For those who haven’t spotted them yet, the orange neon grizzlies emerging from the concrete wall by the Canada Line Langara/49th station are a must-see. Apparently they have generated at least one call to the city from a realtor ranting that they are lowering property values in the neighbourhood. Well, they’ll be gone soon. I don’t think the Canada Line public art stays forever, too bad.
Picture and a tiny bit of info here.
13 responses so far ↓
1 spartikus // Jun 8, 2010 at 11:35 am
The Bears of Chernobyl.
2 Dan Cooper // Jun 8, 2010 at 12:59 pm
They look to me like they’re made of cheez-puffs. Now THAT would be cool, though sadly it seems they’re actually composed of boring old concrete or plaster. I had to go over and touch them the first time passing by, just to check.
3 Dan // Jun 8, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Why are they temporary!? That station is some brutalist cement crap without those things. It looks like a mechanical “authorized personal only” entrance, not the public entrance to one of our stations. They are a great landmark too! I agree with DCoop, cheese puffs would be cool except for the fact that the stair railings would be covered in moist cheesy fingerprints and it would smell.
4 Jake // Jun 8, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Lowering property values? GMAB. Perhaps that realtor would be willing to reduce the number of For Sale signs in the city by removing his/her own to counteract the impression that it’s a buyers’ market at the moment.
5 Ron // Jun 8, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Temporary because the art program will rotate different works through the sites – so maybe you’ll see a new crop of complaints the next time around…
6 Joe Just Joe // Jun 8, 2010 at 4:16 pm
That would make an interesting piece of art wouldn’t it, create a full size mock up of a home completely out of realtor for sale signs. somone one should get on it.
7 Suzanne // Jun 8, 2010 at 5:22 pm
LOVE them. Coming into Vancouver on a rainy, dark, grey night…you see the bears. They’re great. But I think Vancouver has pretty awesome public art. If it moves and changes…I’m OK with that. Although I still miss that upside down church-thing in Coal Harbour.
8 Jake // Jun 9, 2010 at 10:01 am
Jx3, I think you’re on to something here, but think bolder: how about a high rise tower constructed like a house of cards made from ‘for sale’ signs? Maybe we could get Bob Rennie to sponsor it?
9 Michael // Jun 10, 2010 at 3:44 pm
The art pieces at each of the CanadaLine stops are part of the Vancouver Biennale, which is also responsible for works scattered along the SeaWall (the summit of crouching red men beside the Hyatt, the laughing figures at Davie & Denman, and the statue of Mao & Lenin near the Oval are other examples). These pieces were installed in advance of the Olympics and will remain until 2011, with events occurring throughout the coming year. More info here: http://www.vancouverbiennale.com/index.php
10 michael geller // Jun 11, 2010 at 6:54 am
The problem at this station is not the public art (although I think it looks ridiculous). The problem is the architectural and engineering design of the station. Let’s face it. For whatever reasons, this one did not work, and I think it is incumbent on Translink to fix it.
I have a few suggestions…one is to paint murals on the concrete and the electrical transformer boxes…another is to cover the concrete with wood or stonework…a third is to add ‘green walls’ over the exposed concrete.
Even with the planned intensification of the Cambie Corridor, this station is likely to remain as a stand alone structure. While I’m told this was designed by one of the city’s accomplished firms, for whatever reason, (budgetary restrictions, the P3 process, whatever) the design of this station is very unfortunate.
It needs to be fixed. There may be a role for future public art, but first, let’s repair the exterior design of the station.
And don’t get me going on the interior design, or the absence of underground connections to the other corners of this important intersection, etc.
11 Janice Fairley // Jun 11, 2010 at 11:01 am
In response to Michael’s post yesterday: the art installations along the Canada Line in Vancouver are part of InTransit BC’s (ITBC) Canada Line Art Project…not the Vancouver Biennale. ITBC has paid for the installation of 12 temporary exhibits, including Dean Drever’s Bear Hunt at Langara Station. Only 2 of these installations financed by ITBC are part of the Biennale (Joe Sola is Making Art at Yaletown and Zhan Wang’s Artificial Rock at Vancouver City Centre).
For more information about the Canada Line Public Art Program and InTransit BC’s other initiatives (i.e. The Pixel Train), please visit http://www.intransitbc.ca
Janice Fairley
InTransit BC – Ancillary Activities Coordinator
12 Michael // Jun 12, 2010 at 9:59 am
Janice, Thanks for the correction. It’s confusing because some Biennale pieces are placed adjacent to CanadaLine stations, such as Sudarshan Shetty’s History of Loss at the King Edward station. I just assumed the same was true of the bears.
I agree with Michael Geller that something permanent ought to be done to make the station more attractive.
13 Mairi // Jun 15, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I use the Langara station regularly and feel it is practically 1960s eastern bloc in its external design.
Green/living or wood-slatted walls would be amazing and blend much more readily with the surrounding neighbourhood.
What are the chances that TransLink will make any changes? Is it worth writing a letter of encouragement?