Playtime<\/b><\/h2>\n
Artists: Myfanwy MacLeod and Shannon Oksanen<\/span><\/p>\n Location: BC Children\u2019s Hospital and BC Women\u2019s Hospital and Health Centre<\/span><\/p>\n Is it art or a playground? Vancouver-based artists Myfanwy MacLeod and Shannon Oksanen actually designed the five pieces that make up \u201cPlaytime\u201d <\/span>to be both<\/span><\/a>, hoping that the 2016 installation would bring joy to children and adults alike at the BC Children\u2019s Hospital. <\/span><\/p>\n The zebra-coloured blocks pictured above are called \u201cThe Magic Stones,\u201d and it\u2019s not hard to picture kids jumping and climbing all over them.<\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Douglas Coupland<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Vancouver Convention Centre (adjacent)<\/span><\/p>\n If you keep up with Canadian literature, you\u2019ve probably heard of Douglas Coupland, author of popular books like \u201cGirlfriend in a Coma,\u201d \u201cjPod\u201d and \u201cWorst. Person. Ever.\u201d What you might not know is that he\u2019s also an artist \u2014 and a <\/span>fairly prolific one<\/span><\/a> at that. The piece above, completed in 2009, was <\/span>designed to commemorate workers<\/span><\/a> in and around Coal Harbour and Burrard Inlet.<\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Yue Minjun<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Morton Park<\/span><\/p>\n Located near Morton Park right by English Bay, \u201c<\/span>A-maze-ing Laughter<\/span><\/a>\u201d was part of <\/span>Vancouver Biennale<\/span><\/a>\u2019s second exhibition, which ran from 2009 to 2011. The non-profit organization\u2019s goal is to increase the accessibility of public art, and its first exhibition ran from 2005 to 2007. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA-maze-ing Laughter\u201d was a favourite during the display, and ultimately a <\/span>$1.5-million donation<\/span><\/a> from Lululemon founder Chip Wilson and his wife allowed the <\/span>Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation<\/span> to buy it from artist Yue Minjun. Interestingly, each of the 14 figures is intended to represent the artist.<\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Ron Terada<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Vancouver Public Library<\/span><\/p>\n Have you ever walked by the Vancouver Public Library and wondered about this sign? Turns out it was <\/span>partially designed<\/span><\/a> as an homage to the city\u2019s neon signs \u2014 while there were once 19,000 neon and illuminated signs lighting up Vancouver, the number is now much lower. <\/span><\/p>\n The message spelled out on the sign is a little more complicated. It\u2019s the title of a Willie Nelson song, and is intended to call \u201cthe relationship between the library\u2019s function and its architecture and its historical references into a humorous questioning.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Myfanwy MacLeod<\/span><\/p>\n Location: False Creek Olympic Plaza<\/span><\/p>\n Myfanwy MacLeod is also the artist behind \u201cThe Birds,\u201d an Olympic Village sculpture that depicts a pair of giant house sparrows. However, this piece of art has a much more dire theme than \u201cPlaytime\u201d \u2014 it was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s 1963 horror film of the same name, and is certainly intimidating.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it boils down to wanting to make something sublime for the plaza \u2014 that is something beautiful, but frightening at the same time,\u201d she <\/span>said back in 2010<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n Artists: Designed by Kenson Seto and painted by Alex Li and Falk<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Gore Avenue and East Pender Street<\/span><\/p>\n Chinatown\u2019s \u201cLao Tzu\u201d mural is looking good in this photo, but it\u2019s been the victim of vandalism in the past. In September 2015, it and another mural in Chinatown were <\/span>defaced with graffiti<\/span><\/a>. Luckily, while some believed the mural was unlikely to be repaired, it was <\/span>fixed up<\/span><\/a> in fairly short order \u2014\u00a0unfortunately, that\u2019s not likely to be the end of its troubles. It will reportedly soon be blocked from view by a new six-storey building. <\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Alvin Kanak<\/span><\/p>\n Location: English Bay<\/span><\/p>\n Originally part of the Northwest Territories Pavilion during Expo 86, this inukshuk was <\/span>moved to its current English Bay location<\/span><\/a> in 1987. It\u2019s since become a popular tourist attraction, and was the inspiration for the 2010 Olympics logo.<\/span><\/p>\n Artist: iHeart<\/p>\n Location: Stanley Park<\/span><\/p>\n If you thought this piece was done by reclusive England-based graffiti artist Banksy, you\u2019re not too far off the mark. Though it was actually done by Vancouver\u2019s <\/span>iHeart<\/span><\/a>, the artist got a nod from Banksy when it first went up in 2014 \u2014 Banksy <\/span>posted a photo<\/span><\/a> of the stencil on his Facebook page, captioning it \u201c#NotBanksy.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Intended as a reference to society\u2019s overblown focus on social media, the mural shows a boy upset over his lack of likes and comments. <\/span><\/p>\n Artist: OSGEMEOS (Gustavo Pandolfo and Ot\u00e1vio Pandolfo)<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Granville Island<\/span><\/p>\n The Granville Island silos are another product of Vancouver Biennale, though they were created as part of its third exhibition, which ran from spring 2014 to spring 2016. Created by Brazilian twins Gustavo and Ot\u00e1vio Pandolfo, the mural <\/span>cost $126,000<\/span><\/a>, with paint alone accounting for $46,000. The silos that it covers are part of the Ocean Concrete manufacturing and distribution plant.<\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Ken Lum<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Great Northern Way and Clark Drive<\/span><\/p>\n The cross above has long been a symbol of East Vancouver, but it hasn\u2019t always been embraced by everyone. For decades, it was used mostly by rebellious teens who drew it on their denim jackets and tagged it on walls and sidewalks. <\/span><\/p>\n Today, it\u2019s been taken up by a much wider variety of people, and the 57-foot sculpture created with Olympic funds by Ken Lum has been welcomed. \u201c[I]t\u2019s public art that the public actually likes,\u201d says a <\/span>Globe and Mail article<\/span><\/a> published when it went up. <\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Christel Fuoss-Moore<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Spanish Banks<\/span><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t make it out of downtown Vancouver very often, you probably haven\u2019t seen this giant stylized anchor. Located at Spanish Banks near the UBC campus, it \u201cmetaphorically marks the spot where Spanish explorer Don Jose Maria Naraez dropped anchor in 1791.\u201d Naraez was <\/span>reportedly<\/span><\/a> the first European to come to the harbour. <\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Various<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Brockton Point, Stanley Park<\/span><\/p>\n No story on public art in Vancouver would be complete without totem poles. Found in various places throughout the city, they\u2019re a reminder of the city\u2019s original First Nations residents. Pictured above is one of nine totem poles at Brockton Point in Stanley Park \u2014\u00a0collected <\/span>over almost a century<\/span><\/a>, the most recent addition was made in 2009. <\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Marcus Bowcott<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Quebec Street and Melross Avenue<\/span><\/p>\n One of Vancouver\u2019s stranger pieces of public art, \u201cTrans Am Totem\u201d is another sculpture created as part of Vancouver Biennale\u2019s most recent exhibition. It\u2019s made of five real scrap cars and a cedar tree and is 33 feet high \u2014 much larger than it appears in the photo above. <\/span><\/p>\n The structure can perhaps best be seen from the SkyTrain \u2014 take a peek out the window when you\u2019re travelling between Main Street and Stadium\/Chinatown \u2014 and that may have been intentional. Artist Marcus Bowcott <\/span>has said<\/span><\/a> that the piece \u201cfantasizes a justified end to car culture.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Artist: Lew Parry<\/span><\/p>\n Location: Cambie Street Plaza<\/span><\/p>\n The \u201cCentennial Rocket\u201d is another piece of Vancouver art with a long history. It\u2019s <\/span>modelled after another rocket<\/span><\/a> that was designed by Lew Parry for a 1936 parade float. While that rocket was ultimately scrapped after being displayed from 1939 to 1972, Parry\u2019s original plans were used to construct a new rocket in 1986. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"vancouver](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/vancouver-public-art-3.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Edna Winti\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nDigital Orca<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Faruk Ates\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nA-maze-ing Laughter<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Cameron Norman\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nThe Words Don\u2019t Fit the Picture<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>leo gonzales\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nThe Birds<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Ruth Hartnup\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nLao Tzu mural<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Michael G Winters\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nInukshuk<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Ahmed Bukhamsin\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nNobody Likes Me<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Jordi Bernabeu Farrus\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nGranville Island silos<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Edna Winti\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nMonument for East Vancouver<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Chris Huggins\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nAnchor<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>Kyle Pearce\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nBrockton Point\u00a0totem poles<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>David Ohmer\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\nTrans Am Totem<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: sprayedout.com<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/p>\nCentennial Rocket<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: <\/span><\/i>waferboard\/Flickr<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n