English Bay Art with Callan
Saturday, February 20, 2010
English Bay sits comfortably between downtown's shoreline and Kistilano Beach. On one coast you experience the vibrant pace of the city, and on the other, you have an opportunity to be in a calmer atmosphere, walking to the sound of the ocean.
Callan and I met up on a grey Vancouver day to simply walk until our hearts were content. Starting from Granville Island, we took the small ferry across the water and walked along downtown's shore. A sculptural art display had been set up along the beach, and at each gigantic piece of art, we stopped, pondered, discussed and moved on. We had just come from one of Granville's small art stores, so creativity seemed to be following us around Vancouver. This was all before the Olympics, so there weren't any crowds, just locals enjoying the coast.
One of the most charming aspects of our walk through the sculptural pieces, was that we were able to experience them together, but simultaneously experience them in our own individual way. I took pictures, Callan would climb on the different parts of the sculptures, and we'd both walk up, touch and interact with each piece differently...standing above, below, inside, beside or far away; leaving with a very unique appreciation for the art.
The second piece of art we visited looked like an industrial piece of steel that had been tumbled in the ocean. You could walk over the ribs of the copper-toned art piece, and attempt to climb up it's steep curves. Callan would run back and forth on each side, slowing inching up the walls. He was a good sport for me, and kept going until I was satisfied with taking pictures.
The last set of sculptures were phenomenal. It was a group of metal men, all larger than life size, laughing and making strange gestures. They were huge, almost disturbing, but absolutely entertaining. Callan and I walked amongst them, and even more so watched how people walked through them. Callan told me that the funniest thing was that when anyone walks up to these sculptures, the first thing they do is mimic them. We laughed, and agreed that the artist would be very happy to know that.
Posted byPiper at 11:18 PM