MOV: Your Future Home

The latest exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver is well, very Vancouver. I'm really liking what the museum is doing in recent history, by bringing to the city exhibits that are relevant to where we live. It's a great way to celebrate and dissect the place we call home. Which is why their latest exhibit, Your Future Home: Creating the New Vancouver is all that more timely, with talks about increasing density and housing prices, etc.

Stop by the Museum of Vancouver to see what artists and developers are envisioning for the future of our city. Engage in conversation at one of the many special events/lectures being hosted there. Your Future Home: Creating the New Vancouver is on now until May 15th.

YVR #8 in World's Top Airports!

According to the World Airport Awards, Vancouver's YVR ranks in at number 8 in a list of the world's top 100 airports! This makes YVR the only North American airport to even make the top 10!

And it is true, YVR is a very nice airport to hang out at if you're waiting for a flight or to pick someone up. Have you been to visit recently?

Congratulations, YVR!

Tobias Wong exhibit - Museum of Vancouver

Have you gone yet? The Tobias Wong exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver ends this month, and it is the coolest exhibit you will get a chance to see. I wrote about it back in September, and since then the museum has put on numerous events to coincide with the show, including a pop-up tattoo parlour.

The final event for this exhibit takes place on Feb 7 and is a Talk and Tour with Pablo Griff, who was a close and personal friend of the artist. I knew Tobias as well, and have already gone to the exhibit more than once. More recently, I acquired the catalogue that accompanies the show, and it is so beautiful and so well done!

Don't believe me? Check out what the Canadian Design Resource has to say and what the Globe and Mail thought about the exhibit.

The Tobias Wong exhibit ends on February 24, at the Museum of Vancouver. Catch it before it's gone!

Coast Modern

I am very excited to go see this documentary about Modern architecture on the West Coast!

Coast Modern is "an independent documentary by directors Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome. Travelling along the Pacific North West coastline from LA to Vancouver, the film showcases the pioneers of West Coast Modernist Architecture, and the homes that have become their legacies. Stepping inside the most inspired dwellings on the west coast, we feel how the light and space of a classic Modernist home can work in collaboration with the natural environment."

Coast Modern plays tonight at the Norm Theatre at UBC at 6pm. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Postcards: Inside BC Place Stadium

Here are some photos I took with my iPhone from inside BC Place last weekend at the BC Lions game. It was a gorgeous sunny day out and they had the roof open.

Tobias Wong exhibit at Museum of Vancouver

On Wednesday night I attended the opening reception of a retrospect on art wunderkind and Vancouver native, the late Tobias Wong. During the reception, there were speeches made, including one from his mother, Phyllis. However, in true Tobias Wong style, instead of a short Asian woman heading up onto the stage, we got a tall Caucasian man (my friend Peter) speaking instead. This was a wonderful little tribute to when Tobias had a tall Caucasian man accept an award on his behalf, pretending to be him.

 
 I knew Tobias back in the day on a personal level and when he moved to New York and made a splash in the art scene, he allowed me to interview him for an article in Ricepaper Magazine. During one of my visits to New York, he invited me to an art opening in SoHo that he was a part of, and I was honoured to have the privilege to attend.

Here's a personal photo I have of him:
 

There was always a bit of cheekiness to him, a humour and wit that was intelligent and biting, and I believe that comes across in his work. Here are some of my favourite pieces that are currently on display at the Museum of Vancouver.

 
 
 
 

This marks the third time I've seen his work featured in a museum. The first time was at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and he had his bulletproof broach and bulletproof duvet cover there. This was when he was still alive.

After his death, I saw the exhibit that was done at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and I remember it being really small. It was exciting to see all his work together like that, but at the same time I felt slightly disappointed by how it was presented.

Now, here in his hometown, I can honestly say without bias that this show is splendidly done! It's in-depth, well-rounded, and informative. Each piece is accompanied by a little story from a collaborator, friend, or fellow artist. There are three rooms dedicated to his work, and each piece is fascinating to look at. This is the perfect showcase for Tobias Wong and his work.

Oh and here's a tip for when you go! When you get to the piece about his pop-up shop that never opened, be sure to pick up the telephone receiver underneath the picture and take a listen!! 

Object(ing): The Art/Design of Tobias Wong is on now at the Museum of Vancouver until February 24, 2013. To find out more about Tobias Wong, you can do a Google search and read the many articles written about him, and you can also visit his now defunct website BrokenOff.com

 

Baldwin House

I'm on an Arthur Erickson kick lately, and for some reason I can't believe that I haven't blogged about Baldwin House before. Situated at Deer Lake in Burnaby, this mid-century dwelling is probably my favourite Erickson design in Vancouver. I'd love to get a group of friends together and rent it out for a weekend just to take in the breathtaking view and interior design. Check out these awesome photos of Baldwin House that I scoured from the net:













Baldwin House is available for rentals, so does anybody want to chip in with me and just go hang out there for a week? :)

The Waterfall Buiding

I knew a couple who used to live in Arthur Erickson's Waterfall Building but I was too uneducated to appreciate it at the time. Looking back, I wish I had explored it more and taken more photographs. Now I just have to rely on a Google Image search to share with you this important piece of design in Vancouver.







"The building was designed in 1996 with Nick Milkovich Architects. The concrete and glass structure houses units for artists that combine living and work space. The focal point of the project is the central skylit gallery that makes use of innovative steel trusses to hold up the large sloped glass front. Steel is also key in its use in the construction and detailing of the balconies, stairs and enclosures -- the lightness and texture of which creates a sharp contrast with the heaviness of the exposed concrete frame." - Text from University of Waterloo

Fans of the TV show The L Word may also recognize this building as it was a prominent location for the series.

Postcards: Water Fountain at Bentall One

Today's Vancouver postcard features a water fountain that I walk by everyday, but know absolutely nothing about, other than it looks pretty cool! Does anyone else out there know some more about this water fountain in front of the Bentall One tower (located by Pender and Burrard, in downtown Vancouver)?

The Hemloft

How cool is this? A guy named Joel Allen built a treehouse in the woods, somewhere up around Whistler. I love this idea that you could be walking about in the woods one day and you just might be lucky enough to come across this creation. I'm not a hiker, but I may have to take it up just for the hopes of running into this!

It's called The Hemloft and you can read up all about it on the website.

The location is not disclosed, but because people have caught on to its existence, it's turning out to be an illegal activity to build a treehouse on crown land, so the government may have this gorgeous piece of work dismantled.

Help Save The Hemloft!!!

(Oh and Joel, if you're reading this, I'd love to get those top secret coordinates to one day come and visit this work of art!)

The Marine Building

On the corner of Hastings and Burrard sits this majestic building from Vancouver's recent past (1929). If you're an Art Deco enthusiast, you're likely to join the handful of people who make the journey to this building just to photograph its front entrance. Go inside, check it out, and read up on its history and where it came from here!

Herschel Herschel Herschel!

It was an impulse buy.

I didn't INTEND on getting one, let alone two.

But I did feel the need to get a stylish iPad holder, and had heard about a little Vancouver company called Herschel.

The Herschel Supply Company makes some REALLY COOL THINGS. And yes, they are Vancouver based! How fun is that?

So I went in search of a Herschel iPad holder, wandered the boutique shops in Gastown - some of whom (like One of a Few) do carry Herschel, but not what I was looking for. For a Vancouver-based company, it is pretty hard to locate where to buy Herschel in Vancouver! There's also a shop on Granville Street downtown called Underworld that carries Herschel Supply Co. I eventually ended up at Simply Computing over on Broadway and they had the iPad holders in stock. Seriously, how cute is this!?



I was all set to get it and leave, until I turned around and was smacked with a wall of Herschel bags. What!? My iPad case went clattering to the ground in disbelief. I quickly picked it up before anyone else could swipe it, but it was lunchtime on a weekday, so I was in the clear. Anyhow, I wandered over to some of the Herschel messenger/laptop bags, and fondled their straps, caressed their zippers, and decided to open one up. I was greeted with a wonderfully bright red candy-striped lining on the inside, and a fur-lined section to hold laptops or other delicates.

With its simple exterior, it's really what's on the inside that counts, as they say. I was in heaven. I was in love.



And I needed to buy that love. So I did.

Hello, LOVER.



I walked away with two Herschel items that day. If you're looking for some fun bags or wallets or iPad cases, then please think local, please think Herschel!

Canstruction 2012!

The annual design competition that raises food for the Food Bank is back! Canstruction Vancouver 2012 began this week and is on until April 4! The sculptures that have been built can be seen downtown at 4 different locations. I visited the HSBC Pendulum Gallery (Georgia St and Hornby) today at lunch and snapped a few shots. You can also stop by the Four Seasons Hotel, the FortisBC Building (1075 W. Georgia) and the Fluor building (1111 W. Georgia to see the rest!

All venues are free and you can even vote in the People's Choice Award and win a prize for yourself!

Help feed the hungry and donate to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank!