The spinning chandelier by Rodney Graham should be added to the points of interest for Vancouver…read more If you are into the arts, this is a cool thing to see. The spinning chandelier is situated under the Grandville Street bridge. From downtown it's convenient to get here by foot or public transportation. Three times during the day there is a chandelier show where it lights up and spins. The times are 12 PM, 4 PM, and 9 PM.

I realize that what constitutes "good art" from "bad art" is totally subjective, and that beauty is…read moreindeed in the eye of the beholder. I also understand how and why this particular art piece is so very controversial. After all, it DID cost nearly 5 million dollars and, in essence, it IS a fancy chandelier installed under a bridge where, often, homeless people sleep, in a city ridden with housing issues and homeless people who've fallen through the cracks of society. This art installation has received a ton of flak, deemed "tone deaf" in a world and a place rife with serious issues. All that said, I LOVED this piece, and I will tell you why: -this piece does what "good art" should: it elicits a dialogue about contemporary and/or significant social issues. The very fact that this piece is controversial and has elicited such strong reactions, both positive and negative, tells me that it has done a great service by bringing attention to issues like the homeless, affordable housing, and public art. The worst thing any art could do would be to be ignorable and inconsequential, and have people walk by it and either not notice it or not care. Love it or hate it, you can't say that about this spinning chandelier! People have very strong, visceral opinions about it, either way. But everyone DOES have an opinion about it! -people who take umbrage with this piece often bemoan its high cost and say this money could've been put to better use by feeding and housing the homeless. It's important to note that this art piece was commissioned and purchased by Westbank, the developer of the adjacent Vancouver House. It was not bought by the City. As such, it was privately purchased. I have art in my own home that I've bought - and some I've made myself - and I know that not all of it is liked (or even understood) by others, and I'm okay with that. No-one should criticize me for my taste in art, that I purchased myself. If I was allowed to put it in a public space for others to enjoy, perhaps most would love it and appreciate the fact that they get to enjoy contemporary art without having to pay admission price to a gallery; others may dislike the art, or resent that it is there. But they can't complain that they funded it when they did not, and it would be presumptuous for them to say I should have given my personal money to other charitable causes than fund art. After all, who's to say I don't also give to charitable causes, too? It's my money and I can do with it as I want. -for those who say they "hate" this piece and it shouldn't be on display, I counter, hey, I might hate rap music, but I'd never argue that it should never be made or played. Who am I to tell others what music they should listen to? This piece is really amazing. It is a huge chandelier, comprised of many dangling crystal-like pendants. They've added a third "spinning" time, so now it drops and spins three times a day: at 12 noon, 4pm and 9pm. When it drops, the chandelier lights up, and it spins for about 5 minutes before ascending back to its original position under the bridge. I visited it the other day at 4 pm and videotaped the whole performance. I can see how this would be way more dramatic at night, but the daytime performance was super cool, too. It's quite the feat in engineering, and it garnered a lot of attention from passers-by - many of whom stopped to film the show like I did. The only extra feature I can think of that would make this super-duper cool would be to have some music playing during the spinning performance. That would elevate the drama! But still, it's truly a spectacle, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole whimsy of it! A short hop from the seawall at Howe, and right beside the New Vancouver House and Fresh St. Market and London Drugs between Beach and Pacific. It's truly a sight to behold! Check it out!

Located in front of Hillcrest Community Centre are nine black bird sculptures, over six feet high…read more The sculptures were installed in 2009, although it was only last week that I noticed them, as I am rarely in the area (but that's not really an excuse; I have gone to Hillcrest a handful of times in the past 16 years!). The sculptures, which remind me of chess pieces, are actually ravens and it was created by Manitoba Aboriginal Arts Council, Inc, an Aboriginal Artist collective based in Manitoba. The artists are: Colleen Cutschall, Irvin Head, Ian August, Riel Benn, Roger Crait, Jasyn Lucas, Jeff Monias, Gayle Sinclaire, and Jackie Traverse. More information can be found here: https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/grand-entry-manitoba-aboriginal-arts-council.pdf I had to do some googling to find out what these sculptures were as the information on the plaque had been rubbed away. Per the link, each raven is by a different artist. It would have been helpful had there been a small plaque in front of each raven with the name of the artist (although perhaps there was and I didn't see it). Overall, pretty cool sculptures, and I'm glad I finally noticed them and spent the time to look at them. [Yelp collections: Public Art]

This is probably my favorite sculpture in all of Vancouver (although it's hard to say, since I love…read moreso many pieces!). I've always been partial to kinetic sculptures due to the fact that they are so fluid and ever-changing, one never knows exactly how they'll look at any given moment. They are dynamic and organic in nature in that way, and that excites me. This piece embodies everything cool about kinetic artwork. It is wind-driven, so depending on the breeze (or lack thereof), this piece appears to fly, with its huge wings moving up and down on the wind, soaring. Or, on a still day, it simply appears to be suspended in mid-air, motionless - perhaps gliding still, or in a freeze-frame moment. There are propeller-like blades that capture the wind and rotate, and gears that then move the heron's wings up and down. It's both pretty basic and simultaneously quite complex, really. I love the reference to Coast Salish people and, too, the history of the heron to the False Creek area. And I appreciate the subtle nod to folk art by way of including a small metal fish in the heron's belly! (I just noticed this a few months ago! It's clever and nuanced). This large installation is located along the False Creek seawall at the South corner of George Wainborn Park. Check it out!

Highly recommended…read more Street Art Works Around Vancouver, British Columbia A trip to Vancouver is incomplete absent an effort to gad about town to view the various street artworks. One way to do this is to take one of the city bus tours to get a sense of the different neighborhoods and then taxis later to the areas you prefer. Another way to figure out where to go is to research areas on the Internet and then walk or take a cab to those areas. Yes, to be sure, the City of Vancouver holds an annual street mural project and pays artists to fly into town and paint their creations in various sections of the city during a specific period. But this city-sponsored mural effort is only part of the street art story. Vancouver is chock full of works produced by local artists, some of renown and some not so well known. If you don't know what else to do after reading this review, get yourself over to the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver and start your exploration there. If you plan to shoot photos, you'll need a wide-angle lens -- some works are expansive. You'll consume an entire day walking from block to block in the Mount Pleasant area alone. After that, if you have time, explore each section of the city for unique and different works. If you love street art, Vancouver is resplendent with various offerings. We took hundreds of photos during our stay. A few samples are below. Go and enjoy!

Having watched the 2010 Winter Olympics on television, I hoped then to someday get the chance to…read morevisit Vancouver to see it in person. Today was that day of a wish coming true. While it seemed more impressive on the tv screen back then, I nevertheless appreciated the moment.

This history with the 2010 Winter Olympics makes this thing seem cooler than it is. I saw some…read morepictures from back when it was lit up with flames and it is in fact pretty spectacular looking. Now it's only lit for special occasions. But besides that as a "landmark" it's just meh. Since I was in this part of Vancouver it was somewhat worth it to stop by just to see it. The big black LEGO dolphin nearby is much cooler.

There's a corridor of grass creating a walkway between two Yaletown condo buildings on Coopers…read moreMews, between Marinaside Crescent and Pacific Blvd, and here lies the most intriguing art installation: there is a long, extended overhead track made of metal rails, reminiscent of a winding rollercoaster track (except it's level, without dips or inclines), and at the Marinaside side, there rests 5 large wooden barrels on top of the overhead track. Under the track, embedded in the grass, is an undulating walkway of stopping stones, resembling a winding keyboard of sorts. I've often smiled when seeing these barrels, as I walk my dog daily in Coopers' Park nearby (just beside the Cambie Bridge a few feet from this area), and there's a prominent sign at the park which describes the areas history as a sawmill (originally known as the Sweeney Cooperage which, at one time, was the largest barrel-maker in the entire British Empire, making barrels for over 40 countries. WOW). So I was aware of the history of barrel-making here, and these overhead barrels are a nice homage to the area's past. But I never really checked out the metal track or the windy walkway below until recently. There aren't any inscription plates or panels that I could find about this piece, so I did some research online. The artist who created this work is Alan Storey. Supposedly, according to the City's website on public art, if one walks on the 12 embedded panels below this track, steam escapes through the barrels, creating a sound, and you could theoretically create a "tune" by stepping on the different panels. So this is intended to be an interactive art installation! Cool! So today while walking my dog I visited this piece and I stepped - and then jumped - on each of the panels. No steam came out any of the barrels and no sounds were emitted. So this function is not operational. I was disappointed. But still, it's still a neat piece, visually, and it still makes me smile when I see the barrels.

The event are super fun! And everybody is so respectful here ! A must go in vancouverread more

Lived in Vancouver all my life that this is the first time, I attended an event at Fox Cabaret. I…read morewas here for the Nerd Nite. From the outside, it looked super run down like a night club. Well maybe it can or is a night club at one point. Not sure about that. The venue wasn't bad. There is a stage in the venue, a bar area and bar high top tables at the back. Inside is a bit run down and can be sticky due to the sticky beer spill. Yes the place does have a strong beer smell. The chairs up front are temporary chairs not theater style. Guess venue can be use for multi-purpose.

Under the Cambie Bridge, on the east side (in Yaletown, by Marinaside Cr.), by the seawall, in the…read morewater, is the most unusual sci-fi-esque sculpture called the Time Top. It is 13 feet tall and bulbous shaped, made of water-weathered old bronze, and stands on three thick metal posts, like a spaceship on a tripod. The top is capped by a clear lucite dome. And on the seawall are five capstones with the works title (Time Top) and artist (Jerry Pethick) and three comic book scenes of this spaceship traveling through time and space. It's like a scene out of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone! Retro and cool and definitely unworldly. I had to research this whimsical and mysterious piece, as I've never quite seen a public art piece like it. Seems the artist was inspired by a 1935 comic strip about a spaceship and he imagined it traveling through time and dropping down in False Creek in Vancouver. (The actual comic strip scenes that inspired Pelchick are those carved into the seawall capstones here). The actual bronze work was forged in Sechelt, BC and then submerged in the ocean for two years (!), with an electric charge going trough it, in order to attract mollusks and mineral deposits (hence the weathered appearance). SO interesting! (To me, at least!). It amazes me how many people pass this piece by and don't even notice it. But in a way, I understand since, despite its tall stature and odd shape, its old, nondescript surface blends in with the marine area and it just looks like it's been there forever. It's not glitzy or bright and it doesn't scream "Look at me! Look at me!". It looks like a natural part of the False Creek shoreline here. Like, something landed here eons ago and was taken over by the natural elements of the area, so now it just blends in and is a part of the neighborhood now. And this is exactly why I think it's so cool. Who'd have thunk that a sculpture of a spaceship, embedded in the waters off the seawall under a bridge and beside a playground, would blend in so well with the area that people barely notice it? This gives me pause and makes me laugh to myself! The artist passed away in 2003 so he never got to see this work installed here, but it gives me, and other folks who pay attention to these things, much pleasure. Just another semi-hidden gem in the Vancouver landscape!

"Gate to the Northwest Passage" is a large sculpture by Chung Hung located at Vanier Park in…read moreKitsilano and close to English Bay. It is shaped like a gate or arch. But given its locale, it could also be taken to be a clear mirror looking at the beauty of Vancouver. Although the art piece caused some initial controversy after its unveiling, I think it is a cool piece of art that stands out from its park surroundings.

Located in the courtyard in front of the Station Square shopping center that and opposite Metrotown…read moreStation, this is a collection of five (now four) cast aluminum sculptures that were commissioned by the City of Burnaby for the Station Mall. According to the artist's statement, they were inspired by the original Monopoly game tokens and are to "playfully explore the dynamics of trade and game-playing." If you look about, you'll find the octopus, the dog, a melon, and a ladies shoe. There was also a gentleman Dandy but he is no longer present. As art goes, it's art. It will make sense to some and not to others. Put me in the "not making sense" column here. [Round number review 20900 overall - 76 in British Columbia - 1884 of 2023.]

In 2012, Station Square, a small, run-down shopping complex located beside Metrotown Mall, closed…read moredown for redevelopment. There are now expensive (I assume) condos and several new businesses, as well as an art installation in the main square. Cordials is by Canadian artist Myfanwy MacLeod and was installed in 2018. It consists of five steel and aluminum sculptures: a shoe, a melon, a dandy, an octopus, and a dog. The shoe, melon, and dandy are clearly visible in the main square, and despite walking past the sculptures several times, I hadn't noticed the octopus, which is on the end of a bench in the main square. The dog, which is not located in the main square with the other sculptures, can easily be missed, as it's tucked around the corner beside the Dollarama. Perhaps there are more sculptures, but as far as I can tell, there are only those five. I admit, I don't quite understand these sculptures; these five items seem so unconnected, and why is the dog so far away from the other sculptures? (Also, why isn't it beside the Pet Smart store?) But it's better than no artwork (and the octopus is pretty neat), and they're fun for the kids to climb on. [Yelp collections: Public Art]