La Pura Vida Gallery is sponsoring its first (of hopefully many) offline exhibitions.  The “Can’t Pay the Rent” show opens tonight in Los Angeles at the L’KEG Gallery starting at 8pm.  One of my photographs from Tehran, Iran (’Reminiscing’) is showing along with many other fabulous images. You can view the catalogue for the exhibit here.

If you’re in LA,  check out the show and let me know how it is.

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Several of his images are posted below with many more available at Burtynsky’s website and The Charles Cowles Gallery. Unfortunately, these small’ish web versions don’t do much justice to his work, and given the artist’s eye for details, a visit to Surrey is more than worthwhile. A few of these pictorial nuggets are visible in the video below from Burtynsky’s visit to CBC’s The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.

Burtynsky’s film, “Manufactured Landscapes,” won Best Documentary at the 2007 Genie Awards. I’ve got it in my hands and I’ll watch it before visiting the show next weekend. The exhibition is part of Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad programming.

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Edward Burtynsky: An Uneasy Beauty – Photographs of Western Canada
January 17 – March 22, 2009
Exhibition reception: January 24, 2 – 4pm
Film Screening: February 1, 2:30pm
Artist Talk: February 12, 7pm

Surrey Art Gallery
13750 – 88 Avenue
Surrey, BC Canada V3W 3L1

Edward Burtysky's Rock of Ages # 1

Edward Burtynsky's Oxford Tire Pile No. 7

Edward Burtynsky Homesteads #29

Edward Burtynsky's Tailings #1

Edward Burtynsky's Nickel Tailings No. 35,

Thanks to The Scale Gallery for alerting me to the exhibit.

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Jeff Wall's The Pine on the Corner (1990)

Maybe you have visited the Jeff Wall retrospective at the Vancouver Art Gallery. If not, you still have a bit of time to see the giant lightboxes that give an almost cinematic effect to a photograph. The exhibition honours Wall with the Audain Prize, which is British Columbia’s top visual art award for lifetime achievement.

In November I organized a visit with Vandigicam, a local photography group, to see the retrospective. Of the ten or so images on display, only several resonated with me. “The Pine on the Corner (1990)” was one of them.  My curiosity began buzzing immediately upon my first glimpse. I’m not sure if it had so much to do with the work but maybe from the historical and cultural perspective, and possibly because I see some influence of “The Pine” on my own photography. But whatever the reason, I was compelled to find out if that tree still stands.

Before I left sight of the picture, I took note of the street numbers (#1797) of the home on the corner. Knowing Jeff Wall’s methods of manipulation, I didn’t know if it was the true address or some made up string of numbers. Nevertheless, Google maps came through in as few as five minutes. The address is 1797 East William St at Salsbury Drive, just east of Commercial (map). A few contacts on Flickr helped even elucidate additional information. Local planner, Lisa Moffatt, contacted Vancouver’s arborist and received the following email:

City records show that the pine tree at 1797 William was on private property. In accordance with the Private Tree By-law, a tree removal permit was taken out by the property owners in April, 2007 and the tree was cut down. In these circumstances no reason for the tree removal is required by the owner, nor was one offered.”

OK, so it’s not the juiciest of stories, and maybe just the outcome of roots creeping into a basement wall, but I had my answer. The tree, a symbol of old Vancouver, and one our great artists, is dead. This once towering pine, the kind that make BC famous, was in all likelihood reduced to ashes in someone’s fireplace, maybe even in the fire pit at 1797 East William St.

Unfortunately I agree with the Georgia Straight’s review that the exhibit was underwhelming. For a retrospective of one of BC’s top lifetime achievers, the show would have been vastly improved with even one or two of his widely recognized pieces, such as the MOMA’s “A Sudden Gust of Wind (1993),” but maybe this says something deeper about the VAG’s permanent collection. The exhibit runs until 25 January 2009 at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and yes, Tuesdays are still by donation. Additional footage from the exhibit are at designboom.

via locator on Flickr

via concrete_jungler101 on Flickr

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A new exhibit opens tonight, 9 January 2009 (Friday), at Exposure Gallery at 8pm. “A Matter of Time” is a group show with a run from 10 January to 25 January 2009. Open gallery hours are Thurs to Sun from noon to 5pm.

If you’re unfamiliar with Exposure Gallery, it is a member-based photography community that is organized by VAPA, the Vancouver Association for Photographic Arts, which receives provincial arts funding. It’s a new and nice venue — just a bit off the beaten path.

In May 2008,  I exhibited two pieces (1,2) in the “Street: Reportage, Documentary” show. I will likely submit work for the March exhibition, entitled “Vancouver: A Personal Perspective on the People, Places and Urban Landscape.” I encourage others to do the same, even if it’s just for the wine and cheese.

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