Performing Vancouver

The joke is on you white guy

2010-04-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

When I look at Jeff Wall's Mimic (1982), I can’t help but be embarrassed. Here we have a sophisticated Asian gentlemen minding his own business, when this white guy comes along and simultaneously gives him the finger and makes fun of his race. It seems he is walking just far enough behind the Asian gentleman so that he doesn’t actually have to confront him, and instead is able to mock him passively without risking a rebuttal. The white gentleman appears to be dragging his girlfriend along behind him in a way that suggests her subordinate role. The woman is dressed in skimpy shorts, a skimpy top, and heels. Everything about the photo makes the viewer side with the Asian man. He has the appearance of a respectable person who is a member of the business community. I think the purpose of Wall’s piece is to elicit this type of reaction, to embarrass us and compel us to side with the Asian man. The topic of racism and the Asian community is very Vancouver. As sad as it is to say, especially during the eighties, the increasing Asian population would have festered attitudes of racism. This picture exposes a racism that appears to have stemmed out of both jealousy and misdirected hatred. This photo has the effect of revealing racism as trashy and uncalled for. Although Wall’s Mimic doesn’t exactly shine Vancouver in the most positive light, it has the ability to create awareness about racism in our city.

East Van is horrible! But art is good!

2010-04-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

I know some of you love this horrible thing but I think it looks like a Bibles for Missions shelter. Apparently it has been a popular graffiti symbol around East Van for years but it's still ugly. I love art. I love that some people hate something and other people love it. I love that I don't get it. I love that I think it's ugly. I love that although I think it's ugly it got made and displayed as public art. I don't really love Ken Lum but I'm pretty sure he's an OK guy. Oh, and from the angle of this photo, it almost looks nice.

Ken Lum had this to say to the Globe and Mail:

“Nietzsche says there are three kinds of history,” Lum says: monumental history (aggrandizing a people or historical moment), antiquarian history (the obsessive validation of facts) and critical history (interpreting the past in order to engage with the present). Lum’s Monument for East Vancouver arises, he says, from this latter approach, identifying an issue in the sociopolitical present and activating critical thinking.

I'm not sure that I agree that this big shiny cross "interprets the past" or "activates critical thinking" but it certainly does stimulate debate, which is always good.

Trauma Tourism

2010-04-25T22:50:00.000-07:00

While reading Laurie Beth Clark's "Placed and Displaced: Trauma Memorial" I was reminded of the town of Kalavryta in Greece. I visited the town by train and went to see the memorial there. What is interesting is that although there is a specific memorial "place", the whole town is really a sacred shrine of remembrance. This is what happened there:

Due to partisan activity around the town of Kalavryta in southern Greece, a unit of the German army

surrounded the town on the morning of Monday, December 13. All the inhabitants were herded into the local school. Females and young boys were separated from the men and youths, the latter being marched to a hollow in a nearby hillside. There the soldiers took up positions behind machine-guns. Below, they witnessed the town being set on fire. Just after 2pm a red flare was fired from the town. This was the signal for the soldiers to start firing on the men and youths who were huddled in the hollow. At 2.34pm the firing stopped and the soldiers marched away. Behind them lay the bodies of 696 persons, the entire male population of Kalavryta. There were 13 survivors of the massacre, the town itself totally destroyed. Only eight houses out of nearly five hundred, were left standing. It was not until late afternoon that the women and young boys were released to face the enormity of the tragedy. Today a memorial stands on the site of the massacre on which are carved the names of 1,300 men and boys from Kalavryta and 24 nearby villages who were murdered that day.

Because the town was totally destroyed, it had to be rebuilt in the wake of the tragedy. I found out about the place through a tourist guide (Clark calls this Trauma Tourism). While no one can deny the tragedy is real, and there was an eeriness about the place, it is still a destination, there is still gift shops around the town commemorating the event. This merging of what Clark calls "popular participation with state construction" doesn't seem to be harming anyone so...go capitalism!

Context context context!

2010-04-25T22:22:00.001-07:00

If someone had shown me a photograph of Jeff Wall’s A View from an Apartment, I never would have looked at it as art. This “what is art?” question is reoccurring in my mind, and although his work clearly has cultural commentary and urban relevance, I can’t help but think that in the context of a classroom, my mindset is changed from passive to critical. Upon viewing a piece of art in a gallery, I immediately rack my brain for its meaning and depth (and usually think “I could’ve done that, especially if it’s an abstract piece with four different coloured lines). However, seeing it in another context might leave me uninspired and leave the work unnoticed. This is why I think that the context tells us how to treat a photograph or a sculpture. Whereas as a kid, I might be inclined to climb a statue in a park, I would probably have a million things to say about it in an art history class in college.

Remembering life, not tragedy.

2010-04-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

There were two really tragic deaths in my high school.

It makes me sad that in my mind, they’re still classified as “those two really tragic deaths in my high school”. These kids were known around the hallways, at parties, from elementary school, and in classrooms. I now think back to them and automatically associate the eerie funerals, the lowered flag, the banners and the inscriptions on the school benches to their entire memories.

Of course I wish they were still around, but I also now wish that none of the memorial stuff lingered in my mind. In a way, those constant reminders seem like a pathetic attempt to force memory; aside from having a comforting place to pay respects, I think it would be nice if we had some confidence in our memories.

April 20th.

2010-04-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

So it was 4:20 a few days ago...
I know this isn’t along the same lines of the types of cultural memory we’ve been talking about (monuments, tragedies, etc.), but I think it’s kind of cool how the cannabis culture club connects and organizes this massive get-together and chillfest on every April 20^th. It feels like there’s a certain pressure to keep up the tradition, and therefore it’s more of a performance of memory than remembering itself. It’s a recognizable date regardless of partially losing its original meaning, and portrays Vancouver’s attachment to the cannabis subculture through the performance specifically found around the Art Gallery.
I really like the umbrellas here too...

Olympics and OlymPICS

2010-04-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Clint Burnham discussed the Vancouver Public Library design as compensating a city “which fears both its First Nations past and Asian future” (36).
I was thinking about the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies... I found it interesting that the closing ceremonies were so infused with classic Canadian stereotypes: giant (expensive) beavers, lumberjacks, and the like. Once everything had been said and done, and the weight of the opening ceremony (and the Games!) had lifted, Vancouver breathed a sigh of relief and seemed to poke fun of its Canadian-ness. Fully embracing the standard jokes about Canada, it was as if we felt that the Games proved we were more than the label, therefore we gave in and felt safe to play up the stereotypes, of course, just for fun. Neither the opening nor closing dealt with any of the other cultures, such as Chinese influence in Vancouver (especially with the New Years so close!), bringing Burnham’s quote into conversation...
I also found it fascinating how much the First Nations culture was stressed. Throughout the Games, I noticed that each of the shows I went to (in the Cultural Olympiad) had a sideshow, portraying very typical First Nations art and performance. In the opening ceremonies, there was almost an over-expression of First Nations influence, not only “pigeonholing” the art, but resulting in a pressured pigeonholing of Canada as well.

Another Note on the Olympics...
(since my Simpsons post didn’t count!)

I was out and about in the streets of Vancouver for almost all of the two heavenly, school-free, party-filled Olympics weeks. Fully embracing the presence of the foreigners and the (uncharacteristically warm) exciting air, I noticed some pretty interesting interactions.
For one, there was a very clear clash between the Americans and the Canadians. I don’t really need to say much about this. But one really cool thing I observed was how many foreigners were backing Canada up after their countries were out/not in certain games. Aside from the Russians, who refused to change out of their tracksuits (don’t get me wrong, I love ‘em), a variety of nations were standing behind Canadians. I don’t necessarily count the purchasing of those flag-capes as super meaningful, but it was nice to see out-of-towners singing along to the anthem, or saying “cheers” to Canada at the local pubs. I think overall, regardless of the competition or the speedbumps along the way, the actual two weeks were an unforgettable experience, bringing out patriotism in those that didn’t even realize they had it.

Attached are some pics :)

It all comes back to THIS project (final post)

2010-04-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Of all the images, representations and theories of Vancouver that we've discussed and reviewed this semester, Stan Douglas's 'Every Building on 100 West Hastings' stands out as one of the most thought-provoking and eerie works that has helped me see our city in a new way. While we've talked a lot about what makes Vancouver recognizable (the relationship with nature, the growing city, the art and music scene, fashion, marijuana, many others), Stan Douglas offers a truly unique view of an important street in Vancouver culture. I've walked this street a few times and what dominated my vision were the (stereotypical) characters and pollution. Douglas shows a street void of these key figures and allows the viewer to appreciate the city for it's structure and buildings, but also allows us to consider whether it's the place or the people that make a city recognizeable. All semester I've been trying to decide what gives Vancouver it's image and Douglas's photographic compilation helps me realize that it's the wide range of races, cultures, ideologies, and backgrounds that the city should be known for. By imagining what Vancouver would look like in this post-apocalyptic image, Douglas has focussed my attention on what's NOT there, and that's the people. Beyond being associated with lame Canadian stereotypes like hockey, syrup, and beavers, Vancouver should be known and appreciated for it's eclectic mix of faces and lives and as inhabitants of this city we should realize how important we are in creating Vancouver's unique image.

Haunting Imagery in Insomnia

2010-04-25T21:05:00.001-07:00

I was glancing over Jeff Wall's work, and I stopped on Insomnia. Of course I'd seen it before... in class. But this time, something caught me. I had never really given the man much notice, and instead looked at the untidy room around him. The window, although dark, also calls attention. I find, however, when we block all that out, we really can focus in on what Sava calls "his impassive gaze" (Sara, 64). Spooky, huh? I have a hard time putting the incredible unease I find into words, just framing this man rather than the room surrounding him.

The clutter almost protects us, the viewer, from having to get to close to him. In an odd way, I almost prefer the picture in this fashion. Without that wall between us and him, the picture becomes painfully personal, up-close and awkward. Which isn't exactly how I wanted to end the class, so... here's this guy to balance everything out. I hope to see you all again some time!

Why is Jeff Wall famous?

2010-04-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Rob lives near the park where Jeff Walls "Concrete Ball" was taken. Rob is friends with a struggling photographer (Christopher Young) not in the club of Jeff Wall alumnus. He posted this on his blog complete with picture of Rob. Enjoy the bitterness.

Why the hell is Jeff Wall Famous?

Or more to the point, why aren't I? Here's this Jeff Wall photo from 2002 called....wait for it......Concrete Ball. I've seen this displayed at VAG (backlit like a bus stop) and lots of people think it this photo is just tits. In fact, here's what the internets say about it:

"Based on a found scene, the quietness of Concrete ball reveals Wall's attention to pictorial composition. The concern here is not torepresent an event, but rather to depict a generic urban landscape, without specific qualities and devoid of any drama. The perspective is carefully calculated and the central element responds to the curve of the road. The large scale of the work, proportioned to the human body, evokes a sense of immersion in the scene."

Well that's just super. Meanwhile in 2009 times, Rob and I were walking past this park quietly (not so quietly) making fun of athletic people when I saw this. Jeff Wall has all this street cred for elaborately staging his photos so I figured I better do the same and I told Rob to stand by the ball and look all artful and shit. Somebody pay me for this.

"I could have done that!"

2010-04-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

A Living Memorial

2010-04-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Mark Diamond, along with his partner Penelope Stella, invented the current theatre program here at SFU. For 30 years they worked together, created together and lived together. They guided a huge amount of theatre artists presently working in Vancouver including myself. Then one day, Mark died. After I mourned this tremendous loss, I started thinking about what he meant to me, how he had contributed to who I was as an adult, a student and an artist. How could I ever display my respect and admiration for this influential mentor? I became a living memorial.

Many times when I have felt overwhelmed by a project, I have used Mark's image and words to motivate me. I ask myself "What would he say or think at this moment?" When I was thinking about whether to teach or go to grad school, I asked the question again. Mark's work also lives through me as I teach and perform. I often use words and phrases about the work that came directly from Mark. In my life, he is a presence that guides me in my artistic work and a presence that I don't want to disappoint. I honour him through my work. He continues to live through me.

Vancouver as a Superficial Performance vs. the Private Reality of Vancouverites

2010-04-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

When I look at Jeff Wall’s “A view from an apartment”, I see what appears to be a candid shot of a family living out their everyday lives. However, it is actually a performance of this sense of “reality” of the everyday. This photograph has two features, what is meant to be “real” and everyday, contrasted with Vancouver as a performance. The first glance exposes the apartment and the relative disarray of everything. However, immediately after noticing the interior, our eye focus is drawn towards the window. Outside we see what appears to be a growing industrial city. Across the water is what appears to be industrial activity, and further yet we see the downtown core of Vancouver. The window acts as an almost literal narrative frame of Vancouver. The story Vancouver tells is contained within the confines of this window. It brings to my mind a very superficial and simplistic summation of Vancouver’s performance as a city. This contrasts what is going on inside of the apartment. The activities of the people are anti-climactic. The apartment is in a state of disorganization, and the activities of the people not only emanate “the everyday”, but also seem to portray a hyperbolic performance of “the boring reality”. A girl sits hunched over on a sofa reading some sort of magazine. The other woman in the shot appears to be doing some sort of chore. Her body language suggests a sense of depression: her head points downward, and her eyes are cast towards the floor. Her shoulders are hunched up slightly in a way that gives the impression of awkwardness. The body languages of the occupants of this apartment demonstrate a disinterest in the performance of Vancouver, which is going on behind them. A chair next to the window appears to have been placed there to serve the purpose of sitting down to enjoy the view. Yet the crowding of stuff on the chair suggests disuse. There are two contrasting elements here: a superficial performance of Vancouver, versus the reality of the bland private lives of Vancouverites.

Mimic (photography post #1)

2010-04-25T09:26:00.001-07:00

Although race relations is a major theme in Jeff Wall's Mimic (1982), another issue that it brings to the discussion is that of natural photography vs. staged photography. By 'natural', I mean a photograph without any choreography, a spontaneous image that captures a truly human moment. Does a photo have any less value because the artist controlled the situation with an exact vision, or is the message of a piece more important? I've always been more intrigued by photographs that aren't choreographed, pictures that show a truly human moment that couldn't be recreated (I've always had a big problem with the 'say cheese' style photos in which the subject puts on a face or pose). I'm not sure that Jeff Wall's photograph would be any more or less powerful if he had the chance to capture the moment that 'Mimic' was based on, the message is still there, but knowing that this image was intricately set-up to Wall's vision makes me somewhat uncomfortable as a viewer. We know that these people are actors, we know that the racist guy probably isn't racist and that the asian man probably isn't offended. We know that the time of day was specificly chosen and that the ignorant girlfriend was casted for the role. For me, this does steal away a bit of the effect of the piece, but without taking anything away from Wall's message about co-existing races in a city. That being said, if I wasn't informed that this photograph was choreographed and designed to look this way, I would have assumed that it was a naturally spontaneous photo capturing an (all too common) moment of racism in our city. It is to Wall's credit and talent that he could witness a moment like this and reimagine it through his lens, but I'll always sway more in the direction of natural photography and 'real' moments.

Photoconceptualism and the Public

2010-04-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

At some ungodly hour yesterday morning, I attended a forum/dialogue/panel discussion about envision Vancouver as a creative city in 2050. There were many people there, including city council members, artists, art organizers, curators, etc. At one point, someone lamented the fact that artists like Jeff Wall, Stan Douglas and Ken Lum are well known internationally, but receive not much hometown love. Their art goes for sale for thousands of dollars, and Vancourites appear to be indifferent. And to be perfectly honestly, I had never learned or heard about these artists until last year.

This brought me back to our own class discussion about the photoconceptualism debate around the artist writing academic essays on each other and not leaving much room for others to join the club. I feel that if there were essays about the Vancouver School, written in concise, non-academic writing with very little jargon, the general public would embrace the art with some regional pride. Those who are not photoconceptualists or art academics in general, and who have a high interest in learning about Vancouver art, should be able to appreciate something as innovative as the works of Jeff Wall or Stan Douglas through non-academic means.

How to do an Expensive Memorial the Right Way

2010-04-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

A good memorial should stand the test of time; after all, one of the key points behind a monument is allowing others to remember and learn of the event being commemorated. Does the AIDS memorial do that? Well, let me tell you about my trip to the AIDS memorial. I got lost, wet, scared, and had to ask for directions. Like twice. The memorial itself is akin to a budget Vietnam Veterans memorial, but is money really what counts?

If the AIDS Memorial looked like the Vietnam Veterans, would it be as special? The obvious answer is 'no', because AIDS is a stigmatized disease, and does not get the public awareness it needs... but on the other hand, the Vietnam war is a touchy subject as well. It could have been easy to do a statue of few soldiers shooting off at some unknown foe, or perhaps a lone trooper carrying a wounded comrade. Instead, a black wall, etched with names of those who died. Simple, but powerful. Everyone knows what it is. It is practically a national treasure.

Speaking of statues of soldiers, does anyone know what that one is about on Cordova? Maybe it isn't Cordova. Again, the issue of space and placement; if we cannot find these things easily, they are not going to get noticed or remembered. But an Angel carries a fallen soldier upwards. It is a great work (in my opinion), but it is hard to say what, if anything, it is commenting or remembering.

The Iwo Jima monument has the classic pose of soldiers raising the flag. It immediately tells people what is being commemorated, and therefore works. For a monument to work, it should be two things: easy to find, and easy to identify. If the memorial is in a largely-unvisited area of Stanley Park, an under-developed area of town, or tucked away where people rarely see, it is worthless. Likewise, if we cannot easily tell what it is (for example, Air India's memorial) people may pass by and not take notice.

Although Vancouver is not Washington D.C., there is no reason we cannot take cues from more successful monuments, if we are to continue building them.

Look, I'm a Vancouver Artist

2010-04-24T23:04:00.001-07:00

So MAYBE there' s more to creating art than turning a picture upside down, and maybe taking a picture of one's self, giving it an obscure title and flipping it does constitute an artistic statement, but I just do not know for sure. Of course it was rather interesting to know the back story behind Tim Lee's 'The Jerk'. By itself, the picture makes one really think "OK, what's Tim Lee trying to do here?", but with knowledge of his referencing another work of art makes things a bit more hazy.

The problem is not the statement (whatever it may be), but that it requires the viewer to know of the other picture and formulate (or be told of) the link. Without that, 'The Jerk' is just 'The Jerk'. Which I think is fine. Maybe the allusion to the other piece is an added bonus for art's elite, or maybe most art house-types would already be familiar with this, but I think that self-enclosed attitude is part of the problem with Vancouver's art scene.

The Uncanny Mr. Douglas

2010-04-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

I remember visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery as a child and seeing some really weird things, chief among them Stan Douglas' Every Building on 100 West Hastings. It took up a whole wall, and I remember being slightly disturbed by it, but mainly wondering how the guy took it.

I didn't care much for my visits back in those days, when my parents dragged my sister and I to a big boring building where you couldn't run around or be noisy. (I also remember a huge picture of naked people. That was pretty neat.) As the years went by our visits became less and less frequent, and eventually stopped as my sister and I transitioned into high school.

The re-introduction of Douglas' work in the course gave me the opportunity to fully appreciate and analyze a work that I admired when I was younger, but did not have the capacity to enjoy on a critical level. The uncanny holds a certain appeal for me, which meant I had a field day when I was able to identify aspects of the picture such as the absence of people outside, and inside despite the light coming from some rooms in the apartments. The pointlessness of street lights and traffic lights, as well as the absence of cars, add to the deliciously creepy nature of Douglas' work.

The Manipulation of "Truth"

2010-04-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

A tension I see within photoconceptualism is between what's "real" and what's "fake". Like many of the photos we studied in class, they appear, at first glace, to look right, but with further observation, there is something off and uneasy.

This tension reminds me of documentary films, which are "documentations" of real life scenarios, but can be easily manipulated, through editing, staged dramatic occurrences, etc.

The documentary film Thin Blue Line explores not how film can manipulate the "truth" - but how humans can manipulate it too. Flimmaker Errol Morris uses the story of a man, who was wrongly convicted of murder a police officer, as the backbone to an exploration of authenticity and truth (or perhaps "truths"). The story was not told in a linear convention; instead, Morris chose to highlight the story's questionable facts as a jigsaw puzzle. He would give the audience a corner, and then jump to a piece in the middle. Morris' manipulation of the truth through film elements echoed the way characters in the story would manipulate the truth of what happened the night police officer Robert Wood was murdered.

The film uses many re-enactments sequences, playing out different scenarios, different truths to the one murder. Perhaps like how Jeff Wall created Mimic, these re-enactments were meant to clearly show an interpretation of an event, but they were not meant to tell the truth. There were a few people who gave their testimonies about what happened that night and the re-enactment of each showed the transformation of a simple story into a much more complex one.

Although the film is a documentary, clearly manipulation of the "truth" can actually further discussions. With a photo like Jeff Wall's Mimic, we can delve deeper in social and cultural issues surrounding the subjects of the photos, rather than a surface interpretation of who are the people and what are they doing.

SFU Memorial

2010-04-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, SFU has its own Ecole Polytechnique memorial.

It is a fairly recent installation, unveiled on Dec 4, 2009, which makes it less than six months old. The memorial itself was suggested by SFU's Women in Engineering organization.

An article about the memorial on the SFU website explains its history:

“The bench, created by Victoria artist Illarion Gallant, is made of basalt rock from the Squamish area. It bears the following inscription:

'On the 6th of December 1989, 14 women were killed at École Polytechnique de Montreal. They were mainly engineering students. Our community mourns their loss and honours them with this memorial.'”

The memorial is just outside the Applied Sciences building, with a path leading up to the central bus loop.

The article can be found at http://www.sfu.ca/pamr/media_releases/media_releases_archives/media_12010901.html

What's the context?

2010-04-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

The photograph we examined in class of the Vietnam prisoner about to be executed intrigued me. The fact that the execution was moved so the photograph could be taken and framed in a specific light spoke volumes about its purpose, but what was the history behind the picture?

An Article by Jonah Goldberg explains the photograph's immediate context:
“Just moments before that photo had been taken, several of [General Loan's] men had been gunned down. One of his soldiers had been at home, along with [his] wife and children. The Vietcong had attacked during the holiday of Tet, which had been agreed upon as a time for a truce. As it turned out, many of the victims of the NC and North Vietnamese were defenseless.“

We learned that the prisoner died and the photographer won a Pulitzer, but what happened to the guy holding the gun?

“Photographer Eddie Adams, who won a Pulitzer Prize for this photograph, said the execution was justified, because the Viet Cong officer had killed eight South Vietnamese. The furor created by this 1968 image destroyed [the executioner] Loan's life. He fled South Vietnam in 1975, the year the communists overran the country, and moved to Virginia, where he opened a restaurant. He died in 1998 at age 67. Loan 'was a hero,' Adams said when he died. 'America should be crying. I just hate to see him go this way, without people knowing anything about him.' “ -Flickr User

Adams later wrote the following in an article for TIME magazine:
"The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths. What the photograph didn't say was, 'What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American soldiers?'"

Vancouver School Part 2

2010-04-24T20:23:00.001-07:00

Another interesting aspect which intrigued me was the ideas about artists not wanting their work to be associated with Vancouver as local art. They seem to have the idea that local art is not as prestigious and they want to be international artists that have large recognizable cities attached to their work. Many of these artists like to use Vancouver and its rich scenery to their advantage in their work, yet still don't want to be acknowledge as local artists. I think that if you want to showcase Vancouver or part of the city in your works you should pay the proper tribute to it by being proudly calling yourself a Vancouver artist. Yes Vancouver may not be considered the world capital of art or be as renowned as cities in Europe. Yet I think calling yourself a Vancouver artist and associating yourself with the city can only benifit you. There is no harm in multiple associations and by associated yourself with Vancouver by no means does it mean you are regionlizing yourself. The idea that you can only associate yourself with one place because all your work is based from there is not valid. Why not embrace what you can and be unique instead of blending in with every other artist out their who doesn't have Vancouver as a back drop and also wants to be an internationalized artist?

Just a side note since this is my last blog for the course, I really enjoyed the class and the ideas that were thrown around. There were many good discussions and it was nice to look forward to a class that wasn't so rigid in its lecture structure. Cheers to everyone for a good semester! and good luck!

Vancouver School Part 1

2010-04-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

For me the ideas on the Vancouver School concerning the "old school" and the "new school" were the most interesting. The idea that something can change and we can compare the old with the new is fascinating. In particular the ideas of the student/ teacher relationship really intrigued me as well. What is better? Should the protege be made to be influenced by their teacher, or should the teacher be there simply for support? This is a notion that can be discussed in relation to many other aspects and not only art, however when discussing art it is important to realize that these students may not have the same opportunities as other students pursuing other interests. Therefore the student should get the best support that they can to make them the most successful that they can be. Money for the arts isn't exactly floating around waiting to be collected and having an overbearing teacher can cause poor work from the student. By no means does having an overbearing mentor mean poor work. Being influenced by someone who has done great things is phenomenal. So what if after you have the same style that artist used? You are never going to be exactly like them as an artist becaue every artist has their distinct flair they add to their work.

Roadside Memorials: Where Does it End?

2010-04-24T15:11:00.001-07:00

As many of us agreed in class, roadside memorials are very effective, often more effective than memorials placed in public parks. They seem to be an effective tool for awareness about the true dangers of car accidents. People have even said that upon seeing a massive cluster of flowers and stuffed animals, they tend to take their foot off the gas. Even so, how appropriate are these roadside memorials? Is it fair for people to be able to leave objects lying around in a public space without any sense of authority or ownership? It seems to be a growing trend for people to leave things at a site where loved ones have died on the side of the road. At what point does this become overkill? With an abundance of these roadside memorials, their effect on awareness if bound to decline when people simply become numb to these various memorials. Roadside crashes are certainly not on the decline, and eventually our streets will become overwhelmingly littered with various crosses and sentiments. It seems to me that a gravesite is a more appropriate space to place these types of sentiments. Its not that I’m not an insensitive human being, I do feel for these people. But where does it end?

Blog #3: Olympics versus Paralympics

2010-04-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

It was a priviledge, I think, to be able to host both the Olympics and the Paralympics in our city. Aside, from the obvious festivities, the chance to see world-class athleticism, and the chance to broadcast our city to the world, having the opportunity to host the two mega-events gave us Vancouverites the chance to reflect on the entirety of the sport-entertainment culture. A quick comparison of the opening ceremonies of the two Games will do the trick. I remember watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, and as I watched I gradually came to accept it as it was.

The ceremonies were an optimistic and artistic rendition of our country. They were a welcoming to world on one hand, but most definitely a placing of Canada on centre-stage on the other. While the athletes were introduced and cheered for, the ultimate protagonist was our country itself, with all its values, visions, hopes, and dreams.The Paralympic opening, however, was far from similar. It often referred to the Paralympics as a celebration of the human spirit. The ceremonies time and time again promoted the idea of "nothing being impossible" and of athleticism as a means of inspiring younger generations. The performances were dominated by child and youth talent, and the climactic event of the torch lighting was done with a 14-year old under the spotlight.

As much as I enjoyed the Olympic ceremonies, they just didn't quite have the impact that the Paralympic opening did. VANOC focused so intently on making sure Canada performed for itself on the world stage, but in the process maybe forgot about the importance of sport as a means of promoting the values that everyone idealizes. The Paralympic opening did that well. While watching, I was inspired not by the technology of a television stage or the extreme technical choreography of Canadian dancers, but simply by the story of individual people, which ultimately is what sport should be about.

Blog #2: The Olympic Victory

2010-04-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's obvious that if you ask any Canadian, any Vancouverite, what the most memorable moment was during the 2010 Olympics, they would say with conviction that it was the overtime goal by Sidney Crosby during the Men's Finals in Ice Hockey. Yes, what a goal it was indeed. I was watching the game from my friend's house with him and another friend of mine. Initially, the plan was to watch the game with them and then to head home for a quiet night of studying before school the next day. Little did I realize how contagious an Olympic victory can be. The moment we won that game, my two friends cheered and demanded that we go downtown to celebrate with the rest of the city. The moment they cheered; I cheered. The moment they asked; I immediately abandoned any notion of prudence. We were on our way on transit in ten minutes. I was swept up by an overwhelming urge to have a great time. That's the potency of an Olympic celebration, it seems. I gave high-fives to at least one hundred strangers within the span of two hours. I started cheers of "Ca-na-da" and watched as they were carried away down the corridors of Granville skytrain station. I lost myself in the crowds and crowds of people who, perhaps for the only time in their lives, would ever reveal any hint of patriotism. It was infectious and I loved it. It strange how, leading up to the Games, we all had at least the smallest worry hanging over our heads. Some were concerned with the lack of powder on the mountain tops. Others were already complaining about how bad transit would be, even a week before the first event took place. Affordable housing was, and still is, an ongoing issue in the city. But hate the mega-event or not, no one complained when that puck slid past Ryan Miller in that final game. Everyone was caught up in the glory of our country and our city. Everyone was proud to be Canadian. The Olympics had come, but before it disappeared, it made sure to leave at least one purely amazing experience in the minds of every spectator. Now that it's gone, it's back to my normal routine. I can go ahead and analyze and criticize the Games as much as possible, if I wanted to. But the Olympics had done its damage in one evening, proving to everyone that it really wasn't all that bad.

Blog #1: Push and Arts Funding

2010-04-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

With the newspapers buzzing about the recent budget proposals in both our provincial and federal legislature, I can't help but think back to the PUSH festival. I'll admit, I'm usually not hyperactively keen on political news, nor especially interested in making politically-charged observations, but when 3 out of 4 shows opened with a gentle arts supporter stating that "The provincial government is planning on making huge cuts to arts funding... about 90%," I can do nothing but develop my own opinion. Sitting in the audience as I was the first time it was announced, I distinctly remember booing along with the crowd, metaphorically shaking my fist in protest to that horrible right-wing government that only cared about investing in money and never in culture... and how horrible they were to do that! We truly were becoming more and more like the dreaded United States.
As always, everything seems a bit more focussed in hindsight. The 2010 budgets were presented and the BC budget most certainly did not cut arts funding by 90%. (Thinking back now, I might've misheard the whole time and they were really saying 19%...just an afterthought.) But, of course, people are still outraged. It's funny though, because I'm not. In all truthfulness, I think they could've cut arts funding even more. considering that we are only now slowing working our way out of a depression, that company after company in northern BC closed down forever because of financial hardship, that cuts are being made to social services, and that still no plans for sustainably and effectively combating homelessness are in place, I think that anyone that complains about arts funding really has their priorities out of place.
Art has always prospered, with government funding or not. And as much as I know that arts and culture are a fundamental part of society and truly are a worthy investment, I can't help but think that people ought to have health, and shelter, and ought to be supported by the community around them. Because as much as stage performances and art exhibits define humanity, doesn't humanity itself do it more so?

Performing Memorials: Are We Ready?

2010-04-24T01:23:00.000-07:00

Thinking about memorials, I keep going back to the memorial in the street performed by Rebecca Belmore, “The Named and the Unnamed”. This is the memorial where the woman washed the streets, screamed the names of the missing persons from the Vancouver East Side, nailed her dress to the telephone post, and ripped the heads off roses with her teeth. Unlike memorials in parks that commemorate people discreetly on a rock or a wall that blends in with the background, Belmore commands the attention of passersby. She would have been impossible to ignore, for she stood her ground and screamed the names of the missing peoples. This type of memorializing got me questioning the purpose of public memorials. Is the main purpose to create awareness and command attention? Or is a memorial most importantly meant to function as a sign of respect and acknowledgement for those chose to do so? Although I think Belmore’s technique is a creative and unique way to memorialize people, I am not quite sure Vancouver is ready for this type of memorial. The city seems most comfortable with discreet memorials that won’t make waves or distract people too much from their everyday lives. It seems that this city is more focused on forgetting, and moving on, rather than staying in the moment and remembering. This is why I think the memorials around the lower mainland tend to function as background props in parks and gardens. A memorial such as Belmore’s would command full attention and seriousness, a break from the everyday life of naiveté to the reality of the terrible things that take place in the city we live in. Belmore’s performance would also in a sense be a great risk. If people did not understand the sincerity of the performance, or chose not to respect it, they might act out in a way that would greatly disrespect both the performer, and the people trying to pay their respects. I personally do not think Vancouver is ready for this type of memorializing. In order for this type of memorial to be effective in a Vancouver urban space, the city would have to shift its focus from forgetting, towards remembering. It would have to be a collective shift in attitudes, and therefore allow the respect and sincerity this type of performance requires. However, with that said, perhaps these types of performances could change the way Vancouver conceptualizes memorials. In “Performance and the City”, Solga, Hokins and Orr state that, “performance can help to renegotiate the urban archive, to build the city and to change it” (6). Instead of waiting for the city to shift and be ready for performed memorials, perhaps these types of memorials will be the shift that changes the city.

PuSh Festival Post II (again): The Show Must Go On

2010-04-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Again, I am sure...nevermind...

And The Show Must Go On (from the PuSh Festival website):

“A cult figure on the international dance scene, Jérôme Bel brings us The Show Must Go On—a delightfully subversive game of anticipation and expectation that blurs the line between spectator and spectacle. With an illustrious group of 20 local individuals, accompanied by a D.J. with an extensive collection of pop tunes, fans of last year’s That Night Follows Day will find in Jérôme Bel’s masterpiece a truly kindred spirit—an evening that lovingly combines humour, nostalgia and human frailty, with the immediacy of live performance. The Show Must Go On has been cast in Vancouver to unite a community of performers in honour of the new SFU Woodward’s. Join us for a glimpse into the re-birth of one of our city’s most treasured landmarks.”

When The Show Must Go On premièred in 2001 at the Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, some members of the audience clapped and sang along, others stormed the stage demanding their money back, and one critic slapped another in the face—a mixed critical reception, you might say. While I certainly approve of Bel’s original choreographic piss-taking, I question the show’s continuous touring. I realise that “each night is different.” So goes live performance. But The Show Must Go On appears somewhat drained of its provocative vigour. It is a show of moment, not repetition, and its moment has passed it seems. What is more, critics appear bent on maintaining its subversive potential by turning every misstep into some sort of theoretical commentary: It is boring/it is a commentary on boredom, it is superficial/it is a commentary on superficiality, it is kitsch/it is a commentary on kitsch. Or maybe it is boring superficial kitsch? In Vancouver specifically, the show has been touted a new beginning for the Woodward’s theatre—progressive and community-building. (Note: the night I attended Vancouver’s insular arts community made up most of the audience.) Really? Coming together over largely American pop-music, which has transformed musical craft into yet another capitalist mode of production? I mean, the reason we can all sing along is because the music industry “spectacularly” (in the Debordian sense) drills the songs into our consciousness. Then again, it is probably just a commentary on capitalist proliferation via music.

PuSh Festival Post I (again): The Passion of Joan of Arc

2010-04-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

I am sure I have already done these PuSh posts, but the blog says otherwise. So, round two...

I attended The Passion of Joan of Arc on 28 January 2010 at the Christ Church Cathedral. It went something like this (from the PuSh Festival website):

“With the haunting face of actress Renée Falconetti playing the doomed Joan of Arc as inspiration, Vancouver-based composer Stefan Smulovitz has written a luminous score to accompany Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc. Performed by the Eye of Newt Ensemble, this PuSh Festival commissioned piece for ten musicians includes text by Colin Browne and combines the stunning voice of Viviane Houle with the city’s top instrumentalists and Christ Church Cathedral’s legendary pipe organ, in a sublime tribute to one of film’s most enduring performances.”

While the original film—La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, directed Dreyer—is brilliant, I did not think the musical and text accompaniment contributed much, beyond pretentious appropriation, that is. In La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, Falconetti's performance, complemented by relentless close-up shooting and use of panochromatic film renders Joan of Arc, canonised by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920, intensely human. There are several themes at work in this amplified humanism. One I find particularly interesting is the emphasis on personal confession, not only as purging of sinful behaviour, but also as a necessary means of legitimating a higher authority. In “Chapter XV” of the Essence of Christianity, German philosopher and anthropologist Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach argues that Christianity creates the illusion of a higher authority—God—as a means of controlling humanity, when in reality the higher authority of God is entirely based on human self-subordination: humans create the God they cannot live up to. This is particularly evident in the figure of Christ that, neither wholly human nor wholly God, keeps humanity under servitude in cycle of aspiration and inadequacy. Joan of Arc is similarly asked to confess her sins to God as represented in oppressive law. The deviant must validate the law of her exclusion.

In this sense, Joan of Arc’s refusal, her silence is a very powerful resistance. Adding music and text—to give voice to—this silence is merely a buying into “active” conventions: active voice versus passive silence, masculinity versus femininity, authority versus subordinate. It is little more than an old-hack, pretentious, masculine appropriation, even if sung by Viviane Houle.

Photography Post II: "Never trust any photograph so large that it can only fit in a museum"

2010-04-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

The title quotation is from photographer Duane Michals' book Foto Follies: How Photography Lost its Virginity on the Way to the Bank. Published in 2006, it is ridiculously funny and politically incorrect, but at the same time quite serious about the problems with new photography, or photography of the tableau form. (The term "tableau form," coined by Jean-François Chervier, refers to a style of photography characterised by its large-scale format and its intended display in a gallery or museum space. It is most commonly associated with the worked of Jeff Wall and Andreas Gurksy.) Michals' criticism of the tableau form is implicitly marked a discussion of indexicality, (arguably) the main point of contention in contemporary photography theory. (For a good introduction to the indexicality debate, check out James Elkins' edited volume Photography Theory, published in 2007.)

Indexicality is in many ways an extension of Barthes' studium and punctum theory - the seeing (of the object) and being there (of standing before the object). Addressing how “the sign represents its object,” or “on what basis does it come to stand for its object,” indexicality applies Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic “trichotomy of icon, index, and symbol” to photography: The sign may act as an (i) icon, representing the object in its likeness to it; as an (ii) index, representing the object in its existential connection to it; or as a (iii) symbol, representing the object by convention.[1] The photograph is an index. It exists as the “relation between the object photographed and the image finally created,” resulting from “the transformation of light sensitive emulsion caused by light reflecting off the object photographed filtered through the lens and diaphragm.” [2] The indexicality of the photograph is the medium specificity of the photograph, which ultimately differentiates photography from painting. However, indexicality also burdens photography a representational limitation – the photograph is casually related to the object it photographs – which since the late 1970s has been challenged in the tableau form.

Wall's The Destroyed Room (1978) is one such challenge. Confronting The Destroyed Room, measuring 1.5m x 2.3m, the spectator encounters a wealth of detail made visible by the photograph’s size: the diagonally ripped mattress, the exposed insulation, empty light-bulb socket, overturned table, the single gold-lamé shoe, the bed-sheets and gowns, the painted brick hallway, the dancing figurine, the broken mirror, and the peeling paint. The act of "seeing" is confused. As well, each object is meticulously placed by Wall. The act of "being there" is denied. Agency is now attributed, not to indexicality - object and light interaction - but to the photographer, to Wall - as artist.

[1] James Elkins, Photography Theory (London: Routledge, 2007): 222-223. [2] Tom Gunning, “What’s the Point of an index? Or Faking Photographs,” NORDICAM Review (5:1-2 September 2004): 40.

Vans First Nations Art

2010-04-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

Last month, I saw a news report on CTV's "First Story" about Aboriginal artist Louie Gong, who creates First Nations art on Vans shoes. Although he mainly draws Aboriginal symbols, he will draw other objects if the customer wishes. Only armed with a sharpie felt and a pencil, he draws extremely elaborate designs that appear to have come straight from the manufacturer. Some of his designs include the raven and the hummingbird. He also designs skateboards and t-shirts. As I was watching the news program, I wondered if people would consider his work art, or if it is something entirely different. I'll leave that up to you to decide. (Photo is courtesy of: Indian Country Today)

Cybermemorials and their potential

2010-04-22T14:54:00.001-07:00

Recently, drummer Devon Clifford of the Vancouver band You Say Party! We Say Die! passed away due to an undiagnosed cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a congenital birth defect that caused massive bleeding in his brain when he collasped last Friday during the band's homecoming gig at the Rickshaw Theatre. News of Clifford's death spread like wildfire and perhaps not surprisingly, Facebook groups and pages were quickly created to honour the drummer in cyberspace.

Clifford worked in the Downtown Eastside for the Portland Hotel Society. A particular memorial group on Facebook is actually dedicated to raise money to donate in honour of Clifford: Devon Clifford Discussion

(I apologize for those who cannot access the link! Here is a public look at the site, but it's still not incredibly informative)

They have contacted the Portland Hotel Society, and are trying to organize a fundraising event/benefit concert in honour of Clifford. What is inspiring about this new direction some cybermemorials are taking is the forward action its creators are employing. Rather than create a space to talk about the past, this group is talking about the future and continuing the work Clifford was doing. Something like this is a rather fitting tribute.

The Vancouver Sun also wrote a lovely obit if you are interested.

Skateboarding during Van 2010 feat. New Order

2010-04-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

Olympics-related video featuring skateboarding and New Order (because they are still awesome).

WESC Russ Milligan from Popular on Vimeo.

Jeff Wall vs. Dale Chihuly

2010-04-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Peter made an interesting comment in his post on Jeff Wall's piece being over one million dollars, and that this represents a price tag for Vancouver. This implies that Jeff Wall and the Vancouver school represent the art scene in Vancouver, which is probably for the most part how Vancouver is represented on the world art scene, I don't know. I find this idea very interesting in that Seattle is going through a similar phase as Vancouver in its art evolution. Dale Chihuly is probably one of the most famous, if not the most famous artist from Seattle. Since his rise to fame, a Glass art museum was built in Tacoma, his birthplace, and numerous glass art exhibits have been displayed in Seattle. Nowadays in and around Seattle, more and more people are becoming interested in glass blowing. It has become a sort of phenomenon around the city. But a controversy has arisen around displaying Chihuly's art in a garden in the Seattle center. The area under question is one of the last open public places in the city, and the city has recently asked for recommendations from residents as to what to do with the area. At a recent meeting, hundreds of people showed up to support the idea of displaying Chihuly's art in this area. In fact, it was the only idea presented by the residents. Some other Seattlite's showed up to decry the display of Chihuly's art in one of the last open public spaces. After all, they asked, do we really need another Dale Chihuly exhibit in Seattle? I agree. Everyone knows the guy is already from Seattle, its like having 7 monuments to Kurt Cobain in the city center. Why not use the space to display new artists? or reserve it as a place for children, like it currently is? To bring this story back to Vancouver, how well can one artist or a single group of artists represent a city, and why do cities and their residents search out these artists to help develop the identity of the city? Is it just a case of proud residents wanted to support their artists? or rather residents searching for a community identity?

Classifying photography

2010-04-22T13:16:00.001-07:00

I was having a conversation with one of my friends a few days ago about the nature of photography. Photography has always seemed to bother me as an "art form" for whatever reason. Maybe this is why I almost flunked it in high school? But I think what bothers me the most about photography is the process behind creating the picture. When an artist paints or draws a posing model, they must first look at the model, and then using their own imagination paint or draw their interpretation of the model however they like. But in photography, this process is captured by a machine, the camera. And this machine leaves little room, in a sense, for the artist's interpretation of the model. The camera captures in a very real way the shape and form of the model, with some manipulation using light and dark room techniques. Instead of manipulating the medium, artists like Jeff Wall and Ken Lum have to manipulate the model. I think photography as an art form confronts the viewer in a completely different way than the classical art forms. We must view it in a different way than paintings, usually in a much more active way, in order to discover how and why Wall or Lum may have placed who or what where and how they did. I think I just might be lazy. I don't like having to work at looking at a piece of art like this. Maybe my brain just doesn't understand what is happening quite like other people's. I don't know, but either way, I still don't really enjoy photography.

Speaking of price tags!

2010-04-22T09:34:00.001-07:00

This is just for fun:

http://www.crackshackormansion.com/

Wall's Anatomy

2010-04-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

I know I've been lax in posting responses to all of your blog posts, but in the interim I thought some of you might be interested in this item from Tuesday's Vancouver Sun. It's about one of Jeff Wall's better-known mid-1990s photos, Adrian Walker, artist, drawing from a specimen in a laboratory in the Dept. of Anatomy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, which is expected to crack the $1 million barrier for the sale of a Wall work at auction in early May.

Talk about putting a price tag on Vancouver...

2010-04-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be familiar with the Montreal Massacre that occured more than two decades ago at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec. On December 6, 1989, Marc Lepine shot and stabbed 28 students, killing 14 women specifically selected for attack based solely on their sex. Lepine specifically targeted women in what he claimed to be a fight against feminism. As such, the event has since been classified by many feminists groups as an anti-feminist attack that symbolizes violence again women.

I remember participating in a vigil for this massacre back in 2004 when I was attending the U of A. Names of the 14 slain women were written on heavy black wooden boards which were strapped onto the bodies of 14 volunteers who would wear it through the course of the day. At night, candles were lit (in 4 feet of snow), songs were sung, and heartfelt prayers were said aloud.

Numerous memorials have been assembled in memory of the slain women but the massacre has also spurred annual campaigns and commemorative demonstrations aimed to raise awareness of male violence and discrimination against women. Although the massacre was a deliberate attack against women, I personally find it problematic that little to no tribute or recognition has been given to the men who were injured in the process. During the vigil that I participated in, there was only mention of the slain and injured women but no mention at all of the men. I did not find out until much later that men were also victims, albeit not targeted victims, but victims nonetheless. To add insult to the injury, guilt was bestowed on the injured men who survived the attack for not protecting the women and doing anything to stop the killer. So why all this focus and sympathy for the women? Are not the male victims equally honorable human beings deserving of sympathy and respect, regardless of the motive behind the attack?

I find it quite puzzling as well to consider that the deaths of the women have been appropriated by the feminist movement to promote their agenda on discrimination against women. This movement has had a significant influence on the way this event is portrayed and viewed by the public and in the media. Since 1991 (just 2 years after the event) the anniversary of the massacre has shifted from specifically commemorating the event to being designated as the "National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women," which has sparked alot of controversy. However, this wouldn't be the first time the feminist movement has been criticized for using such events as the Montreal Massacre to justify their antagonism. The above photo is of a memorial in Vancouver titled "Marker of Change" which has been highly criticized for its dedication to "all women murdered by men" because it implies that all men are potential murders and that all men should accept guilt and responsibility for the violence against women.

What do you think of these kinds of memorials and monuments built upon feminist attitudes? Do you think the feminist movement is justified in appropriating events such as the Montreal Massacre to marginalize the issue of male violence and discrimination against women? Do you think it perpetuates the social stigma surrounding men as aggressive and violent beings?

Memorial - Angel of Victory

2010-04-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

Talking about memorials in public space and our interactions with them, I remembered to be in possession of this photograph (as a postcard):

N.B. I apologize for the low quality. I have not used a scanner in years and could not really get the technology to function for me.

Taken by Vancouver photographer and artist Lincoln Clarkes, this photo is titled, Solider, Angel and Man, Vancouver 1986. Lincoln Clarkes has been slowly archiving his photos digitally, so I tried to look for the story behind this particular shot on his blog, but could not find anything. So, my thoughts are simply based on our recent class discussions around public space and memorials. The memorial is located on W Cordova between Seymour and Richards (near Steamworks).

View Larger Map

This particular monument is sculpture that depicts an angel carrying a dead soldier and is to commemorate the lives lost in World War I. One of three identical statues commissioned by the CPR to honour those who fought in the war (the other two are located in Winnipeg and Montreal). In the picture, you can see that the angel is holding a full wreath in her upraised hand (in more recent pictures, that wreath is gone). After WWII, dates of that war were added to the monument's plaque.

What is interesting to note about this photograph is the way the unknown man is interacting with the memorial. Is it disrespectful to climb atop the bronze figures or is it perhaps appropriation of the object for man's own use? Does it take away the meaning of the memorial? Why is he even up there? Like our class discussions about the Air India memorial (with regards to the designated seating benches), is there an appropriate way to interact with a monument? I see this photo as an example of the tensions between people, public space and memorials.

Which Interior?

2010-04-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, Torsten Kehler, a professor at SFU who I'm sure many of you are familiar with, told our class about one of his experiences with Jeff Wall. Sometime in the early 80's, Torsten lived in the same apartment building as Jeff. Sometime during that period, Jeff Wall asked several of the residents if he could use their apartments for one of his projects, Torsten was one of those residents. Jeff blacked out all of the windows, and after that I have no idea what direction the photo took, I can't remember if Torsten mentioned what happened. Since that day, I have been unable to look at any of Jeff Wall's photographs without thinking about that anecdote, whats worse is that if its an interior shot, its the only thing I can consider. The work shown in class, "Insomnia", has always been my most likely suspect. Again, its entirely possible that Torsten mentioned exactly which photograph was his (or one of his other tenant's) apartment.

2010-04-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

This grainy photo is of Leeside, a guerrilla built skateboard park which exists underneath the Cassiar Connector along Hastings in between Burnaby and Vancouver. The park is named Leeside after Lee Matasi, who was fatally shot in 2005 outside the Red Room. After Matasi's death, the park became a living memorial. In direct contrast to the passive memorials we've discussed in class, this site is active. It draws skateboarders oblivious to the context surrounding the park, but as it does so, continues to inform people about Matasi.

Terry Fox (memorial post #2)

2010-04-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the start of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, an attempted cross-Canada run that lasted 143 days until he was unable to continue. From a very young age I've known the name Terry Fox and though in elementary school I couldn't fully appreciate his importance to cancer research and Canada's image, I'm old enough now to realize that this is a man worth praising and of all the Canadian icons to be proud of he definitely ranks high. We've all walked past the Fox statue at the Burnaby campus and while most of us likely treat it more like background or decoration, I took a moment this morning to really check it out and consider Terry Fox's contribution to our lives.

I've been lucky enough to not have lost anyone to cancer, but I think Terry Fox can be recognized as an inspirational figure whether you've had a personal experience with the disease or not. I believe that the statue itself is a great way to remember Terry, and the fact that he is forever in mid-stride is a testament to the ongoing cancer research being done and the message that he sent to Canada and the world 30 years ago. This memorial is a reminder that, although his death was tragic, not all memorials have to be depressing and this is one that can truly include everyone. Terry Fox is a great example of a man who died doing something amazing that he believed in and I'm proud that he was born and raised just a few towns away from me.

Remember!!! DO IT!

2010-04-12T09:53:00.001-07:00

Truth be told, I had sorta kinda forgotten about this blog for a while! (So I guess my next few posts will be like an overview of the units we've done...)
Honestly, I liked when the Olympics were here; I fully embraced the whole thing while it lasted. However, upon logging into Facebook for some early morning procrastinatin' time, I saw that the Olympics group had posted this message (see image).

Now I agree that it was a good time being out in Vancouver and exploring what seemed like a nice setup for tourists, feeling the patriotic atmosphere and partaking in the gold medal game celebrations, but with today marking the two-month anniversary of the opening ceremony, is this message REALLY necessary?

It comes across as borderline desperate, as if it needs people to click on the "like" button, or else we're failing to remember the event and therefore failing to perform our role as people that liked the Olympics? It reminds me of those annoying couples that can't just enjoy being with each other, but find it absolutely necessary to celebrate an anniversary every month and let the world know about it. I guess their relationship isn't legitimate without the confirmation? 1545 people have clicked "liked" so far!

Remembering on a Budget

2010-04-11T21:05:00.001-07:00

During the discussions on memorials, one thing that came up was cost, and who the memorials were for. It seemed that generally, people felt that a memorial was serving its purpose best if it was raising awareness, and encouraging remembrance. This got me thinking... are showings of support for AIDs or cancer victims, or for soldiers memorials when one wears a ribbon? Does the ribbon act as a sort of memorial? We already talked a bit in class about the possibility of the poppy being a memorial.

On the surface, it doesn't feel the same, but after seeing a rock on Crab Beach that supposedly IS a memorial, it is hard to justify the categorization.

me-mo-ri-al

1. Something, such as a monument or holiday, intended to celebrate or honor the memory of a person or an event.

This definition, from TheFreeDictionary.com (totally a scholarly source), indicates both monuments and holidays as examples of possible memorials. Why not extend this further? A large, expensive monument is not accessible for everyone and costs more than necessary. A simple facebook page informing people to wear pink costs nothing. People associate Pink Shirt Day as a stand against bullying, a yellow daisy for cancer victims, and a yellow ribbon to support the troops.

Unlike most memorials, these cheaper forms allow everyone to get involved and remember together, rather than searching out statues and monuments placed throughout Vancouver.

The Words Don't Fit

2010-04-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

We spoke early on in the semester about Vancouver's Neon past. A past which still remains in parts of the city, the "Toys 'R Us" sign down on W. Broadway or the "Save on Meats" sign on East Hastings. The signs that kinda make us cringe. Like all popular trends in decades past we find ourselves asking "What were we thinking?" Well love it or hate it there was a time when Vancouver was fairly well known for its neon signage.It became a trademark, a performance. In fact there was so much Neon that Vancouver was at one point recognizable by its neon hue from an airplanes. Yet things changed, the city found a new performance outlet in the 50's and neon signs were taken down and fewer installed due to changes in the by laws. Yet this spring Vancouver artist, Ron Terada, piece "The Words Don't Fit The Picture" was installed just outside Vancouver's central Library.

This piece is a tribute to Vancouver's days of Neon signs, to the historical expression of this city. This permanent installation is a text based work which playfully and poetically addresses its surroundings in its caption.

Below you will see it at night to give you a better idea of the tribute to neon.

Photography Post I: "He is dead and he is going to die..."

2010-04-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Death is a common trope in photography theory. (Perhaps it is even plausible to say that the first "theory of photography," coinciding with the early taking of photographs, is the folkloric belief that the camera could steal the soul from the body). In Roland Barthes' Camera Lucida, which since its publication (in French 1980; in English 1981) has been a dominant point of reference for photography theory at least in the United States and Britain, death is constant theme. Granted this is largely due to Barthes' subtextual mission to locate personally and theoretically a single photograph authentically representative of his then recently deceased mother. (The photograph he finds is titled Winter Garden Photograph. The image is never visually revealed in the book.) However, Barthes' theorising of death is also related to his idea of the "punctum," the unintentional element in a photograph that meaningfully pierces the viewer: The "second sight" of the photograph, which "does not consist in 'seeing,' but in being there" (47). The punctum constitutes the internal grammar of the photograph.

In Alexander Gardner’s Portrait of Lewis Payne (1865), Barthes' identifies the punctum as the simultaneous past perfect and future tense of the photograph. Lewis Payne, charged with the murder of Secretary of State W.H. Seward, awaits hanging. From a seated position, wrists shackled, leaning slightly left, Payne stares forward pensively. Barthes captions the photograph: “He is dead and he is going to die.” Payne has long died when Barthes views the photograph, but in the image Payne still waits to die. The photograph thus contains an internal grammar: "this-has-been" -- He is dead/"this-will-be" -- he is going to die (96). For Barthes, at the root of every photograph is this "catastrophe which has already occurred" (96).

Buy a Beaver, Help Vanoc

2010-04-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

Remember that embarrassing moment when Vancouver wheeled out the giant inflatable beavers, moose and mounties? Or perhaps it was a proud moment for you. Maybe it stirred up patriotic emotion, or at least gave you a good-hearted chuckle at the Canadian stereotypes.

If you're part of the latter, then you have the chance to take home a part of Olympic history. According to NBCSports, the beavers run at $5,000, and although they apparently are sold out, some of the Moose still are available. Just where would you put it? Why, where the neighbours could see and admire, of course.

It is an interesting part of the aftermath of this giant performance. As soon as the limelight has faded, we have to figure out what to do with all the tools and props that made up the 2010 Olympics. I could probably skip on my car payment and insurance and buy a beaver instead. That is, if someone else hadn't bought them all first... well, there's still the moose.

http://outofbounds.nbcsports.com/2010/03/post-296.html.php

Another Roadside Memorial

2010-04-10T01:07:00.000-07:00

While I was out and about Burnaby earlier this semester, I remember my mom pointing out a roadside memorial. “Someone died there,” she said, gesturing toward the post. A pink ribbon held a bunch of flowers onto the pole, and while I don't remember the colour of the flowers, whether the post was made of wood or metal, or if there was a picture or name attached to the roadside memorial, I remember that the flowers weren't wilted or dried out: they had been placed fairly recently.

Many roadside memorials are anonymous: the victim is not identified. Are these roadside memorials created so that strangers notice, or so that its creators will remember what happened? You would think that the people who were affected by this person's death would remember, but what if they need to remind themselves? Is a memorial an act of respect and recognition of loss, a statement against the cause of death, or something else entirely?

My elementary school vice-principal's niece died in a car accident. Although I'd never met her or known anything about her, my mom pointed to a light-post with a ribbon and flowers many years ago, and told me what happened.

I found it on Google maps.

It's at 8046 NO. 2 Rd, Richmond, BC, Canada facing west.
You'll see a light-post with a do-not-stop sign. At the bottom of the pole is a pink ribbon, much like the one I saw that day in Burnaby. If you zoom in, you'll see a brown-yellow basket with what looks like a single white flower inside.

Someone died there.

the photo shop debate

2010-04-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

When we were in class last we spoke about manufacturing images and authenticity of altered images. I'm here to ask about that, does photo shop count as art? Check out the below pieces done in photo shop.

"Bear-Shark-Octopus"

Is this art? This kind of photo shop art shows up on the internet all the time. a cosmic hilarious joke. It's something that is accepted by internet culture but it is not usually perceived as art. This is seen as a easy laugh, something one doesn't take seriously.Would you consider it art?What are your reactions to viewing this as art?

Let's move along. more photo shop.

"The Discussion"

"Anya in Triplicate"

So,more photo shop. Are these pictures Art? Because these photos have been tampered with and created to look a certain way does it loose its authenticity? Does it loose its right to be called "art" because it was manipulated, not by hand, but by machine?

I personally think that these photos show an intentional dialogue that is revealed through the juxtaposition of the characters in different poses.So then is the definition of art tied in with subject matter?

Why is this maybe art but bear-shark-octopus isn't? If you don't see this as art why does it fail to be art for you?

moving on further:

is this art? this is a picture of a scene created in photo shop all of the images in the scene happened in the same place but over an extended period of time and then have been photo shopped together to create this impossible but beautiful picture. Is it authentic? Is it art? If it is art why does this qualify as art and the first and or second examples of photo shopped art do not count? If this doesn't count as Art why not?

Of these four photo shopped images one is from a famous artist, one is from a friend of mine, and one i found while surfing the web. Does knowing which one is which determine how we perceive the image? Does the attachment of fame or its absence affect how we define art?

Thoughts anyone?

In case you forgot...

2010-04-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

We had a little something called the “Olympics” not too long ago. Some went to see events, some stayed at home watching tv, and some tried to pay as little attention to the Olympics as possible. Well, it seems VANOC and the IOC aren't finished just yet. They're auctioning off assets from the Olympics to the general public!

“For the first time in the history of the Games, some of the most coveted items used during competition including medal podia, medal trays, pucks, ski gates and more are available for purchase. Own a piece of Olympic history today by bidding on these unique items.”

So why would they auction off these objects? Odds are, VANOC and the IOC reserved the items they truly wanted, and put the rest up on the auction block to squeeze a bit more out of our pockets. Of course, it's nice to have a Team Canada Men's Hockey Stick signed by the entire team, or a Ceremony-used medal tray (going for over $2000 by the way), but you can't help but wonder who is buying. The auction is open internationally, so it's not as if Vancouverites or Canadians have dibs on any of the items.

You can get your Post-Olympic-consumer-whore on at http://stores.shop.ebay.ca/Official-Vancouver-2010-Auction/Store.html

Memorials (post #1)

2010-04-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

In the couple of weeks since we've discussed the controversies and meanings behind memorials, I've been keeping an eye out for them and trying to decide how I feel about the monument vs. internet memorial contrast. I think it's important to say that I've been very fortunate in not being connected to any tragic event in a personal way, so I can only really view memorials as an observer and try to gather meaning from the statue or monument itself and the engravings that are sometimes included. This raises a question that we discussed in class: who are memorials really for? In the case of the 'to all women murdered by men' memorial, it addresses a specific issue involving a specific group of people, but does that mean that the rest of society is excluded? It's hard to imagine a scenario where someone paying respects or appreciating a memorial is asked to leave because it doesn't include them, it just seems counter-intuitive to the whole concept of remembering. As someone stated in class, the roadside memorials for those who have been killed on that spot always pause me for a moment and I think those are an effective way to acknowledge someone's life and death as well as act as a reminder to drive safely.

While I can appreciate both sides of the debate, the concept of internet memorials does not bother me at all. Maybe my opinion would be different if I was involved in or intimately connected to tragedy, but I believe that the way of remembering should be up to the person who wants to remember. It is nice to have a tangible object like a wall, bench, picture, or statue to appreciate and spend time with, but I agree with the notion that the internet has in a way become the new public space. I don't think it is disrespectful to feature memorials on the internet, but I think a line would be crossed if they altogether replaced 'real' city memorials. I'm in the process of researching various memorials in and around Vancouver and I plan to visit one of them sometime in the next week, and I'll post my thoughts and experiences afterwards.

Its Simple, Kill People With Kindness

2010-04-02T12:33:00.001-07:00

RE: Memorials

This is a small segment that Global TV did on Jerry, The Waving Guy at Cassiar and Hastings.

http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html?releasePID=vrZ_oiLeFXSLaMBSK8pieAO7x5p7tg6j

I believe Jerry passed away shortly after the olympics. Anyone from the east side will know who he was. Just a simple man, who never bothered anyone. Just waved at you, and said hello as you drove by.

I decided to park my car at the mcdonalds restaurant near by and decided to walk across the street and take a few photos. I think this is a really good example of the street side memorials we were talking about in class. Its been a few weeks since Jerry passed away, but as you can see from the above image, fresh flowers are still laid, and the small memorial is visible. I actually had to tidy up the area a bit as a few of the flower pots had been knocked over by wind. There is word through the grapevine that the city might consider changing the name of Cassiar Street, to Jerry Way. I think that that would be a perfect way to pay tribute to Jerry. Im not sure how much the costs would be, but I don't think many people would object, and changing the name of the street wouldn't really be bothering anyone.

Thoughts?

RIP Jerry.

One more note on the Olympics

2010-04-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

I came across this clip over youtube, just wanted to share, and see what your thoughts were.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSqHqwxSmI0

Memorials..

2010-04-01T13:34:00.001-07:00

Above is an image of the Victory Square Cenotaph that stands tall at Hastings and Cambie.

This war memorial was unveiled in 1924 and has been the location for annual remembrance day services in Vancouver.

The reason why I am posting this blog is because we only briefly talked about war memorials during group discussion. My dad served 7 years with the United States Navy before and during the Vietnam War so I personally have strong opinions when it comes to war and commemorating the experience of soldiers. In my opinion, out of all memorials that exist, war memorials are the most important. Designating space for them and spending money on their development and maintenance should not be an issue because of what they represent. Peter briefly explained some of his critiques with remembrance day and the selling of poppies.

I for one have had the opportunity to participate in 5 Remembrance day services at victory square as a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet. I was one of those cadets on the streets trying to sell you a poppy. I support that type of activity because I know first hand where the proceeds go. In the lower mainland, poppy proceeds that are generated from Royal Canadian Sea, Air and Army Cadets go directly towards veterans programs such as the Legions. To me, war memorials are significant to society because we often take for granted the freedoms we are granted as a result of being Canadian Citizens. While many of us have not yet experienced total war, we live relatively comfortable lives free from oppression. Had history played out differently we would be living in a different world today. Its important not to forget that.

Photography, Performance, and Art

2010-04-01T11:17:00.001-07:00

Above are two photographs. The top image, as you are all familiar with after last weeks presentation, is Stan Douglas' Every Building On 100 West Hastings, 2001 c-print. The bottom image is a photograph I took with my cell phone yesterday before class @ habour centre. I took this shot from the parking lot located right across Tim Hortons on Cordova and Richards.

I would like to talk about 2 things in this blog.

First: how does Stan Douglas' image differ from mine? Should mine be considered art? I would argue that my image is more "artistic" than his because I did not use adobe photoshop to alter my image, and it captures a more accurate representation of the city. As discussed earlier in the class, what makes our city so beautiful and attractive is its Urban and Modern design with the beautiful, mountain backdrop.

Thoughts?

Second, I feel that the discussion raised after our presenters had asked their discussion question and used a quote along the lines of: "death to life, is the picture to performance" could have been pushed and debated further. Please correct me on this quote as I did not write it down.

I thought it was an interesting quote but did not agree with it and feel that the discussion was not resolved. My main critique of the quote is the comparison that was made between death and photographs. In no way do I feel that taking photographs or posing for photographs ends the situation that is being captured. Image yourself at a Canucks Game, or a Concert...imagine yourself @ the opening ceremonies for the olympics. How does taking a photograph of the exact time and place of the event come any where near death? By taking the photograph you are attempting to preserve a memory, moment, place, or event.

I only agree to a very small extent that you are performing when you are posing for the image..because well who wants to be caught looking silly in a photo. If you're at the club, and your friends post drunken images of you that you didn't remember taking... you will certainly be upset and demand they be taken down....so that aspect I do understand pictures and performance...but DEATH?

no way...

thoughts?

There is no RIGHT or WRONG: Art, Nature, Religion

2010-03-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

I was thinking a lot about the issues raised in last weeks presentation on art and photography.

I have included a photograph of the Versailles Garden and some Graffiti Art Work that can be found in an Ally Way on Cordova and Richards (Near The Harbour Centre SFU Campus).

Arguements can be made that the garden is not considered nature, and that this mural is not art.

Bollux.

Similar to the on going debate of religion vs. science, there is no right or wrong definition of art and nature. So I think its very problematic when scholars, authors, or what have you... try and define what art and what nature is in their work. It's problematic because these types of things are opinion based. While we know that 1 + 1 = 2, there is no right or wrong definition of art or nature.

The Titanic

2010-03-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

I watched an interesting documentary last night about the preservation of the Titanic. Apparently in the years since the ship's discovery, multiple thrill seekers have been exploring the wreckage. Some people pilot submarines which collect Titanic artifacts which in turn can be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars on the art market and some people just want to visit the site. But it seems that the Titanic wreckage is also turning into a novelty destination site as well. Some people try to get married as close to the bow as possible, and apparently swarms of ships hover over the wreckage at one time. All of this activity is causing a premature decay of the ship itself, and some of the submarines actually crash into the ship tearing holes into it. Robert Ballard, the original finder of the site, believes that the Titanic should be preserved. Already the U.S. and U.K. have signed a treaty attempting to preserve the wreckage. Now, I realize that the Titanic carries enormous cultural weight, but I am not sure if this justifies protecting the wreckage. Is this not illogical as well as an oxymoron? The Titanic is decaying and will eventually disappear. But some people, Ballard included, want to salvage the experience by installing cameras throughout the Titanic so people can explore it virtually for years to come. At a certain point in the documentary, my girlfriend and I turned to each and both expressed our disgust at a certain level of disrespect for the grave site of 1500 people. I think this brings to light the issue in Peter's article of appropriate forms of memorializing. Should the Titanic be a tourist site? Should we be attempting to preserve the Titanic? If we preserve the Titanic, how many other ship wrecks must we protect because they carry a cultural stigma? How much does Leo DiCaprio have to do with this generation's obsession with Titanic (I'm not a fan of Leo by the way)?

Pamela Masik

2010-03-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

Like Suzanne, I was also going to write about Pamela Masik's work on the missing women of the DTES. There was an interview with her last night on CTV's "First Story" and I was enthralled by the amount of effort she put into painting 8' X 9' portraits of each of the 69 missing women. From what I could perceive, each portrait appeared to bring the women to life; very much in contrast to the mug-shot-like pictures we see on the evening news. In my opinion, Masik didn't take away from their facial appearance, those remained intact; however, she added elements that made the women appear spirited and energetic, for example, by adding writing, blooming flowers, and/or greenery to the portrait.

During the program, many people, like me, were astounded by her work; however, there was an individual who openly admitted that he was disgusted by her work because he thought that Masik was making money off the women's suffering. Masik responded in kind stating that the money was not for herself but for the building of a social rehabilitation centre in the DTES. If this is the case, then all the power to her.

According to "First Story," all of the portraits will be up for display in February 2011 at the UBC Museum of Anthropology. To give everyone an idea of the entire process, I posted the website address to a video link of Masik painting the portraits. The power emanating from the video, I think speaks volumes. Her passion and enthusiasm were obvious especially since she had an emotional and physcial breakdown while completing her work.

http://vimeo.com/7886600

Memorials Post II: I really dislike Pamela Masik

2010-03-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

So, I checked out Pamela Masik's "The Forgotten," www.the forgotten.ca (I had remembered painfully reading about her in the Vancouver Sun...maybe last year). She is astoundingly self-indulgent: On the homepage Masik appears sorrowful and contemplative beside a painting of, I believe, Mona Wilson; her artist statement is a vapid cliche of privileged perspective; and frankly, she looks as about as authentic as a furrow-browed Angelina Jolie listening to the plight of Sudanese children. Masik claims her inclusion by way of self-portrait #70 in "The Forgotten" is to communicate a sense of solidarity - "[w]hen one woman is violated, all women are. It could have been me." (Really? You could have left your swank Yaletown studio one day and joined the survival sex trade only to have your desperate life ripped from you?) It is really just a continuation of the tortured-artist-entering-a-really-dark-place schtick she has been peddling since starting this project. The audacity of her narcissism is second only to that of Lincoln Clarkes.

Masik's work, in its carelessness, does raise the issue of how Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) and its various narratives are used for so called artful memorializing. While some work based on this part of Vancouver is very important and thoughtful, an equal amount, if not more has is just completely advantageous, a glorification of misery. (I can't even imagine how many Emily Carr photography freshman trundle along DTES alleys on first street-photography assignments.)

Poetics: a ballet brut - PuSh Fest vs. mixed repertoire (Black Grace) - VIDF

2010-03-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

The title is slightly misleading as the following is not a comparison meant to judge either works (because I enjoyed both performances), but rather compare the two within the context of their respective festivals. I am by no means a dancer, but I think I've watched enough So You Think You Can Dance Canada to at least comment on a dance performance. I enjoy multimedia, so make sure you check out the videos below as well!

I saw Poetics during the PuSh Festival and was immediately intrigued with its usage of "non-dancers" within the performance. I had never really seen anything like it (except for some flash mob-esque performances in public spaces), and I thought it was a rather clever piece, questioning what can qualify as "real" or "non" dancing. Brought to us by Nature Theatre of Oklahoma, Poetics was an awkward and sometimes disconcerting show with incredibly committed "non-dancers" and a satisfying end.

NB: Pavol's mustache is awesome.

More recently, I attended a mixed repertoire performance by Black Grace, a dance company from New Zeland, during the Vancouver International Dance Festival. Headed by artistic director Neil Ieremia, this pretty awesome company combines Pacific Island dance and contemporary dance into one wonderful piece of moving art. Incorporating some heavily rhythmic elements, Black Grace wows and awes as I continue to rave about the show in the next following weeks.

Black Grace – Gathering Clouds – “Keep Honour Bright” from Black Grace on Vimeo.

NB: Black Grace ended their VIDF performance with this number. The last minute is particularly thrilling. For reals.

NB: This is another great highlight from the performance. This number is particularly strong on the rhythmic elements.

While both performances were clearly different approaches, I think they both ask similar questions. What is the difference between art and non-art? Traditional and non-traditional? How can we bring the non-art, non-traditional world into the art traditional world? Both performances are proof that the boundaries in art are and should constantly be pushed.

Hogan's Alley

2010-03-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

Just the other day, I received an invitation on Facebook, inviting me to join the "Include a Hogan's Alley Memorial at the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaduct Site" group. While I read the information regarding the group and browsed through the pictures, I had been under the assumption that the area that was named Hogan's Alley already had an historical marker indicating that Vancouver's Black community had lived and thrived in the area. After further investigation, I found out I was wrong. To give everyone a bit of history, Hogan's Alley was located between Union St. and Prior St.. After much debate and controversy, Hogan's Alley was almost completely destroyed due to the building of the Georgia Viaduct that we all know of today. There is not much left of it today except for what appears to be a few homes. Interestingly, now there is talk about tearing down or closing the Georgia Viaduct in order to build a pedestrian park and retail stores. If this were to take place, then the City of Vancouver or Vancouver Parks Board and Recreation should place a memorial alongside the new establishments to honour the Black community that used to live in that area. Actually, I think that the memorial should be built regardless. There are many memorials around Vancouver honouring the Veterans, victims of AIDS, Air India bombing, etc., so why not Vancouver's Black community who contributed to the city as much as anyone else?! Here are a couple of pictures of the green space next to the Viaduct and a place I would consider suitable for a plaque, a sign, or a memorial. The space is vast and very empty with only trees and three park benches. A marker would certainly not take away from the area. I don't consider myself an expert on heritage buildings but I did go by "Hogan's Alley" and I took a couple of pictures of the homes that appear to have been from that time in the early 1900s. It was great to see that even a little bit of Vancouver's history still remains.

Memorials part 2

2010-03-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Actually it is really interesting that Kylie bring up the Ironworkers' Memorial Bridge. Until recently, I hadn't really thought about why the Ironworkers' Memorial Bridge was called just that. I knew what had happened but not in great detail. Someone finally told me the story in detail and I have to admit it freaked me out a bit. Having crossed that bridge twice a day for 3 years while attending Capilano College, it never really hit me the gravity of the situation. Now everytime I cross the bridge I can't help but think of men who died during the collapse. They died in order for us to have that bridge. That makes them heros to me. For me this is the best type of remembering. Something in a common place that is utilized by millions.

It is sad that most memorials have to do with death and how the deaths occured. Death is often tragic and always painfull. Therefore in this aspect static memorials are a good thing. The people that grieve often need something to hold on to. Whether it be a grave site or just a stone plaque, it is important. So we come to the conclusion that some memorials are effective and others are not. Therefore it is hard to say that we shouldn't have static memorials, we should just be more selective.

Memorials

2010-03-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

My ideas on memorials have definately changed in the last couple weeks of discussion. I was indifferent to the idea of a static memorial. After years of visiting places in Europe that are just full of memorials and so much history, it is quite faire to say I was becoming immune to what memorials can do. In most cases they bring out an emotion, a remembering. But what are you remembering? In my case along with many other people, we are too young to remember anything about many of the happenings that prompted the memorials. Therefore it is hard to categorize memorials as a whole. There are certain types of memorials that seem effective; such as the marker of change memorial. It is a memorial marking an event yet it represents the constant problem of violence against women. It is an ongoing issue and a person can relate to that when they view it. Just like you can relate to memorials of event that occured after you were born. For example, I can only imagine what I would feel visiting Ground Zero; the terrible loss, pain etc.. but overall I think I would be remembering where I was when it happened. What was I doing? Those are the moments that stay with you for the rest of you life. Rememberence is within us.

Olympics Part 2

2010-03-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

So for this blog, I chose to post one of my favorite moments of my olympic experience. I have a longtime fascination with cops, and am literally in awe of them every time I see them. So my cousin decides she's just going to ask them to take a picture with me. They of course oblige with great big smiles.

The point I'm trying to make is: due to the Olympics it seemed that everyone was in a better mood, even the cops. I would see them talking to people on the streets, smiling and helping others out. The olympics helped create repetoire between all types of different people. It was a coming together of people who just wanted to have a good time and it didn't matter where you were from or what team you cheered for. The Olympics were golden for that and that I feel is the legacy they will leave our city. I can say 20 or 30 years from now, I'll always be able to look back and remember those great two weeks in 2010. Peter in class brought up his fear of "what if nobody shows up?" well Peter they showed up all right and it was great.

Olympics Part 1

2010-03-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

So I realise I'm a bit late with this contribution on the topic of the olympics, however what must be done, must be done. For this blog I'm going to discuss my view of the Olympics and the way they changed my life.. quite literally. I had some family friends from Montreal stay with us for the duration of the games as they were selling merchandise for the Olympics. This changed the whole perspective of the household as they changed the type of experience I would have in relation to the games. All of a sudden I was downtown all the time, meeting up with them and feeling like a tour guide all in one. They weren't the greatest houseguests either, and let's just say after almost 3 weeks I was ready for them to leave.

Aside from being inconvenienced with my guests, the rest of the olympic break was pretty great. Trying to see the different sites was painful because of the lineups but we did it anyway as it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I found most of the houses quite boring as we went during the day. I'm sure they turned into quite the party at night. Overall the best part was the random walks through the city downtown and at night. It helped me strengthen my connection with the city of Vancouver and I would love to experience that again.

"Collective Memory"

2010-03-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

In class lately, we have been discussing the notion of the "collective memory" of a community. We have acknowledged that this exists in reference to memorials, but I recently read an article which discusses how a collective memory can affect major public policy decisions. I don't know if anyone is aware, but Greece and the eurozone are mired in a sovereign debt crisis. The Germans don't want to help the Greeks out by loaning them money to cover their maturing debts. German citizens cite the fact that they have been responsible and should not have to pay taxes in order to bail out the irresponsible Greek government. I was reading a story about this debt crisis written by Gavin Hewitt of the BBC. He quotes a professor stating that Germans will not loosen their policies on bailing out the Greeks because "it is part of the collective memory. Germans are for stability and austerity and not for deficit spending." Of course this professor is referring to the incredible inflation experienced by the deutsche mark in the interwar period, which can be linked to the rise of Nazi fascism in Germany. I thought this was a particularly interesting use of the phrase "collective memory," because it displays how a collective memory can be performative and can influence public opinion and public policy.

"The Forgotten"

2010-03-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

Vancouver artist Pamela Masik has created an exhibition in memorial to the downtown east sides forgotten missing women. She has 69 portraits of women who have been missing from the downtown east side for over a decade. Twenty six of her featured women have been confirmed as victims of Pickton. Each of these paintings created on a large canvas which she sometimes physically slashes to re-create the brutality these women endured. Recently she has stated that she is releasing a 70th portrait of herself. Her reasoning is as follows: "When one woman is violated, all women are. It could have been me.”

Her goal is to expose the fact that society has forgotten these marginalized women she also states she feels obliged as an artist to shed light on social injustices. Pamela Masik states on her website her reasoning for undertaking this work as: "The intent of this work - not just creating the paintings, but the exhibition of the collection with performance and video/photography of the process - is to raise awareness of the social problem inherent within our society."

This body of work has taken four years to complete and has been featured in the Vancouver library square (seven pieces) as well as the full collection on display during the Vancouver olympics in a gallery behind the olympic village. Feel free to check out here work or find out more info at her website:http://www.theforgotten.ca

Memorials Post I: Alternative Memorials

2010-03-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

Anne Stone's Delible, Sachiko Murakami's The Invisibility Exhibit, and West Coast Line Issue 53: Representations of Murdered and Missing Women, for me, serve as far more appropriate 'memorials' to violence against women than either the Marker of Change (Thornton Park) or the Missing Women Memorial (CRAB Park). The ultimate problem I have with public memorials is that they are usually little more than mineral slabs of fixed cultural capital that (1) give a false sense of 'past' to miseries still very present today and (2) allow a feeling of self-satisfied complacency. The forementioned literary works do not have the same fixity: While Murakami's poetry collection does at times specifically discuss the "missing women" of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, it also broadly contemplates the all too familiar and consistent narrative of violence against women and its sadly apathetic address in society; Stone's novel is a fictional engagement with violence, memory, and forgetting; and the West Coast Line anthology offers a mixed form - poetry, short fiction, and essay - consideration of the subject. Each work in some way deals with the very difficulty of memorializing in any medium what is 'missing,' 'lost,' or 'absent.' As well, each involves a certain degree of critical participation -- something memorials blatantly counter.

vacouverisms- memorials

2010-03-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about memorials and how that works with Vancouver's image. As I was doing research it seems like most of the findable memorials in Vancouver are either War memorials, pet memorials or annual events instead of a dedicated monument. I then started thinking about Vancouver as a tourist destination and researched what one visiting here with no prior knowledge would find. It all came down to Stanley Park.

Stanley Park is central to Vancouver's image but it is also a home to many memorials, monuments and tributes to Vancouver's history. Stanley Park holds memorials for Air India, Japanese soldiers in WWI and Queen Vicotria. Yet it also holds plaques, busts, Sculptures, gardens and more to celebrate things that created Vancouver today. Including a bust of Lord Stanley, a tribute to the Beaver Cairn, Shakespeare Garden and Lumbermen's arch to name a few. Individuals are honored - both nation figures and local heroes- such as Queen Victoria, Lord Stanley, Harry Jerome a local runner, Pauline Johnson a local poet and more. The park also holds space for the recognition of industry central to Vancouver life such as the Lumbermen's Arch and its recognition of BC's lumber industry and Edward Stamp memorial which acknowledges the lumber operations began within the park. We see a variety of events and people presented in different mediums within Stanley Park. Perhaps it is the diverse nature of celebration seen here in the Park that define Vancouver and its various back grounds.

If you want to see pictures of any of these monuments in Stanley Park you can find them here: http://vancouver.ca/Parks/parks/Stanley/landmarks.htm

Ironworkers Memorial Bridge

2010-03-19T15:04:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about our class topic of memorials and realized that I know very little about memorials in Vancouver. I googled "memorials in vancouver" and oddly enough pet memorial sites came up the most. The Ironworkers bridge only came up because it has memorial in its name. What I read was actually quite interesting. The bridge was first named the Second Narrows Bridge and its original intention was to access to the Dawson gold fields, but construction was delayed because of WWI. Several years after the bridge was finally built, it collapsed killing 18 workers and one diver who was searching for bodies. This happened in 1958 (and apparently there were several songs written about it) but the bridge wasn't renamed the Ironworkers Memorial until 1994. I couldn't actually find discussion on the renaming - does anyone know why they decided to rename it 40 years later rather than right after the accident? Just as an FYI a vigil is held every June 17th to honour the victims.

So...how did we look? (Olympics pt. II)

2010-03-17T10:51:00.001-07:00

Although the paralympics are still happening, it's safe to say that the official Olympics hangover has lifted and I'm able to look back on those two weeks analytically and with the hindsight I need to form an opinion on how 'our city' came across. Years ago, when I was a cynical teen (rather than the cynical adult I am now), I was convinced that when 2010 came, something unspecified and dramatic would happpen, it just seemed impossible that an event of this magnitude could go perfectly without incident, whether it be a terrorist attack or protests or riots. When February 2010 came, I realized with the wisdom that comes between age 19 and 24 that chances are, nothing too horrific will happen. Despite a few sad stories like the death of the luger and a few over-the-top protests (did smashing up the Bay do any good for anyone?), the events as a whole seemed to be a success. Although I didn't make it into Vancouver during the Olympics, I did have a chance to visit this week and I agree with Alex's comments about the great hospitality and the 'buzz' in the air as everyone is getting along. What I wonder is that when the Paralympics are over, will the hospitality fade? I've never run into any major problems downtown but in my experiences the Vancouver I've seen isn't an overly friendly city, and it'll be interesting to see if our 'best behaviour' from the Olympics will last and the city's attitude will change shape because of it.

As far as the word-of-mouth and media coverage that I experienced, I found the comments about the opening and closing ceremonies to be the most intriguing. For the most part, it seemed like those that I've spoken to were watching the ceremonies with a pad and pen next to them, ready to write down any blunder or mis-cue or criticism. Sure, there were problems with the ceremonies and maybe it's a testament to my lacking Canadian pride that I didn't really care about them either way, but some people seemed to take these events so seriously. Could it be that since the Olympics didn't have any 'major' controversies (not to undermind the tragedies that did occur), people were nitpicking? Sure, the musical choices for the closing events were terrible and in some cases unfitting, but nobody seemed to stop and ask themselves why it matters so much. Whether or not people around the world think Canada is lame or not doesn't really affect my day-to-day life and while it's always nice to be liked, I sure didn't take these ceremonies as personally as some. And as it came up in the class discussion, lots of people had a problem with how Canada was portrayed as beaver-loving syrup-sucking hockey fanatics, saying that this doesn't truly display who Canada is. But what I haven't heard is an alternative, and it begs the question: how DO we truly display who Canada is? Until we can figure that out then we have to embrace these stereotypes and allow that to be what we're known for, our sense of humor.

Comparing Opening Ceremonies

2010-03-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

As I was watching the opening ceremonies of the Para-Olympic Games I was struck by the difference in tone. Not only did this opening have less flash, it had more heart. Gone were the international pop music acts and the overt spectacle. This ceremony was about the athletes and people that overcome adversity in general. Instead of a reworking of the Canadian anthem this version was sung without art by a para-olympian with a visible disability. This theme of foregoing celebrities in favor of real participants carried through the whole show. Two para-olympians formally welcomed the live and televised audience and many of the musical acts were disabled. One notable instance was a high energy rock performance with flames and fireworks performed by a Montreal artist with one leg and arms that were not fully formed. A break dance performance was lead by a Canadian dancer using only his upper body while his legs hung lifeless beneath him. Not only are these artists truly Canadian, they seem to represent the spirit of determination and drive that the games are supposed to be promoting.

All the dancers were local youth from dance companies all over the lower mainland. Much of the presentations were announced by young bilingual children, who were amazingly composed by the way. Special tributes to Rick Hanson and Terry Fox highlighted these famous Vancouverites that overcame disability and made a great impact on Canadian consciousness. The whole tone of the event was (in my opinion) extremely Canadian. With the Hollywood gone, we were left with a low key, heartfelt ceremony emphasizing fair play and peaceful interaction between nations. Many speakers reiterated the goal of the Olympics and Para-Olympics as a peaceful coming together of nations to showcase athletic excellence as well as good sportsmanship. If the opening ceremonies for the Olympics was for non-Canadians, I think this opening was it's antithesis. Rather than being entertained, I was proud to be Canadian and moved by the heart of the athletes.

Paralympic atmosphere

2010-03-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

I just spent the weekend downtown and I witnessed a lot of the same Olympic spectacles set up for the Paralympics. I saw the Olympic flame, saw the logo lit up in Coal Harbour and walked along the streets with some of the spectators and teams. I thought the atmosphere, since it was such a smaller event, was very relaxed, and everyone was very polite. I got asked many times if I was from out of town or where I was from. I realized that all the politeness and inquiry was probably a result of people being on their absolute best behavior. Every store I entered and restaurant I ate at was super positive. Absolutely everyone was smiling all the time. While the atmosphere was very positive and cheerful, after a while it seemed a little bit contrived. I probably came to this conclusion because as someone who lives here, I got sick of people constantly asking me if I was from out of town. I feel like going downtown during the Paralympic Games is a great way to experience the Olympic atmosphere dialed down a few notches. I was also very impressed by the enthusiasm everyone had to be hosting the Paralympics. No one seemed to scale down their hospitality just because the Paralympics are a smaller event.

TV ratings=success?

2010-03-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

I saw recently on a CBC broadcast that the Vancouver Olympics were considered a success because of the TV ratings. The Vancouver Olympics did not receive any more viewers than the Turin Olympics overall, but apparently they were much more successful with a younger demographic. Many more young people 15-24 watched the Vancouver Olympics than the Turin games. But after watching this, I started to question how much this would have to do with the successful organization or marketing of the Vancouver Olympics. After all, we are just now supposedly recovering from a global recession. Unemployment numbers have skyrocketed in the past few years, and this generally means that unemployment is especially high in the 15-24 age bracket. Without jobs or excess income, significantly more 15-24 year olds are probably spending time at home right now, not being able to afford the usual trips to the bars or cinemas. In countries like the U.S. and Canada where the Olympics are broadcast on network TV, watching the Olympics would be a free way to spend your afternoon or evening. So how much of this success in the 15-24 year old age bracket really can be attributed to VANOC or the marketing campaigns? Did the Vancouver Games really reach out to a younger audience, or was the younger audience more bored with more excess time than in 2006?

Lingering Post-Olympics Thoughts

2010-03-08T20:44:00.001-08:00

For those interested, I finally located the LA Times op-ed piece we were discussing in class today (I believe this is the one Jennifer was talking about). It's saccharine and schmaltzy.

Also, here is the "thank you letter" from Brian Williams (of the NBC Nightly News). Apparently all of us Canadians were really on our best behaviour.

RE: Olympic Fever

2010-03-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

We talked about the sea of red and white and the hyper patriotism that the city experienced during the olympics this past week in class. However, we didn't really touch base on the other countries that were visiting. While it was awsome that we showed as much pride and patriotism as we did, there were others here doing just the same thing we were. We need only look at the number of different "houses" and pavillions to find evidence of this. Like us, the tourists that came to vancouver were putting on a performance for the world to see. I looked forward to greeting customers decked out in their own version of olympic clothing each day at work.. I was fortunate enough to meet tourists rock'n their Team Russia, Finland, and Czech colors.. and sparked some really interesting conversations with them. I wanted to know what they thought about the olympics and the kind of emotions they were experiencing. Heres a few more pictures I took during my own olympic experience.

ps: the little blue bugger is the mascot for Sochi 2014

Just a Note on Riots and Protesting..

2010-03-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

These picture were taken just a few hours before the opening ceremonies. I took them on my way to work, and thought it was interesting that these protestors were still at it moments before the opening ceremonies.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2010-03-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

3/5 of my family just came back from a vacation in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brunei) and my sister got some video of the Chinese New Year Lion Dance. The video was taken in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Wouldn't this have been awesome to see during the Opening Ceremony? Enjoy!

What is the purpose?

2010-03-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

All this hype about the Olympics along with all the ridiculous schemes to get money out of the Olympics-goers got me thinking about what the purpose to all of this is. What is the point? So...I looked it up. The original Olympics evolved out of a religious holiday, a day on which the Greeks honoured Zeus. Eventually it evolved into a festival where the citizens of Greece could showcase their athletic prowess and the Greek people could all come together in a friendly, dipolomatic setting. Thinking about the Olympics, it seems that althleticism and getting together have their part to be sure, but I feel that the real driving force behind the Olympics and the real purpose is to make money. I have no qualms with making money, because after all, a person's got to live. It just seems like that's always the main purpose though. I feel like all of the real meaning is being sucked out of events...mascots aren't good luck charms anymore, they're cash cows targeted a little kids whose parents can't say no. I apologize for the rant but it just seems like everything always comes down to money, one of the least valuable things in the end.

Won't You Let Your Red Heart Show?

2010-03-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

This CTV video montage (from Stephen Brunt of The Globe and Mail) has been praised by by people who are as musically nerdy as I am for including good music . It features "Red Heart" by Hey Rosetta! (a band from Newfoundland and who are pretty much awesome). Besides the song, the narrative is interesting and awaiting your interpretation/criticisms/other comments. Enjoy and I hope to discuss this (and CTV's other cheesy montage videos) with you all next week!

EDIT: Below is a clip of the actually broadcast of the mentioned video essay by Stephen Brunt. I think Brian William's (and the network's) framing of the video is also interesting. And watch as the camera zooms in closer and closer as Williams is talking. How lovely.

'And oh, it's like cleaning up after an orgy when it's over...'

2010-03-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

(a lyric by Them Crooked Vultures that I think is fitting for the way Vancouver probably looks today)

I made a conscious decision to hold back posting about the Olympics until the break was over and I could think about the 17 days that the 'world' was here as a whole. I also made a conscious decision that I would avoid Vancouver entirely (though I did attempt to catch the Colin James show last Monday, but that didn't work out) for the span of the Olympics, based on a couple reasons. The main reason being that the only crowds I can ever handle comfortably are usually concert crowds, and the last time I went to the closing night of the fireworks I enjoyed the event but felt so trapped in that sea of (drunk) people. This may come off as antisocial and that's probably fair, but I thought I'd enjoy the Olympics from a distance, using word of mouth and media coverage to connect me to the event without having to throw elbows to get down Granville Street. I do regret not experiencing the 'buzz' and mingling with people from all over the place, but I'm in an interesting position to comment on the Olympics, having experienced it through the eyes and opinions of others. Also, I'm a lot more interested in what Vancouver may look like today in contrast to a week ago and I plan to do a bit of a walk-a-bout sometime this week to survey the aftermath of the 'world' having it's way with our city.

The analogy that I used in the months going into the Olympics was that, at least from my point of view, it seemed like the Olympic committee was a nervous mother running around preparing for a dinner party and making everything look perfect even though the house is a mess on a day to day basis, and we, the kids, are just rolling our eyes waiting for it to be over. This isn't to discount the fact that lots of people were really excited about the events, the analogy is more to highlight the fact that the Vancouver that all our visitors witnessed doesn't really exist and even those coming to the dinner party know that the house is never this clean (we can put away the fancy dishes now and go back to paper plates, everyone) What amuses me is that those that experienced Vancouver for the first time in the past two weeks will possibly come back and may not even recognize it as the same city, but it's a case of 'only time will tell' to see where Vancouver goes from here and how this historical event will effect us in the years to come.

More to come in my second Olympic post about the coverage I experienced from a distance, from friends and the media...

Olympics - Czech Republic vs. Latvia

2010-03-01T02:46:00.000-08:00

“Not the Canada game, I'm going to see Czech Republic versus La-Lativa... or something.”
“Latvia?”
“That's the one.”

How do you decide which team to support if you have no stake in either? The team with the most fans? The underdog?

The Thunderbird Stadium screens proudly announce Canada's 8-2 victory. It must be embarrassing, I thought, to lose so badly to another team. There is a greater number of Czech than Latvia supporters in the crowd, judging from the number of flags, jerseys, and overall noise as the teams enter the rink for their warmup. The majority of the spectators are Canadians, and are probably a bit disappointed that their tickets had not been for the other game. After the first period, the score is 2-0 for the Czechs.

Early in the second period, Latvia scores a goal which is reviewed, but ultimately disallowed. Eager to see a comeback, some people in the crowd start rooting for Latvia, cheering when their goalie makes a save, and groaning when they miss a shot. By the end of the second period, it seems all the Canadians, myself included, are cheering for Latvia. The crowd is going full tilt at the beginning of the third period, and Latvia rallies and scores, putting themselves within striking range of the Czechs.

“LAT-VI-A! LAT-VI-A!”

With only four minutes remaining in the third period, Latvia ties the game, and the crowd goes berserk. I reach for my camera to take a picture of the crowd... and the battery dies.

Five minutes into overtime, Czech scores the winning goal. The Latvian team is devastated to have lost despite their comeback. I do not cheer when the Czech team scores the goal, but I applaud once the game is over. I'd like to think that what I've seen tonight was far more exciting than Canada's 8-2 victory over Germany.

Best Before: It's a videogame! Fantastic?!

2010-03-01T02:37:00.000-08:00

Best Before is an interactive performance where the audience creates the story of a country by manipulating digital characters or “avatars”. The evening progresses as binary individual and group choices are offered to the players. After an incredibly slow, methodical tutorial of the controls, some members of the audience couldn't fully grasp what they were supposed to do. There are so many avatars onscreen that taking your eyes off your blob would mean losing track of it in a sea of other, less important blobs. When the camera zoomed in on any character, I maneuvered my blob into the shot as quickly as I could. “You don't know who I am but pay attention to me!”, I thought, acting like a spoiled teenager. “Me me me!”

Some of your choices give your avatar an item. Over the course of the evening, I acquired a joystick, marijuana haze, a gun, and somehow managed to get a job as a game tester, lose it, and mysteriously re-acquire it. I wanted to be a politician, but because I had no ambition I was unqualified. I was smiling most of the way through the game, with the exception of some questionable group decisions: For some reason, the audience decided not to create an army, even after we had been bombed... twice. The in-game choices and real-life experience blurred at times, when the presenters offered some insight into their own lives regarding the choice that had just been offered to the players. Female characters pregnant at the age of fifteen were offered the decision to keep or abort their baby; One of the presenters was conceived when his mother was fifteen.

I clung on for dear life at the end of the night, when the magnetic wall of death pulled all the remaining characters to their doom. I died like all the other avatars: with a THUD, as a little blob-sized sack fell from the ceiling onto the stage. I left the event feeling a bit melancholy, reflecting on the decisions I made that evening, and how much they mattered in the end. As I made my way to the bus stop, I wondered if my own decisions would carry any real significance. I shook my head and smiled.

We'll see.

White Cabin

2010-03-01T01:02:00.000-08:00

As you enter the dimly lit room, you see a woman sitting at a table at the far-left hand side of the stage, legs crossed. A reel-to-reel projects silent films onto a white shirt as the woman takes notes, her black dress bleeding into the shadows. The eerily gentle music in the background is gradually overwhelmed as people take their seats. Smoke pours in bursts onto the stage from above. The film cuts out, and starts over again. The smell of incense slowly wafts into the crowd. A wooden chair sits in the foreground, its shadows projected threefold by spotlights. A light focuses on the woman and the audience grows quiet. You can now hear some sound from the recording, like a distorted wind-up music-box. As the reel ends, the woman turns to look at us, shadows concealing her face. A chill runs down your spine: she is staring directly at you. She stands up and walks over to the chair in the foreground. The silence is deafening. She sits on the chair facing the open stage, and becomes part of the audience.

A man wearing an incense hat flips between coloured pages. A hobo plays with gum and bottles and performs a few magic tricks before shuffling offstage. A masked man performs a Shamanistic ritual on the woman, using nails, wine, and cement blocks. He throws wine onto the woman's arms and legs and hastily rubs it into her skin. Moments later, she leaves the chair and transitions from observer to player, interacting with the other cast members. Brief moments of levity interrupt the downward spiral into insanity, as what starts as a series of comical shorts becomes something far more sinister. The woman is now smoking at a table, clearly troubled. The cigarette blows bubbles instead of smoke. A wine bottle on the far side of the table inches toward the other side. The woman stares at it, picks it up, and puts it back. It moves again. If you could not laugh, you would burst into tears. What the hell is going on? Knives and switchblades present the possibility of violence, but the dream-state of the act prevents it. Images projected onto multi-layered screens show Russian dolls and old woman's hands. The bizarrely melodic music adds to the experience, creating a sense-overwhelming performance which leaves you dazed, disoriented, and thirsting for more.

Olympic Blog II: "Vancouver Postcard"

2010-02-28T15:29:00.000-08:00

Photo: Granville Street at Robson 1959, Fred Herzog

There has been much talk over the last two weeks about the "electrifying" Olympic atmosphere in downtown Vancouver at night, especially concentrated on Granville St. and Robson St. I have spent several nights navigating my way home (from various Cultural Olympiad events) through these streets and have found nothing remotely electrifying about overwrought aggression, machismo, and homophobia. I guess this could be countered as incidental. But I find there is a consistent tension here that permeates, always ready to surface in the world's most livable city. Close the liquor shops at 7:00pm - keep it at bay. I do not know exactly how to articulate it other than to direct this post to Elizabeth Kadetsky's "Happy Valley Postcard," in which she writes of Happy Valley, Pennsylvania:

"Happy Valley is wholesome according to press ratings: in 2008, the town was ranked the second safest metropolitan area in the country by one ratings group, and the safest small city by another. Over the last twenty years, arbiters ranging from Psychology Today to Forbes to CNN have also ranked it among America’s least stressful places, its smartest places and the best places to start a career or business. In 2007, it was named the number one “single” city based on its percentage of unmarried people, and Rolling Stone even gave its music scene honorable mention. Dominated by its university economy, it has always been more or less recession-proof, hence the actual origin of its name. Even the frats here sometimes extol things other than Animal House-style reckless living: Tau Phi Delta, a hunting and fishing frat; Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish frat; Alpha Rho Chi, an architecture frat. [...] The place of happiness seems to be an American trope, making it all the more unsettling when unhappy things transpire there, undermining our innocence and belligerent mirth." (emphasis mine)

The Right Performance for the Wrong Audience

2010-02-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

For many, the Olympics start and end with the beginning and finish of each event, but others celebrate throughout the Games, and take in everything the event has to offer. The Cultural Olympiad has done a fantastic job of giving people venues for celebration, and the performers at these shows have risen to the challenge tremendously.

Going downtown, or to Surrey's Holland Park, or Richmond's Ozone always gives the option of seeing some sort of free show, sometimes sporting huge names like Our Lady Peace, Deadmau5 or Sam Roberts, while also featuring less known talents like the Arkells or Les Breastfeeders.

I attended the free Deadmau5 concert at Livecity Yaletown, which was, sadly, all ages. As a result, the majority of the twenty thousand-odd people in line were skipping high school to be there. After cutting in line (because it was either that or go home!) I made it in with my friends, among eight or so other thousand lucky fans. Apparently Deadmau5 is a big deal, but I'd only heard one of his songs at that point, which I listened to the morning of.

This brings me to Les Breastfeeders... a punk-rock band from Quebec who put performance before music with unfortunate results. For them, at least. Their band consisted of a few guitarists, a bass player, a drummer and a singer. Oh, and a crazed man in half a fur coat with a tambourine. He didn't sing, but ran the stage, leering at the audience and waving his instrument, while dousing himself with water. The poor guys got booed off stage, despite putting on an energy-fueled performance leaving everything out there. They were peppered with bottles and pop cans before finally giving in and politely walking off.

The problem, of course, was that the rave crowd from high school wasn't up for French punk rock. The performers did a great job doing what they do, but it wasn't what the audience wanted. It made me hope that the other dozens, maybe hundreds of live performance acts travelling from all over Canada to Vancouver are greeted with more respect and dignity, and that the promoters know where to place them to get the right show to the right audience.

Granville Street: Performance Space

2010-02-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

For those of us that do not have the time or money to attend "real" events and pavilions for the Vancouver Olympics, there is Granville Street. As soon as you depart the Granville Station you have arrived. Most of the street is blocked off, the police are stationed at every intersection and a wave of people move up and down creating a street fair/marti gras atmosphere. The general hustle bustle vibe carries you down the street in a wave of energy and good cheer. The regular "don't make eye contact" routine of the downtown Vancouverite is abandoned as strangers cheer for Canada and welcome other nations. I could not help smile the whole way down.

On the night that I was there, mini performances popped up as I walked up and down. A group of Russians played the drums and sang a Russian Folk song. A man dressed in a white unitard cross country skied down the length of the street. Groups of Canadians clumped together to cheer a recent victory. A seemingly endless stream of people jumping up and down on the plywood platforms supporting the lantern trees. The police telling a man he couldn't carry his girlfriend on his shoulders. A man, on his own, running down the street yelling "B.C. buds the best". And as I walked, I felt bright and awake, ready for the next mini performance to begin.

So if you get a chance to experience Granville street during the games, take it, it's free.

Mysterious Inukshuk Man

2010-02-23T15:40:00.001-08:00

Like Sylvia, I too noticed the vast amounts of inukshuks constructed along Creekside. It was hard to miss; there were hundreds of these creations, and even more spectators enjoying them and taking photos. While I was there, a man was in the middle of the rocks creating one of these impressive inukshuk towers. I took several photos, and naturally because I had enjoyed these creations I looked for his tip box. Among the long stretch of various inukshuks, barely visible, sat a small unmarked margarine container with a Canadian flag sticking out of it. As I approached it ready to drop in my ninety cent contribution, I was somewhat taken aback. Within the margarine container sat a single toonie and a single loonie. Hundreds of people were taking photos and admiring the creations, and here were three dollars for this man’s efforts. I have to admit, his tip box was barely noticeable among the rocks. But seriously, three bucks?! I began to wonder why he didn’t bother to make a more noticeable tip box. Was this the man who had made all of these Inukshuks? Why had he done it? It seems that money wasn’t the main motive in making these rock towers. Or maybe it was and he didn’t make the donation box more noticeable because he didn’t have the proper license to make money off of it. I tried googling these inukshuk creations, but there were no hits. So many questions, so little answers. This event really started me thinking about our course of Vancouver as a performance, and the motives for the performance this mysterious man had created.

performance in media

2010-02-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have heard the headlines about Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette's mother dying at VGH this weekend. This has been all over the media which to me brings up an interesting debate on the ethics of media. The media is taking a respectful stance on the story but they are still broadcasting this. Is it ethical to broadcast this kind of information? It happens all the time, peoples personal lives and relationships all over the news.

It would seem to me if I was in the situation i would feel exploited. This brings up the question of ethics in media. In the case of this they made Joannie into a hero which was at least a positive portrayal but the question remains is it ethical.

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/articles/2010/02/22/skaters_mother_dies_of_heart_attack_at_games/

Inukshuks

2010-02-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Inukshuks and Olympic torches that people have built along Creekside (near Science World). I was amazed by the number of statues that were constructed using the stones, rocks and sometimes moss along the water. The closer one

walked to BC Place the larger the number of torches and Inukshuks. I don't know if this was a competition or if anyone was welcome to build but I have to say some of them appear extremely authentic.

Reflecting on Push and Audience Obligation.

2010-02-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

Does an audience owe anything to a performance? When I attended "Nevermore", two audience members seated beside me left at intermission because they were not enjoying the show. Is this rude? Is performance like an ill fitting shirt to be returned because it does not please? I certainly agree that the audience has the right to walk out but at what provocation? While "Nevermore" was not without its flaws it was not offensive, aggressive or even that dark. They simply didn't like it and left without seeing the end. I am fairly sure that the actors didn't notice and if I hadn't been sitting right beside them I wouldn't have noticed either. So why was I so bothered?

Any professional performance is sometimes years in the making, months in planning, weeks in rehearsal and a significant investment of capital. When you attend such a performance, you are not only enjoying a bit of theatre but supporting a community of artists dedicated to producing art. Do you not owe a certain amount of respect to the culmination of such an effort? I suspect you already know what I think on the matter. Yes, you do. Now, if you are unable to continue watching because you are offended or you are ill, I cannot fault that. This was not the case, however. I take the stand that leaving because you are unimpressed is just as rude as answering a phone call, talking during the performance or any other number of agreed upon transgressions. Just because the end result did not live up to your expectations, you should still respect the artists who endeavored to create something magical, even if they failed.

Required Reading for Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games

2010-02-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

The Neurotic Citizen by Engin F. Isin (abstract):

"Over the last three decades we have witnessed the birth of a subject that has constituted the foundations of a regime change in state societies: the neoliberal subject. As much as neoliberalism came to mean the withdrawal of the state from certain arenas, the decline of social citizenship, privatization, downloading, and so forth, it also meant, if not predicated upon, the production of an image of the subject as sufficient, calculating, responsible, autonomous, and unencumbered. While the latter point has been a topic of debate concerning the rational subject, I wish to argue that the rational subject has itself been predicated upon and accompanied by another subject: the neurotic subject. More recently, it is this neurotic subject that has become the object of various governmental projects whose conduct is based not merely on calculating rationalities but also arises from and responds to fears, anxieties and insecurities, which I consider as ‘governing through neurosis’. The rise of the neurotic citizen signals a new type of politics (neuropolitics) and power (neuropower). I suggest a new concept, neuroliberalism—a rationality of government that takes its subject as the neurotic citizen—as an object of analysis."

The Simpsons do Vancouver!

2010-02-19T12:00:00.001-08:00

The Simpsons had an Olympics episode!!

Marge and Homer are part of the USA curling team, and Lisa gets a crazy addiction to collecting Olympics mascot pins...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT7u8ScHm4g

Narceritos

2010-02-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

Jay Malinowski, from the band Bedouin Soundclash, wrote a song about the downtown East side as part of his new solo stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FGE6CHVg3A
"Narceritos", from the album Bright Lights and Bruises.
It's not just that I have an insanely school-girl-esque crush on him, but the song is definitely worth checking out. A review I read about it had an issue with it being too "dark"... eyeroll.

Jesus Christ Can Answer Your Prayers Via Text

2010-02-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

I came across an interesting journal article last week. Titled "No more SMS from Jesus: Ubicomp, Religion and Techno-spiritual Practices", author and urban ethnographer (I think that is the right description) discusses the use of technology - more notably, mobile technologies - in religious practices.

In Finland, one of its mobile service provider offered text messages from the Saviour himself, promising to answer to any prayers you might have wanted to text to Jesus Christ. The service was shut down, but there continues to be a huge crossover between religious practices and technologies (ie The Vatican has a text messaging service and records podcasts). Is this exploiting religion and spiritual practices?

I could argue that yes, these types of "techno-spiritual" practices exploit religion and the people who follow. As a person who has grown up with religion, shouldn't I have faith and hope when I pray, instead of the instant gratification of an answer from Jesus, via text?

During the PuSh Fest, if anyone attended The Passion of Joan of Arc at the Christ Church Cathedral, you will probably remember the technical problems the show had with playing the movie. The projection was not a problem, but for some reason, the film was not playing as it should have been. It was hilarious to hear and see the orchestra start and stop due to some technical glitch.

Now, despite the strange text messages you could receive from the Good Shepard and the technical glitch, I thought that bringing technology into the church for this show was genius. It was strangely appropriate. Church acoustics can be pretty fantastic and that large organ, looming above, was effectively used. Further, theatre and church can share very similar rituals and practices. There is an altar/stage with a priest/actor performing from a script. And for the most part, a traditionally passive audience sits, watches and interprets. Joan of Arc was a great show and definitely a highlight of the Festival.

Reflecting of Push and Performance

2010-02-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

What is theatre? A basic performance only requires a space, an actor and an action but is that theatre? For those of you that didn't see Best Before, it was an experience in virtual reality, giving each audience member control of a small bouncing dot and requiring them to make decisions about the fate of that dot. There was some actual live action performance spliced in but the real show was the interface between audience and technology. Certainly the creators went to a lot of trouble to make it feel like theatre but is a bunch of people sitting is room together, playing a video game theatre?

Many friends of mine play online games such as World of Warcraft, in which they interact with other people, create elaborate characters, go on missions and experience intense emotions regarding victories and loses. However, I think most people would agree that this isn't theatre. So what is it about Best Before that pushes it beyond a mere video game? Perhaps it is the fact that we are in a theatre, experiencing it together and reacting to each others presence. Perhaps it is the people controlling the experience or the dramatic interludes. Or maybe this isn't theatre at all but a kind of performance art. I'm still not sure.

One of the things I admire about the Push Festival is it's commitment to putting on shows that blur the boundaries. Most of the shows I saw, including Best Before, were difficult to define. Theatre is a type of performance but not all performances are defined as theatre. A guy simply standing, showing slides and talking about his trip to China. Theatre? A guy projecting his family album in a bunny suit. Theatre? A collective video game. Theatre? In all these cases, I'm not sure what to conclude. However, I tend toward a more permissive view. If theatre is to challenge and engage it must arrest and this is rarely achieved in your tradition plot driven play.

protesting

2010-02-16T23:58:00.000-08:00

I found these sings on Friday around 4 pm leaning against the art gallery, void of any apparent owners.

the bay protest and the capitalist reaction

2010-02-16T23:06:00.000-08:00

I was at the westin bayshore hotel saturday morning waiting around for clients at the spa when i heard the hotel was on security lock down. No one in, no one out. This was because some angry protesters were coming towards the hotel (which has all the vanoc committee people and dignitaries and fancy pants staying inside it). These were the same protesters who earlier that morning had broken the windows at the bay, splashed red paint and overturned mailboxes.

Being incredibly anti-olmypic I was actually at the time somewhat entertained by this idea. (Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to have to go through airport security and not be able to take my own lunch to work everyday because of the olympics? I work 14 hr shifts until the olympics are over and can only eat at the cafeteria once a day but am still not allowed to bring my water bottle to work because of security. Working in the hotel industry currently my guests are all olympic- competitors, sponsors, families, dignitaries, vanoc members etc etc... not only can i not escape the olympics I cant have an opinion about them at work. and I couldnt take time off work during the olympics because that was cause for termination. oh olympics.... you are not my friend) Having said this I went down to the Bay around 3 pm on saturday to survey the damage. All the paint was washed away by the time my boyfriend and camera showed up at 330 and most of the windows fixed. This lady, however, was there and she was an employee of the Bay as I understood it. Note her sign in regards to the actions of the protesters. (Ironically I feel that VANOC vandalized many of our communities such as DTES let alone the provincal budget but it digress)

Now im still anti-olympic but slightly less grouchy about it. The olympics are here, and so it is too late to make changes for 2010. It is not too late to raise awareness to the issues and change them for the future communities. Because deep down its a beautiful concept but its the manner in which the olympics operate which is the problem they devastate parts of the hosting communities and make other parts of them rich. The "world" is here, its the perfect time to raise the issues and deal with them in a positive and progressive manner. Having those protesters break a bunch of public and corporate property (however much their damn the man methods may have been rebelliously delicious) makes all protesters look like vandalizing "douchebags". And even though deep down a part of me dreams of going "postal" on my vanoc work place in the forms of long soap box style rants about consumerism and corporate propaganda for product placement at the cost of the local communities during the hours and hours im there surrounded by 2010 propaganda I understand that violence like that dosent help the cause, it just makes those protesters and those in opposition for valuable reasons who want to fight for change look like jokes. So from here on out im being a happy protester.

one more note about protesting. Friday there was a big anti-olympic protest at the art gallery. I wasn't able to get any photos but another group came out to protest the protesters. They had these signs that read " You say Protest we say Party!" They were advocating celebrating the 2010 olympics and having a "party" while the world was here, having fun with the games and such. Interestingly enough they were mostly older people, all well dressed, I saw lots of expensive name brand clothing on a majority of the people I saw - they clearly upper middle class. Interesting to look at the ages and demographics of the protesters, it tells you a lot of social values in this city.

Vancouver 2010, where everyone is a consumer

2010-02-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures from Burrard street and Granville street I took on Saturday while waiting for appointments at my work. It seems that all the store fronts and some hot dog stands are doing their best to take advantage of the olympic marketing angle.

The olympics are something I have always thought of in capitalist terms, go into any sky train and be bombarded with coke and mc donald ads. Or walk downtown everyone who shops at the Bay gets a reusable (bonus points for this)"Visa - Go World" bag (all points lost for being a walking advert). The message I take away from this is that I should drink coke, eat at mc donalds and spend lots of money on my credit card, im sorry what did that have to do with sports?

Anyways I left out the major sponsors because we have talked about it a bit before but also it makes me too angry. But also because the window displays are more creative and possibly ridiculous. Walking around downtown lots of things were being given out for free and many more things were being advertised for free on people. The windows of clothing stores showed "olympic spirit" by depicting people in lines for events, winter sports, canada's colours and gold medals out of various products.

A particular favorite olympic moment of the day was overhearing a couple talking while waiting in line for free vitamin water say "they dont have the flavor you like and its starting to rain, can we get out of here?" and the wife replying " just a few more minutes were almost at the front, besides its free". I understand that as a capitalist society we value things that are free because everything is ranked in value based on price. Yet it is so ridiculous to see people stand in the rain for over 15 minutes to get something they dont really want for free. Ah everyone is a consumer.