Seen In Vancouver #339: Making The Effort To Talk To A Dinosaur About Its Extinction

A stack of unwanted Telus phonebooks doesn’t impress a fed up, forward-thinking resident of Vancouver.

EVERYTHING SEEN IN VANCOUVER

Vancouver Detail #271: Hand Drawn Map Of Our City By Sean Colohan At “Style Garage”

Us: “Woah! That’s pretty cool.”
Sean: “Yeah”
Us: “Who did it?”
Sean: “I did.”
Us: “It must have taken awhile.”
Sean: “Yup.”

Chalk Map of Vancouver (from found image) | by Sean Colohan | Style Garage | 124 West Hastings 

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Vancouver Detail is a new (and overdue) offshoot of Scout’s regular Seen In Vancouver column. With it, we aim to share the more macro scenes of our city’s awesomeness, the things that some of our more hurried readers might miss, from hidden works of art to all manner of unlikely but cool things lying in plain sight. 

The View From Your Window #121

Reader “H.P.” | Main & 5th | Vancouver, BC | 10:00am |  SHARE YOUR VIEW

We love posting the photographs that reveal the views from our reader’s windows. Whether it’s a back alley in the fall or a sandy beach in high summer, we’re always stoked to see what you see from home, work or while on the road. Some of our all-time favourite reader submissions below… Read more

CITY BRIEFS: On Cruising And Choosing Our Public Art Murals (City-Sanctioned Or Not)

by Ellen Johnston | How do we choose what to depict in public art? Should it be the reality of the present, the legacy of what came before, or an idealized vision of what we want these spaces to look like in times to come? Whatever the case, the choice of subject matter for public art – especially for that of murals – can rarely be said to be purely aesthetic. In the context of the often harsh realities of urban life, art for art’s sake is a luxury few can afford, especially since our city streets provide contexts that simply cannot be ignored (unlike within the confines of a gallery).

One need only examine some of the most famous public art in the world to see that this is the case. In Mexico, the murals of Diego Rivera ask questions about their country’s history, and what it means to live in a Mestizo nation. In Philadelphia, where the Mural Arts Program has produced over three thousand murals, public art adorns decrepit and abandoned buildings, depicting messages of hope in some of the city’s most blighted neighbourhoods. In Derry, where some of the greatest atrocities of the Catholic-Protestant struggles of Northern Ireland occurred, political murals dedicated to the Republican cause stand side by side with ones depicting the innocent victims of The Troubles, and a dove, the symbol of Peace. And this is also the case in Vancouver, where our struggles are fewer and our mural culture is less developed. But there are still many gems that can be found throughout our city, and they can tell us a lot about where we came from, where we are at present, and where we aspire to be in the future.

It is hardly surprising that a high percentage of Vancouver’s murals are found in the vicinity of the Downtown Eastside. Not only is this one of the city’s most historic areas, but it is also a place in which some of our city’s greatest struggles have been fought, and are still being fought today. While most of the murals found hereabouts and in the surrounding areas were created individually, they have now been incorporated into a City of Vancouver program known as “The Great Beginnings Program”, which, according to their website, “supports this initiative through an investment of $10 million over three years to celebrate the history, heritage, and culture of Vancouver’s first urban areas, including the neighbourhoods of Gastown, Chinatown, Japantown, and Strathcona.” The city has now also produced an interactive map of these murals, which can be found at www.MuralsVancouver.ca. Suggested mural walking tours can found on the website, and information about each mural is listed.

As you can see, Multiculturalism is one of the most common themes addressed by our murals. Some highlight the mosaic-like nature of our city and collective efforts to get along, while others draw attention to the struggles of specific communities to find their place in the whole. On the corner of Columbia and Pender, for example, a three-paneled mural called “Snapshots of History” depicts the early lives of Chinese immigrants. On one of the panels, the Goon family is shown. The father went on to become the city editor of the Chinese Times, established in 1914 to chronicle the story of the Chinese in Canada and abroad, while the mother ran a fish shop. Their son, Hung Get Goon, dreamt of becoming a lawyer, but did not succeed due to discrimination. At the mural’s inauguration, Goon’s son said “It’s in memory of our ancestors and how they came out here and how hard it was for them to begin life here in Canada. There was so much discrimination. It was really hard for them to get by — but they survived, they survived.” Just a block and a half away from Vancouver most notorious intersection, Main & Hastings, this mural speaks true in more ways than one, because the continued success of Chinatown is a testament to survival amid so much poverty and addiction. It feels like a world away from Main & Hastings, and yet it is just around the corner.

Other cultures depicted in various murals include the Japanese, Russian, Italian-Canadian and Aboriginal communities, as well as the residents of Vancouver’s oft forgotten first and only black neighbourhood, Hogan’s Alley. Largely razed during the construction of the Georgia Viaduct, this neighbourhood’s most famous denizen was the famous musician Jimi Hendrix, who lived a few blocks east off and on with his grandmother, Nora. A mural depicting Jimi can be found at 1030 East Cordova. Equally unique is the Jimi Hendrix Shrine, located near the corner of Main and Union streets. While it is not officially sanctioned public art in the traditional sense of the term, it contains many pieces both inside and out that are free to the public and visible from a fair distance away. While the Shrine lacks the professional touch of the official Jimi Hendrix mural, its simple vision to commemorate a son of our city is nevertheless commendable.

This is true of several other unsanctioned pieces in and around the Downtown Eastside, whether they be graffiti or postering or words scrawled on a wall. They remind us that Public Art does not have to come from an official source. While some sort of community consensus might be generally preferred for such projects, sometimes an individual’s touch is all that is needed to ask the questions art so often needs to ask. One particular work on the DTES that cannot found on the City of Vancouver’s website states: “Food, home, health + education. Not greed”. It seemed such a simple equation, and yet only two blocks away, a street was blocked off because a TV show called “The Killing” was in the midst of shooting. Cops were telling pedestrians and bikers that they simply had to wait, because the almighty dollar has paid for this street to not be their street anymore, and nevermind the fact that one of the saddest shows on earth was streaming live, mere meters away.

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Ellen Johnston considers herself a wanderer, whether tramping through the rain-soaked streets of Vancouver and attempting to pry loose the layers of our urban fabric, couch-surfing across America, or getting lost in the souks of Marrakech. Since that is not a full time gig, she fills her days with the study of African dance and drumming, writing, piano, and running her own cookie company, Cookie Elf. She grew up in Vancouver, studied in Philly and London, and hopes to see even more of this great big world in the future.

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#VANCOUVER WOULD BE COOLER IF #173: If It Had A Forest Of These Rad Treehouses

Of course, getting the requisite permits might mummify the intrepid with red tape a la slow motion City Hall, but an Ewok can dream! From Oregon, natch, via BoingBoing:

This 17-minute mini-documentary introduces Michael Garnier, proprietor of the Out’n'About Treehouse Resort in Oregon. Garnier is a thoughtful and salty woodcrafter who’s put a lot of thought into the right way to build a treetop B&B, and his guided tour of his little hotel with its Ewok-style treehouses is a delight.

OTHER CIVIC IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS

HONOUR BOUND: Check Out The Launch Of Stan Douglas’ New Book On February 10th

If you’ve ever walked around the new Woodwards 3 complex in Gastown you’ve likely noticed Stan Douglas’ translucent photo mural, Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971 (as seen above). It’s pretty awesome, as is Douglas’ revealing book of the same name (published by Arsenal Pulp Press). It details how he came to create the scene from the 1971 Gastown Riot (fascinating), and also takes both the riot and his work “as points of departure to discuss the legacy and implications of this tumultuous time, not only for Vancouver but for all urban centres where dissent and conflict based on class, lifestyle, or other issues arise, and where the role of authorities is contested in the form of public demonstration” (learn more about riot and the work here). The official launch goes down on Friday, February 10th at the Charles H. Scott Gallery (Emily Carr). Stan Douglas will be in attendance and signing copies. Be sure to check it out.

Honour Bound details the many cool things that we feel honour bound to check out because they either represent Vancouver exceptionally well or are inherently super awesome in one way or another.

Cool Thing We Want #327: A Week Camping Near And Fishing On Sweden’s Vindel River

Holy shit do we ever want this, with or without The Tallest Man On Earth soundtrack.

EVERY COOL THING WE WANT

VANCOUVERITES: 5 Minutes With Gene Doe Creatives Christina Ladwig & Hanna Tveite

by Jenny Bachynski | Christina Ladwig and Hanna Tveite are the creative directors and photographers behind Gene Doe, a creative agency specializing in fashion media. Based out of Vancouver, the talented duo have collaborated on many editorial shoots, ad campaigns, and films. It’s easy to be drawn to their photography for its cinematic quality (it gets me in the same way that a good film does); the style is minimalist and striking, something that I feel is often absent in fashion media. I was keen to hear their perspective and learn how they balance their talents to create a cohesive business. Say hello…

How did Gene Doe come to be? Simply, we both wanted to make work that we wanted to see. Although we didn’t know it when we first met, we shared a sensibility that was quite different than the prevailing one in the city at the time. Once we realized we both felt that way, it just felt like a natural progression.

The name Gene Doe…how did that come about? We really wanted to create a personality. We wanted an identity, but one that was somewhat ambiguous. We didn’t want to limit ourselves by choosing a name that defined us in a specific way. We also knew that our identity would be closely linked to the names we worked with, so a reference to the nameless “Doe” seemed fitting. Everything about it felt right.

Do you feel that you both have similar photographic styles, and how does that play out when you are working together? We have a very similar vision, but naturally assume different roles. Our individual strengths are well balanced. What one of us doesn’t see, the other does.

While you are shooting, are you purposefully aware of what you are trying to capture, or is it more of an organic experience? Everything we do, we do with a tremendous amount of purpose. Our focus going into any shoot is on expressing a particular tone. But in achieving that, collaboration is an extremely important element of our process. The different creative influences of the model, the make-up artist and stylist are something that we fully embrace. We don’t always know how we’re going to get there, but we always know where we’re going.

What has been your favorite experience you have had since you started Gene Doe? Probably the short film we did with Jordan Chu, for her jewelry line, The Woodland. We had incredible creative chemistry. It was, by far, our most ambitious project. It was also the most collaborative project we’ve done.

Gene Doe is primarily a business that is dedicated to fashion media. How would you describe your style if you could only use one word? Understated.

How has living in Vancouver influenced you as artists and photographers? The aesthetic that appeals to us is one that isn’t at all prevalent in Vancouver. The absence of that provided space for us to find our identity.

What is one thing you wish you would have known before starting your own business? Nothing, really. Learning is the best part.

What is your favorite small business in Vancouver (besides your own)? There are a lot of great small businesses in this city, but if we’d have to pick one, it would definitely be Old Faithful. They have a really strong identity, they’re super friendly and they support local business. We also love their aesthetic.

If you could do a portrait session with anyone, who would it be? Bob Dylan.

To learn more about Gene Doe visit www.genedoeproject.com and www.genedoe.tumblr.com.

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Jenny Bachynski was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. In her teenage years she packed up her bags and headed to Vancouver to pursue further education in fashion design. In 2009 she started her own small business Jenny Andrews Recycled Leather Goods, as well as her blog Jenny Loves. After starting her blog, Jenny discovered that one of her greatest joys was stumbling upon beautiful and interesting things, and sharing them with anyone who would listen.

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HONOUR BOUND: Contribute Your Art Work To The “Bill You Murray Me” Art Exhibition

We ran across the above poster over the weekend and love the concept. An art exhibition dedicated to Bill Murray. So great. The only thing that would make it cooler is if every Bill Murray loving Vancouverite could contribute some quality art work to the show. Yup, the organizers are looking for quick and dirty work of all sorts that honours “…this peculiar, hilarious and often sad man…From Caddyshack to Broken Flowers…Classics such as Ghostbusters, Lost in Translation or every Wes Anderson film. We want your inspired art on our walls. We are open to any and all interpretations (paintings, drawing, mixed media, film, knitting.. anything)”.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday. If you have some original Bill Murray work or think you could whip something cool up overnight, get in touch with the creative folks running the show at billmurraylove [at] gmail [dot] com. The show will go down at The Toast Collective on February 11, 2012 (648 Kingsway in Mount Pleasant). Guests are expected to bring red toques, housecoats with pipe in hand and be bearded. There will be cheap drinks, great music and tons of presumably excellent art.

Honour Bound details the many cool things that we feel honour bound to check out because they either represent Vancouver exceptionally well or are inherently super awesome in one way or another.

HONOUR BOUND: Watch The Vancouver Canucks Destroy The Chicago Blackhawks

Remember this? Sigh. Life was good that night! The rematch goes down tomorrow (Tuesday) night. Plenty of tickets on Craigslist for the brave and wealthy (they ain’t cheap and caveat emptor, for real).

Honour Bound details the many cool things that we feel honour bound to check out because they either represent Vancouver exceptionally well or are inherently super awesome in one way or another.

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