Stranger

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.

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via concrete_jungler101 on Flickr

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exhibition audain prize, exhibition, jeff wall, the pine on the corner, vag, vancouver art gallery, vandigicam