Building off of my last inquiry, I once again took the time to put myself out in the field in an effort to gather materials for my group’s project. In our continued efforts to grapple with the tumultuous world of usage rights, we opted to each explore some of our local public display artwork. This we felt also paired well with the tourism angle we have been exploring.
For this, I suggested we find works that fit within 3 categories, those being indigenous, traditional, and contemporary art on display in BC. As I had already catalogued some indigenous art, I instead turned my attention to the the latter two categories.
Luckily with some google searching I was able to find an online map that catalogues public art installations around Vancouver. As I was going to be downtown shortly after this decision was made, I used this to identify two pieces I wanted to highlight.
For my traditional work I wanted to highlight a statue that I felt was emblematic of the artistic movements of 19th and 20th century colonial America. For this I chose the Angel of Victory, one of four identical bronze casts by Coeur de Lion McCarthy located at former CPR stations across Canada in commemoration of the First World War. For the sake of our project I wanted to highlight works such as this as pieces of historical significance, such as those commemorating victims of war are some of the most popular for older visitors and families.
On the other side of the coin, I wanted to highlight more contemporary works on display in Vancouver. For our purposes I wanted to highlight pieces that might not necessarily draw people to a location, but rather pieces that are emblematic of their city and which serve as something to find while exploring a new city. For this I chose Douglas Coupland’s Digital Orca sculpture which stands just outside the Vancouver Convention Centre. This imposing piece to me mates the natural beauty of British Columbia, with the modernity of the city of Vancouver, and serves as a perfect backdrop for photos, a meeting place with friends, or simply an interesting place to pass by.
Works Cited:
The Importance of Sources: https://digitaltourism.opened.ca/2025/03/05/the-importance-of-sources/
Vancouver Public Art Map: https://schoolofcities.github.io/vancouver-public-art/map
Digital Orca: https://covapp.vancouver.ca/PublicArtRegistry/ArtworkDetail.aspx?FromArtworkSearch=True&ArtworkId=521
Angel of Victory: https://heritagevancouver.org/top10-watch-list/2009/6-historic-monuments-angel-of-victory/