Kaitlin

I don't know if this is genuine sentiment, cynical marketing, or public art. Snapped this poster at the corner of Granville Street and Robson Street this afternoon, on a rare sunny winter day. The word "Williamsburg" at the bottom of the poster makes me suspect hipster tomfoolery.

Post title from this song by Matthew Pfeifer.

Support

I love big infrastructure projects, and find it fascinating when you can see the bones. This is one of the support structures for the five sails at Canada Place, close up. Another support, in the background of this shot, gives you and idea of the scale of the thing.

Post title from this song by Deadmau5.

Heroin

And now, chasing a dragon of a different colour entirely. Spotted this warning sign about black tar heroin posted near the entrance to an alley just off East Georgia Street between Main St and Gore Avenue in Chinatown.

Post title from this song by Lou Reed.

Uncovering a Lie

Stumbled over what I thought was a manhole cover on Beatty Street near Robson Street, and then I noticed the words "Collected Memory Dispersed" in the glass centre. A bit of googling later, I discovered this is one of a four part public art project by Jill Anholt and Susan Ockwell called "Uncoverings" installed in 1998.

Post title from this song by Iris Aneas.

Ozymandias

Another grey day out today, so I thought this broody bit of black and white would be appropriate. Another Biennale piece, this one's called Eros Bendato Scrippolato by Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj. It's located in a cobblestone square in Yaletown. There's something Ozymandian about it, which appeals to my science-fiction post-apocalyptic sensibilities.

Post title from the poem (here recited by Ben Kingsley) by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

The Billboard Song

  

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking the Canada Line out to the airport. Unexpectedly, there were no ads in the frames on the trackside wall. I wasn't sure if they were in the midst of changing them, ran out of time and had to clear off the track, or if it was some sort of Canada Line art installation I wasn't hip enough to understand. The ad-free frames did look a bit like mirrors - but non-reflective, so you couldn't actually see yourself in them. What the heck, if I say it's art, it's art. Right?

Title post from this song by Homer and Jethro.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

A couple of weeks ago, I was near the corner of Granville & Georgia, and I happened to glance up and see these pigeons perched halfway up the glass wall of the Vancouver City Centre Canada Line station. Glad I had my iPhone handy.

Post title from this lovely song by Tom Lehrer. Mr. Lehrer's absurd melodies were very much a part of my childhood.

Graffiti

Snapped this quick picture at the same location as this one, a warehouse complex near Venables and Clark. The graffiti is so over-the-top it almost looks like a movie set - but it isn't one.

Post title from this song by Digable Planets.

Horse and Rider

This sculpture, called, simply enough, "Equestrian Monument" by David Robinson, is part of the Canada Line Public Art Program. It's located outside the Yaletown-Roundhouse station. Rather than try and get a shot of the entire horse and rider, I was taken by the way the light was hitting only the rider's face, so I pointed my iPhone lens in that direction as I walked by.

Post title from this song by Share.

Olympics

Stumbled across this stenciled bit of protest graffiti about six months after the 2010 Olympics had come and gone. It was on a curb outside a warehouse where I was picking up my share of a local wheat harvest. (44 lbs of flour!) The website is no longer operating, but in one way they got their wish. It's not 2010 anymore.

Post title from this song by Ben LB.

The Fountain

Out for a walk the other day, I cut through a little park off Barclay Street. There was a wedding in progress, so I quietly skirted around the middle of the park and stumbled upon this little slice of almost-Europe. The park is called Barclay Heritage Square, and a plaque on the fountain reads:

Donated on Vancouver's Centennial
In tribute to West End pioneers
Samuel Brighouse First Resident arrived 1862
Michael Wilkinson-Brighouse arrived 1887
Jane Ann Wilkinson-Brighouse

By Jane, John and Freda Wilkinson-Brighouse

Post title from this song by Echo and the Bunnymen.

Whimsical Lifestyle

The City of Vancouver uses these icons of bicycles painted on the street to denote bike routes. The other day as I was bicycling along the Chilco bicycle route in the West End, I had to stop and get off my bike to get a quick shot of this graffiti. I love its whimsicality!

Post title from this song by Mojib.

Singing on the Sidewalk

Not a manhole cover, although it's about the same size as the ones I've photographed before. This is a decorative metal plate embedded in the sidewalk at the corner of Bute Street and Pender Street downtown. Identical metal plates repeat at seemingly random intervals up Bute St on both sides to Alberni Street. I've no idea why they're there, or if their positioning is random or has a pattern, or what, if anything, they signify. But they're pretty!

Post title from this song by Jeremy Fisher.

If I Only Had a Brain

This friendly scarecrow points the way to the Granville Island Farmers Market, on every Thursday morning all summer long. We're almost past blueberry season, and well into apricots, peaches, and fresh corn. This week saw the appearance of the first apples of the year. I'll miss the markets when winter arrives.

Post title from this song from the classic sung by Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.

Reincarnation

Recently there was, mere steps from my apartment building, the Hare Krishna Chariot Festival held in Stanley Park. I wandered around to have a look. Wil Wheaton was there too, although I didn't run into him! He mentioned it on his twitter account - and his interpretation of a very similar photo to the one I took here says all that needs to be said, in my personal opinion.

Post title from this song by Roger Miller.

Slanted? Oh Yeah!!

Came across this oddity on Granville Street near Georgia Street, just a few steps away from this sculpture. I'm not sure what its purpose is - perhaps an information booth of some sort? I've never seen one that is intended to sit on a slant that way. But the sign says they'll be back at two o'clock, so I guess I can go back and figure out the mystery.

Post title from this song by The Time Lodgers.

Cheap Art on the Walls

Found these posters for an art show on a recycling bin on Comox Street near Denman, long after the one-day show was over - although I knew about it at the time, I just wasn't able to make it to
The Cheaper Show 9. I hope to be able to attend 10.


Post title from this song by Taxpayer.

Rivet

The same day I was wandering around Granville Island and took this photo, I also followed my feet to a spot almost directly under the Granville Street Bridge and pointed my lens straight up. I love being able to see the detail of all the many thousands of rivets holding the structure together.



Post title from this song by Praxis.

Fountain

I seem to come across a lot of mosaics in my daily wanderings - more things I've never noticed before. I had no idea the streets of Vancouver were so bedecked with shards of tile. This shot's taken looking at the bottom of the fountain in the Georgia Street plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Until I googled vancouver art gallery fountain mosaic bc I had no idea this fountain was called Centennial Fountain. It was commissioned and installed in 1966; Canada's 100th birthday was July 1st, 1967.


Post title from this song by Sara Lov.

Like a Prayer

Ran across this mystery sculpture of giant praying hands on Granville Street near Georgia the other day. No idea why it's there; no sign, plaque or explanation of any kind. It's Sunday, so I thought the image was appropriate for those who believe.

Post title from this song by Madonna.