Forget the museum, because today’s art is taking to the street. From articulated steel salmon “swimming” up a water wall to a tractor that transforms into giant flower garden over the course of a year, art is everywhere – and especially, increasingly, in the grounds and plazas of new residential developments.
One such development is The Shore in North Vancouver. A long-time leader in the quest to bring art into the public realm, Adera Development Corporation’s most recent achievement is the unveiling of The Shore Art Walk – four newly commissioned local art pieces located at the new development.
“Over 50 artists from around the world responded to our initial public art call, but the final selections were all local, BC artists: Michael Vandermeer based on Granville Island, Coastal Salish carver John Marston, and Coast Salish artist Jody Broomfield,” says Norm Couttie, president of Adera. “The art walk sums up Adera’s ‘Live West Coast’ philosophy and allows us to share our appreciation of local artists while helping create a new and vibrant west coast community.”
The four sculptures start at the entry to the property, then draw visitors toward the interior, open-air piazza. The two Michael Vandermeer installations, Reflections and Arrival, are created from a trio of two-dimensional steel trees connected together into a three-dimensional sculpture – the panels they were cut out from are then combined into a shadow-box feature located in the central fountain.
Changing Face of Art
There’s a good reason that developers are increasingly adopting public art into their public spaces.
“Art adds a different dimension, a unique and distinct vibe, to community spaces because people tend to slow down and linger,” says Don Forsgren, president and CEO of development group Intracorp. Ultimately, that’s got to be good for sales, with even non-residents engaging in the public spaces created by a new development. Forsgren is quick to stress that the days of a traditional, bronze statue of a long-forgotten historical figure are gone. Today’s public art draws in passers-by, encourages conversation or debate, and often sends an open invitation to touch or even sit and climb on it.
“For example, at Metro Place in Burnaby, we commissioned two chrome art pieces – Shed One and Shed Two – that appear to be antlers ‘shed’ by a deer,” Forsgren says. “One faces up so people can sit on it – and they do – the other has the points down so it becomes a shelter.”
He’s also delighted by the progress being made on an Intracorp-commissioned Douglas Coupland sculpture – a gold-coloured replica of the famous Hollow Tree in Stanley Park – that will define the northeast corner of Marine Drive and Cambie Street in Vancouver. “When we commissioned this piece, we wanted something that would become a landmark, a place where people might meet before going to the theatre or out for dinner.” It will also preserve a beloved piece of the city’s history that would otherwise eventually rot away, part of the reason he says the company chose commission the art directly rather than through the City.
Conversation and Engagement
Earlier this year, Wesgroup created a flurry of discussion and a few raised eyebrows when they installed a 133-foot neon sign stating “The Sappers Were Here” in their Brewery District master-planned community. Beau Jarvis, senior vice-president of development, notes that while most people now equate Sapperton with a New Westminster SkyTrain station, “sappers” – the engineering division of the British Military – were instrumental in settling much of the area.
Jarvis hopes the art piece will encourage people to investigate this little-known part of BC history. “After all, one role of good public art is to start a conversation.”
In Surrey, Rize Alliance recently became the first developer to incorporate a commissioned art piece into a residential community in the emerging Surrey City Centre neighbourhood. Nautilus, by Doug R Yaylor, is an abstract interpretation of the moonshell crab found throughout local waters and the mathematical perfection of the Golden Spiral (Fibonacci).
Andy Tam, director of development, says that, like Intracorp in Vancouver, Rize chose to commission the artwork themselves rather than simply pay the requisite funds to City who would then choose both the location and the art itself. “It’s definitely more work to go through the process and coordinate the piece onsite, but we wanted the residents of Wave/Wynd to enjoy the art first hand as well as have it accessible to people who walk or drive by.”
Challenges of Curation
Barbara Cole, an art consultant and curator, adds that large master-planned communities pose a special challenge. “When you’re looking at multi-phased communities like The Shore that unfold over time, you’re really building an art collection — meaning you need to decide what type of collection you want and what sort of thematic connection the pieces will have.”
For most though, public art doesn’t need to be complicated… it just need to be something wondrous, inspiring and accessible.
