Public Artwork
Footnotes
Artwork creator(s):
Boyle, Gwen
Text author(s):
Boyle, Gwen
Collaborator(s):
Green, Anita; Boyle, Melanie; Lynes, Patti
Installation year:
1994
Remarks on location:
Along Northern side of Pacific Boulevard, on sidewalk between Homer and Drake Streets.
Description:
Ninety-nine unpolished black granite tiles are recessed randomly into the sidewalk. Handcarved into each granite block are words or texts chosen for their specific reference to the site. The shore is the line between the sea and the land, and the shore is the mid-line in the life of the city... beneath these paving stones.
Text of the artwork:
(Incomplete)
SEAGULLS SLEEP
SLINTER SHENCE
SHORELINE
TIDES WEPT
MUSSELS
OOLICHAN OIL
BLACKBIRD
374
STONE SHADOWS
ANOTHER MOON
LOOK
SKY LINE
TIDEPOOL
IN A CLAMSHELL
XIWA? ESQS
BENEATH THESE PAVING STONES
THE SHORE IS THE LINE BETWEEN THE SEA AND THE LAND
AND THE SHORE IS THE MID LINE
IN THE LIFE OF THIS CITY
NOVEMBER WALK NEAR FALSE CREEK MOUTH
BORN FROM THE GLARE COME THE FREAKISH FORM
OF TUGS... ALL BOWS AND SWOLLEN FUNNELS
STRAINING TO HARBOUR IN FALSE CREEK
AND BLINDLY FOLLOWED BY MUTE SCOWS
WITH ISLETS OF GRAVEL TO THICKEN THE CITY
AND SQUARE BOWLS OF SAFFRON SAWDUST
THE GROUND MEAL OF THE MANSTRUCK FOREST
OR TOWING SHINING GRIDS OF THE TREES STRICKEN
- EARLE BIRNEY, 1961
Text theme:
City of Vancouver Archives, C.P. Railway Archives, quotes from anthropologists and poets
Artwork theme:
History of the North Shore, False Creek, from pre-settlement time onwards Note(s):
Sponsoring Organization : Concord Pacific Group Inc. Private development
Artist statement: This public artwork is located on part of what was once a shoreline.... The work is site specific in that it is based on research and archival material, as well as writings about this North Shore of False Creek, from pre-settlement time onwards.... I have quoted from the City Archives, C.P. Railway Archives, anthropologists and poets to find words to sandcarve into 57 blocks of unpolished black granite. Set into pavers, they are like markers on a path (of time), an echo. Although I feel the words selected are specific to this place, they are also general, sometimes evocative, the ardent hope they will bring out a smile on a rainy day. A private moment in a public space. Assistance from Anita Green, Melanie Boyle and Patti Lynes are gratefully acknowledged.
City of Vancouver (2008). City of Vancouver Public Art Registry
Artist's biography:
Gwen Boyle
Owner(s):
City of Vancouver Document(s):
Syndicate
