VAG Scores with da Vinci, BC Pavilion

Posted by Cynical Sarah on February 24, 2010

High on my list of things to do during the 2010 Olympic Games was to go to the Vancouver Art Gallery. One of the exhibits for the next month or so is Mechanics of Man by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s a collection of drawings and writings da Vinci did in his exploration of how the human body works.

Initially I figured it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting as if it were his Renaissance Period paintings, but it was still da Vinci and worth seeing.

They also had a very complementary Visceral Bodies exhibit going on, and a BC artwork floor that went well with the fact that the fourth floor was the BC Pavilion during the Olympics. That final fact is why the VAG happened to be free during the Olympic Games, so I wasn’t going to have to pay $18 to see something da Vinci did.

So, long story shortened a hair, I finally checked the art gallery off my to do list on Tuesday.

After days of hearing stories about long lines and on the weekend it was hours to wait to get in, I lucked out and arrived to a relatively short line at 12:30ish on Tuesday was in the art gallery in under 20 minutes. I then spent the next hour and a half amazed by not only the exhibits, but also what they did for the BC Pavilion. For once, I stood in line for an Olympic venue and wasn’t disappointed.

I started with the Visceral Bodies exhibit. All stuff having to do with the body in some way. The highlights for me were:

• Xrays set up like stained glass windows by Wim Delvoye.
• Bright two-tone paintings that from a distance looked like they could just be random paisley-type designs, but up close there are human organs throughout the designs. I wish I would have paid attention to who the artist was.

After that I made my way into the da Vinci area. I wasn’t expecting something that was more science than art to have such an impact. I wish they had allowed pictures in the main art gallery so everyone could see what I saw, but I doubt a photo would have done it justice anyway.

da Vinci’s drawings were exquisite. Adding to that were his notes all over the pages as well talking about the part of the body he was drawing, his ideas on how they work and the muscle structure and whatnot. The pages were not quite 8×10 size, and the drawings were fairly small to also accommodate the notes, but he still managed to give the sketches depth and detail. Looking at the tiny handwriting too, it was like you could see da Vinci trying to squeeze as much of his thoughts onto that page as he could.

Page after page was like that, and while someday I hope to see some of his paintings as well, a look into his scientific studies was as amazing as I imagined seeing his paintings would be.

Next stop was BC-themed exhibits highlighting artists from the area as well as artwork depicting the area. The highlights were:

• A whale skeleton structure made completely from chopped up white plastic patio furniture.
• Paintings of BC landscapes by EJ Hughes
• Emily Carr (these are on display there all the time, but I like them every time)

Finally on the fourth floor I encountered the BC Pavilion. I’ve been to the Quebec House and the Saskatchewan House and even Italy House and been disappointed by what little they actually did for their pavilions. I can’t say that about British Columbia – they pulled out all the stops.

Every square foot of the fourth floor of the VAG was filled with information and things to interact with. The first room was pretty much dedicated to the forests and wood of BC. Trees set up, leaves projected on overhead fabric to act as a forest canopy and wood products on display.

My favorite part of this area was the koi pond projected onto the floor. The fish were swimming at your feet and even reacted to the motion of people around them. If you were still, they would swim peacefully and might even gather around your feet, but as soon as you moved, they’d scatter like real fish do.

To leave the natural area of the BC Pavilion you had to walk through a mist waterfall and through a small cave. From there I guess you would say you enter the more modern aspects that BC has to offer.

There’s a display about living green and how to make buildings that are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. They also set up a small replica of a fuel cell bus that people could sit in and get their pictures taken in.

The next room contained some LED light tubes that looked cool as they changed colors. They were mostly decoration, though plenty of people were taking their pictures with them.

The room also had several screens set up that people could interact with. This was sort of a “new technology” exhibit, and people could touch the TV screens to make things happen in the pictures on them. Most of them were pictures of trees that you could make change. One added flowers where you touched, or took flowers that you touched away. Another created snow where you touched, and another had fall leaves and the leaves that you touched fell. A couple others were even more interactive, allowing the users to choose shapes and templates to create pictures.

Thumbs up to British Columbia for putting on a pavilion that was worth seeing. I thought it did well to represent the duality of the province with both the nature and the innovation of the area.

I enjoyed my whole experience at the Vancouver Art Gallery Tuesday. Every piece of it was worth the wait in line to see. I’d dare to say, I might have even paid the usual cover charge to see most of it, but I’m grateful that I got a free peek instead.

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Tags: 2010 Olympics, BC Pavilion, Vancouver Art Gallery

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