Category — The Arts

Tamara Frank installation at West Pender Place

When Dutch artist Tamar Frank turned on her major new light installation at 1409 West Pender in July, early reviews were so positive she declared herself astounded and “almost bashful at the way people are complimenting me on the work.”

Frank is an internationally-recognized artist whose work has been installed in many countries.

But that public acclaim was not forthcoming from some neighbours of four or five condo towers south of the new building just opened by Reliance Properties, which paid $400,000 for the light work as part of the public art program.

By early August, nearby residents were bombarding councillors with angry e-mails, insisting that the illuminated display, that lasted all night, was keeping them awake. In many cases, nearby residents lacked blinds and had the LED display flashing into living rooms and bedrooms.

(I met with some of the affected residents in August and went down at night to see the display for myself. From the street, the lights seem muted, but passersby have a hard time comparing that experience to that of neighbours, who see the building at close quarters from higher floors.)

So far, Frank’s work remains up for all to see, albeit on reduced hours. Take a look.

When city bylaw inspectors issued an ”order to vacate” to the owner of the Red Gate, the long-standing cultural hub at 152-156 East Hastings, councillors’ in boxes and twitter feeds began to light up with angry comments from people who saw the order as an attack on the arts.

In fact, the city was striking a blow for the arts and artists by insisting the building not be used as long as very real fire and public safety threats exist. Repeated efforts to get the landlord to upgrade have so far failed.

Mayor Gregor Robertson summed up this situation nicely in this e-mail to those who contacted him: [Read more →]

Since 1975, Mexican artists have been allowed to pay taxes with their art. The result: an incredible collection of nearly 4,500 works, 45 of which are on display until March 31 at the museum of the Chinese Cultural Centre at 555 Columbia. This is a tax incentive I could get behind.

Visions of Mexican Art is a wonderful show. Oddly, however, the only work by Diego Rivera depicts muffled workmen pulled ice blocks out of the Danube, a far cry from his triumphant murals.

Port Metro Vancouver, which has the costly and repetitive job of dredging the main navigation channel of the Fraser River, reports that silt loads in the river are rising steadily, driving multi-million dollar dredging costs up with them.

Why?

Port CEO Robin Silvester said March 31 that the most likely explanation is more run-off on the Fraser’s vast watershed resulting from the ravages of mountain pine beetle.

(He was addressing a joint gathering March 31 of Metro Vancouver’s Port Committee and the board of Port Metro Vancouver. The two boards, sometimes at odds over taxes but aligned in their determination to protect the economic benefits of the port, were meeting on a sternwheeler cruise of the port’s facilities between New Westminster and Richmond.)

Silvester said the Fraser’s side channels, which are dredged by other organizations, are constantly at risk of silting up because of the increased load.

It was a fascinating insight into the enormous and widespread economic impacts climate change and the pine beetle infestation, a disaster often forgotten by city dwellers.

But the devastation in BC will be the focus of an upcoming global conference in Spain focussed on global disease threats to forests. Wells artist Claire Kujundzic, whose pine beetle work was installed at the Salt Building during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, is preparing a special exhibit for the conference called Cariboo: Message from the Beetle.

You can contribute to Kujundzic’s travel costs and receive an example of her work by donating here.