughs in Vancouver.

Sometimes, my travelling companions get sick of me dragging them to art works.  But I couldn't leave Vancouver without a visit to Yue Minjun's recently installed public sculpture, A-mazing Laughter found in the West End on English Bay.  Minjun is famous for paintings and sculptures that are repeating self portraits of the artist laughing.  And Vancouver's version  is a maze of giant bronze Minjun's in spectacular laughing poses.

The sculpture is a hit with locals and tourists alike.  And you can see why.  It's tough to be sad when you're surrounded by so much funniness.  But I'm not sure humor is the sole intent of Minjun's work.  For me, the artist's imagery offers a more sinister statement.  The frozen smiles seem like masks, hiding all of the things we choose not to reveal.  And usually those things are a lot less pleasant than this brilliant bit of public sculpture.

Here are a few photos:

And here's a video walk through the maze:

Meet the Inukshuk.

The inspiration for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic logo is more than just a friendly figure.  It's an homage to an ancient symbol of the Inuit culture, the Inukshuk.  These stacked stones were traditionally used as landmarks and navigational aids.  They also represent northern hospitality and friendship.  Giant versions of these were created just for the olympics.  But others have been around for a long time.  And they seemed to show up everywhere.  I fell in love with their quirky charm.  So here are a few photographs in tribute to the smile-inducing Inukshuk.

This was created for Expo 86 and was moved to English Bay in Vancouver's West End in 1987.  

This is the creature that greets visitors as they enter Whistler village.

Here are some impromptu Inukshuk stacks we found near BC Stadium, location of the opening ceremonies.

I bought this mini Inukshuk in Whistler.  Sure it's a cheap tourist souvenir but every time I see it, it makes me smile.

And I found this stone stacking game at the Vancouver Art Gallery's gift shop.  I can hardly wait to have friends over for an Inukshuk game night.

Here's a bad idea.

There was a lot to love at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. But there were a few things that were a lot less likable.  Like who came up with the idea to put the olympic cauldron behind an unattractive chain link fence.  Yes, that's right, the Vancouver Olympic Cauldron was behind a blockade of concrete barriers and chain link.  Don't believe me?  Here are a few photos:

See what I mean.  That really makes for a nice photo op, eh? I saw a news story that said VANOC had worked all night to move the chain link fence closer to the flame because they'd gotten so many complaints.  But, IT'S STILL BEHIND A CHAIN LINK FENCE!  That's just a little too ghetto for my taste.


Of course, if you very carefully positioned your lens through the holes in the fence, you could get an unobstructed view of the cauldron.

I get that maybe you need to worry about people getting too close to the flames.  But when you're spending billions of dollars on the games, surely you can come up with a more elegant solution than concrete and chain link.  Combine this with the fact that the indoor cauldron at the opening ceremonies didn't work and I'm giving Vancouver a solid D- in Olympic Cauldrons.