Thursday 31 July 2014

Douglas Coupland, Vancouver Art Gallery



Coupland collected items - commercial and part of our daily life.
Surprisingly, he made quilts. The holes are 'spirit catchers'.
This quilt included hubcaps.


This interested me because it reminded me of modern quilts.
The central object depicts the ice storm in Quebec 
where electrical towers toppled over.
Coupland abstracted several well known artists. 
This one: Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky by Emily Car
As a child, he was fascinated with lego. 
This is his first set - replicated many times.
and, more complex 'totems'
There was a room of signs ... social and intellectual statements. 
This interested me because I was a teacher!



Coupland was fascinated by technology and images.

This needed a camera phone to see the image.
He did a series of photos with the face obliterated by paint.
These reminded me of the adolescents whose brains turn to mush in the time between childhood and what society calls maturity.
This large collection was like looking into a brain ... with all the images we store.
The view from the restaurant at the Art Gallery. 
They now call Vancouver 'the glass city'.
Food is good!

I had little knowledge of Coupland's art, I had seen some items over time. This exhibit shows an artist who works in a wide variety of mediums ... reacting to the world around him. It was almost like looking inside his brain ... with all its complexity! 
Photography was encouraged.

1 comment:

Lori said...

We have matching blog posts ;)