Source: Indiegogo Gallery
Have you made up your mind about the Translink Referendum? Are you voting for a lifestyle of less driving? Imagine how Vancouver would be like if the majority of the population doesn’t drive. It is remarkable how transportation has shaped our cities yet we often take it for granted. But if you given it some thought, you would find the close relation between urban design and transportation. Regardless of your decision, traffic appears because of cities and we design our cities to accommodate it.
Coincidently, Vancouver-based artist, Marcus Bowcott, created Trans Am Totem, a new piece of public art sponsored by Vancouver Biennale. He created this in hopes of conjuring up “meditation on contemporary technological culture.” Bowcott plans to stack up recycled cars on a 20’ high real cedar tree, estimated to be 33′ high and 25,000 pounds, on a traffic median on Quebec Street at Milross Avenue, just beside the Georgia Viaduct and the Expo SkyTrain line [1]. Bowcott said that the site was not only historic but also personal, where he worked as a deckhand on the towboats to tow log booms into False Creek to be processed for lumber.
Each car – ‘extension of our bodies’ – projects its own, unique aesthetic. In aggregate, they refer to our dominant consumer culture. The ubiquitous presence of cars in our midst has fundamentally re-shaped our landscape.
Bowcott welcomes the public to ponder upon the relationship of car culture and modern city life. “The wood and the cars of Trans Am Totem speak to the identity of Vancouver: Where we were, where we are, and where we are going to be. I don’t claim to have answers, but I’m interested in the conversation.”
Trans Am Totem will be part of the 2014-2016 Vancouver Biennale exhibition alongside international artists such as Ai Wewei, Vik Muniz, Jonathan Borofsky & OSGEMEOS. The installation is on March 30, 2015. And the artist Marcus Bowcott is still looking for funding on an Indiegogo campaign.
The Vancouver Biennale also invites the public to a community gathering on Monday, April 6th, 2015. If you are interested in the sculpture, come learn about it, take a selfie, talk to the artist and celebrate art in public space. Light refreshments and snacks will be served. More info here.
Murality 