They arrived in giant crates that looked like coffins.
It took a week to assemble the cast bronze figures, which were shipped from China to Vancouver, before being trucked to their final destination at English Bay. As the sculptures were unveiled, Miriam Blume's smile grew.
A crowd gathered to watch the activity. People asked questions about the shiny men, all caught in a state of hysterical laughter. With each query and each interaction, the A-maze-ing Laughter figures created by Yue Minjun came to life. That's what public art is about, Blume says.
For the past three years, Blume has worked as the director of marketing and communications for Vancouver Biennale. It's a program that is unique around the world, making the art exhibit accessible to everyone in public settings.
Blume has seen the biannual outdoor show help shape communities. As curators worldwide hunt for new pieces for the 2013-'15 exhibit, she's hoping Squamish will be the next community to embrace the experience.
We are not only looking for a space, Blume says. We are also looking for a community that is ready to embrace public art.
It's an idea Squamish artist Krisztina Egyed has been pushing for the past seven years. In February, Vancouver Biennale founder Barrie Mowatt, Brazilian art curator Marcello Dantas and Egyed toured the Sea to Sky community to gauge how it might fit in with the exhibit.
Squamish and the exhibit share core values in education and outdoor recreation, Egyed stated in an email to The Chief. The community's two universities, world-class trails, distinct First Nations culture and industrial heritage play into the show's programming, she writes.
If District of Squamish officials want to become the fifth municipality and first community outside the Lower Mainland to join the internationally acclaimed show, they'll have to make up their minds quickly. Council has until April 15 to join the exhibit, the same day that the curatorial team submits artist proposals. The price tag to participate is between $13,000 to $20,000 per year over three years. The next chance to get involved isn't until 2017.
Vancouver is experiencing benefits from Vancouver Biennale, Tourism Vancouver spokesperson Sonu Purhar says. Installations, like A-maze-ing Laughter, aren't just popular with Vancouverites. They snag attention around the world, she notes.
[A-maze-ing Laughter] continues to draw a big crowd, even now, Purhar says.
Other well-known landmarks include Liu Jianhua's painted fibreglass pillows placed in Harbour Green Park and Dennis Oppenheim's giant metal and glass giant diamond rings at Sunset Beach Park. Vancouver has always had public art, but it wasn't until Vancouver Biennale started its campaigns that people really took notice, Purhar says. Vancouver hotels now offer Biennale biking packages and the exhibition organizes city-wide celebrations.
[Vancouver Biennale] has really changed the face of art in Vancouver, she says.
The fee is a small price to pay to catapult Squamish onto the international stage, Egyed writes, adding she's already secured significant private funding. Once involved, the town would be incorporated into the exhibit's marketing machine, complete with its own website, traditional and social media and education program. Beyond the dollars, public art has the ability to engage and make lasting and profound impacts on the imagination which fuels our future, Egyed states.
It expands our cultural landscape, and is an investment attractant and an economic driver, she writes.
While Vancouver Biennale aims to inspire and engage people with features that they can touch any time of the day, any day of the year, it's more than simply placing a piece of artwork in a public space, Blume says. Joining the program comes with an educational component, from lesson plans for schools to self-guided tours and artist residency programs to the cycling event Tour De Biennale, Blume noted.
[Public art] gives people a reason to get off the highway when they go up to Whistler, she says.
As Biennale's 2009-'11 exhibit wrapped up, Vancouverites couldn't muster the guts to wave goodbye to the cartoon-like characters in English Bay. Vancouver billionaire Chip Wilson stepped forward with a $1.5 million U.S. donation to keep them in the Lower Mainland. How people react to public art is often unpredictable, Blume says. Yue Minjun's creation crept its way into Canadian's hearts.
At the end of the day, [A-maze-ing Laughter] gives everybody permission to play, Blume says.
Check out this video on Vancouver Biennale -
