Leader: Angela

Twelve people assembled in North Vancouver at Semisch Park and 2nd Street East for something a little different: an urban walk taking in public art and a few other sights of interest. Public transit also featured on this occasion, as we travelled to the Vancouver side and back via the SeaBus and SkyTrain.

On the North Vancouver side: in Semisch Park, we met at the Pacific Tree Frog Mobile, a kinetic sculpture by Doug Taylor.

Walking down Semisch, you notice pieces half-hidden in hedges; they have painted images and words in a style similar to the next installation on Esplanade: Listing, by Blake Williams.

We crossed Esplanade and walked through Chiba Park. (The city of Chiba has been twinned with North Vancouver since 1970.) Then we crossed over the railway to Waterfront Park. We took a look at the Welcome Figures before passing Cathedral, Harubang, GroundWateratSeaLevel, and Shimmer Time on our way to the SeaBus terminal.

After taking the SeaBus and the Canada Line SkyTrain, we got off at Yaletown-Roundhouse. Here, we paused to look at the Ookpiits, before heading briefly west on Pacific Boulevard.

We walked down to the sea wall and made a slight diversion to see the Khenko kinetic sculpture (also by Doug Taylor, who created the Pacific Tree Frog Mobile). Sadly, this installation was in need of some remedial work, as the heron was missing its wings. However, it provided a good opportunity for people to think about the design and how it works.

We then walked east along the seawall, checking out the many artworks and also enjoying the sunny fall day. We were briefly terrified entertained when certain adventurous members decided to scale enormous boulders in order to provide the rest of us with photo opportunities.

At the foot of Davie Street, we took a lunch break and met up with Carol, Sandy, and Carrie, who, through an unaccountable failure of communication (the organizer will be performing an appropriate penance), thought we were to meet up at the Ookpiits. All was smoothed over as a result of the warm welcome they received, and our enlarged group continued to the Cambie Bridge and then backtracked slightly to see a couple of other installations on Marinaside Crescent before crossing back over Pacific Boulevard.

For the last stage through Vancouver downtown, we took Beatty Walk and Beatty Street and then wound our way via Robson, Cambie, Smithe, Richards, and Howe as far as the Law Courts where our last two pieces were on the plaza (Joy of Freedom and Spring). En route, we noted the site of the first gas station in Canada, a painting halfway up a tall building (Viewpoint, by Ben Reeves), bricks with quotations on Robson Street, and the new Rainbow Park.

The proposed return to North Vancouver starting with the SkyTrain at Vancouver City Centre was vetoed by common consent. Anarchy was loosed upon the world and people took their own routes to Waterfront Station and the SeaBus. Amazingly, we all made it to the 2:15 sailing.

Upon alighting in North Vancouver again, the group of 12 headed to the branch of Strathcona Brewing at Lonsdale Quay. Although the Looper Food and Drink Manager Du Jour* had confirmed that coffee was available, he failed to ensure that decaf coffee and herbal tea could be procured there, so some members had to go elsewhere.

*This position is once again vacant.

Photos: Adrienne, Angela, Jon, Michael

---

Also see Travelling Loopers.

---

See the full list, below. Many of these are referenced in North Vancouver Public Art and City of Vancouver Public Art.

NORTH VANCOUVER

Pacific Tree Frog Mobile, 2020 by Doug Taylor, Canada This weathervane is dedicated to all those who come to Semisch Park … and to all the tiny tree frogs who live in our forests.

Listing, 2018 by Blake Williams Inspired by the local shipbuilding industry, the piece references changes that have occurred in the local shipbuilding industry over the last 135 years.

Walk through Chiba Park. The city of Chiba has been twinned with North Vancouver since 1970. Chiba means “thousand leaves.”

Welcome Figures, 2003 by Darren Yelton Welcoming Grandmother and Grandfather figures

Cathedral, 1986 by Douglas Sent Steel beams mimic the outline of the local mountains and reflect the spiritual quality of the landscape.

Harubang, 1995 by Unknown This gift from Korea is similar to sculptures commonly found on Jeju Island to serve the dual function of guardian and boundary marker.

GroundWateratSeaLevel, 2014 by Germaine Koh Five metal pipes are filled with LED lights, which monitor in real time local soil moisture and tide level.

Shimmer Time, 2021 by Aliya Orr A 90 ft sculpture uses holographic materials and programmed lights to extend a Seabus rider’s experience of watching light play on water.

VANCOUVER

Ookpiit Party (cute lives forever) by Kablusiak Embraces the wideness of Inuit experience. Kablusiak encompasses in their work joy, despair, sexuality …

Footnotes, 1994 by Gwen Boyle, Canada Black granite tiles Footnotes reference the lost history of the False Creek Basin with words interspersed throughout the sidewalk.

Password, 1994 by Alan Storey, Canada Stainless steel Blocks of letters spin from the outflow of the exhaust vents of the underground parkade to randomly spell words.

Pacific Spiral, 2003 by Judith Schwarz, Canada Stainless steel, slate and stones This sculptural water feature highlights a central spiral capped by two slate-lined channels to form an X.

Khenko, 2006 by Doug Taylor, Canada Khenko is made up of a wire sculpture of a heron with a recently swallowed fish visible in its belly and four large sails that move with the wind. [This sculpture needs work since the heron’s wings are missing.]

Red Horizontal, 2005 by Gisele Amantea, Canada Porcelain enamel tiles From a distance, this work appears as a thin, red line. Close up, photographic sequences of the interiors of local residences are shown in detail.

Marking High Tide and Waiting for Low Tide, 1996 by Don Vaughan, Canada Concrete and stones The installation draws attention to the changing tides of False Creek.

Brush with Illumination, 1998 by Buster Simpson, USA Stainless steel, solar panels and transmitter This kinetic sculpture responds to environmental conditions and transmits weather and tide changes in the form of drawing to BusterSimpson.net/brush.

Green robot by Oxide See others at Choklit Park, 8th and Heather; Dog Fountain at Laurel and 7th; Olympic Village, near the Arts Club Theatre.

Welcome to the Land of Light, 1997 by Henry Tsang, Canada Aluminum letters with LED strip The texts reflect the early language of communications in the Pacific Northwest – English and Chinook jargon, a 19th century lingua franca that developed out of the need for cross-cultural trade.

Street Light, 1997 by Alan Tregebov and Bernie Miller, Canada Six bronze I-beam towers and perforated panels Panels with images from Vancouver’s archives align with the sun to cast shadow images onto the sidewalk on the anniversary of the historic event depicted.

Lookout, 1999 by Christos Dikeakos and Noel Best, Canada Stainless steel, glass, and bronze The imagery on the shelters and chairs on three balconies overlooking the shoreline walk trace the site’s natural and industrial history.

Time Top, 2006 by Jerry Pethick, Canada Barnacle-encrusted bronze Time Top looks like a 1940s-style space ship and represents fantasies of time travel. Its position on the shoreline encourages the idea that it has washed up from the depths of history. (Also see the “history” of Time Top on carved stones on the sea wall.)

A False Creek, 2012 by Rhonda Weppler & Trevor Mahovsky, Canada Ten painted pilings and 15 lamp posts along the seawall The chromatic blue stripes mark the midpoint of the projected rise in sea level according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The artwork reflects on the past, present and future engineering of this shoreline. See afalsecreek.ca.

Coopers Mews, 2002 by Alan Storey, Canada Cement, barrels, steel and wood This work is inspired by the railway and cooperage that were in the area in the early 20th century. When the boardwalk planks are stepped on, the barrels overhead release steam and sound. [Note: this installation needs work! There is no sound at present.]

Untitled, 2000 by Al McWilliams, Canada Black granite fountain The water emanates from the sculptural form, which might be a lotus flower, wheel or saw blade, all forms relating to the cultural and industrial histories of the area.

Perennials, 1997 by Barbara Steinman, Canada Granite, slate, coloured concrete and glass The forms and texts reference botanical drawings and allude to the ever-changing shifts of the city’s natural and cultural environments.

Notice First gas station in Canada plaque on the south-east corner of Cambie and Smithe.

Viewpoint, 2020 by Ben Reeves Cambie and Smithe An original oil painting digitally reproduced and printed on fabric You have to look up to see this: it’s part-way up the building on the north-west corner of Cambie and Smithe.

On Robson between Cambie and Hamilton, notice the square brick blocks around the trees printed with quotations.

Rainbow Park / sθәqәlxenәm ts’exwts’áxwi7 Smithe and Richards A third of the park is planted with over 6,000 shrubs, perennials, climbers, aquatic plants, and over 40 new mature trees. Many of the plants are significant to and used in Indigenous culture, food, and medicine. When grown, the park will be full of greenery for people and pollinators in the heart of the city. The park is also designed to be sustainable. Rain and water from the plaza’s water feature is collected and filtered before it’s used to water the planting and flush the toilets.

Joy of Freedom by Geert Mas Installed 1995 Bronze “In this design one can see two clasping hand-forms. These hands symbolize oppression. However, despite the suppression freedom has become possible. The spirit of a people will never be crushed and is depicted here by V forms. The International V sign is recognized by people worldwide. The human figure escaping from the clasped hands is symbolic of freedom and victory.”

Spring by Alan Chung Hung Installed 1981 Steel