Artful Walks, Vancouver-Style

This Vancouver Biennale Sculpture is only a block or two away from our condo, and I’ve been admiring it and wanting to take a photo of it for a few months now. Finally, this weekend, we squelched across the soggy grass towards it.
Here’s some information about it and its Spanish sculptor, Jaume PlensaThe Vancouver Biennale website tells us that This sculpture celebrates Vancouver’s linguistic and cultural diversity by incorporating multiple alphabets, (Latin, Greek, Russian Cyrillic, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese) in an all embracing womb-like human form. Plensa is widely acclaimed for his Public Art installations, having created this work specifically for the Vancouver Biennale.

I love the way the sculpture changes depending on what kinds of skies serve as a backdrop as well as the way it invites passers-by to interact with it.

Here, for example, in a not-too-corny moment, Pater is inspired to snap a photo of my head framed by the letter “D” . . .

And I, (equally non-corny, right?) can’t resist posing on its bench-like interior, playing tourist in my own city.

A bit more tourist artsy doings coming up — stay tuned . . .

10 Comments

  1. Mardel
    6 April 2010 / 7:27 pm

    That is a really cool sculpture and I don't think I could resist the photo-op either.

  2. Susan B
    6 April 2010 / 8:55 pm

    I love that you can see through the piece; somehow it feels more an organic part of the landscape that way.

  3. materfamilias
    6 April 2010 / 11:13 pm

    Mardel: silly fun, but still fun!
    Pseu: Yes, it really integrates beautifully, pulling the landscape into itself.

  4. Duchesse
    6 April 2010 / 11:48 pm

    Public art. Oh god, it's fraught. In my city 90% (IMO) is ghastly. Why? This is pleasant, and I wonder how it will hold up after 50 years? But then, many people loathed the Tour Eiffel! So what do I know?

  5. Antonia Rosina
    7 April 2010 / 2:11 am

    I have driven past this many times, but never thought to wade across the marshes to play in it. Good for you! I think it's one of the prettier pieces in the city. I hate those yellow things that look like tractor parts (can't remember where they are even…) My favourite piece of city art will always be the angel carrying the fallen soldier outside the seabus terminal. Next time we pass the Plensa piece, I'll make sure we take a closer look.

  6. mette
    7 April 2010 / 8:03 am

    One look at this——and I love it!

  7. La Belette Rouge
    7 April 2010 / 11:34 pm

    It's like you are the inner life of the sculpture. Hmm…how about the next time someone asks you what you do, you tell people that you are the inner life of the sculpture. That should make for a good chat.
    p.s. Sorry, I am on pain killers so if this comment sees incoherent you will know why.;-)

  8. materfamilias
    8 April 2010 / 12:12 am

    Duchesse: I'm not necessarily thinking of posterity, but am happy to see art — in whatever form — out there for people to see and think about and like or dislike. The Biennale seems to be a good way of making that happen, with works that aren't necessarily intended to stay forever in one spot — and they really open minds to the possibilities of/for contemporary sculpture.
    Rosina: I haven't looked at that angel/soldier for many years — not my usual preference, content-wise, I have to say, that mixture of war heroism and religiosity.
    Metscan: I'm glad!
    LBR: Works well either as current occupation or as avocation, no? I want to be the interior life of a sculpture . . . hmmmm!

  9. Here, There, Elsewhere... and more
    8 April 2010 / 9:42 am

    Thanks for sharing ^_^

  10. materfamilias
    8 April 2010 / 10:44 pm

    You're welcome, Here There . . . good of you to stop by.

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