The Collection
Select any sculpture image to go to the sculpture map.
1. Bust of Archibald Menzies
(1754-1842)
by Jack Harmon (1927-2001, Canada)
bronze – gift of Schenley Canada Inc., 1987
A sculptor and teacher, Mr. Harmon established his first foundry in 1962, followed in 1982 by one in Gastown which became a major foundry in B.C. casting works for Bill Reid, Joe Faffard and John Hooper. Commissions of note of his own works are Bannister & Landy Miracle Mile at the PNE, Harry Jerome in Stanley Park, Themis, Goddess of Justice and Lord Denning, Vancouver Law Courts and Queen Elizabeth on horseback at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. This bust is one of a series of Three Botanists.
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2. Bust of Carolus Linnaeus
(1707-1778)
by Jack Harman (1927-2001, Canada)
bronze – gift of Schenley Canada Inc., 1987
See notes under #1
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3. Bust of David Douglas
(1799-1834)
by Jack Harman (1927-2001, Canada)
bronze – gift of Schenley Canada Inc., 1987
See notes under #1
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4. Sundial
by Gerhard Class, Germany/Canada (1924-1997)
bronze and nephrite (B.C. jade) –
gift of Mrs. H. Kitchen, 1976
The sundial is set to Pacific Daylight Savings Time.
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5. Drinking Fountain
by David Backstrom
nephrite (B.C. jade) – donated 1977
Mr. Backstrom is a former designer with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.
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6. Fisher Hauling in the Net
by Gerhard Juchum (d.1977, Romania/Canada)
bronze resin - a gift of the artist, 1976
Mr. Juchum arrived in Vancouver from Romania in 1968 and died in 1977. During his brief career in Canada he produced more than 100 sculptures. Two others can be found in Vancouver - Lovers on the front lawn of City Hall and Untitled at Jericho Beach.
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7. Travertine Sculpture 75 or Three Forms or Family Life
by David F.Marshall (1928-2006)
travertine – 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: “I became aware that the uncarved blocks fit roughly into a Fibonacci series, and this became the scale of values used through all the forms. Variety of plane and shape, contrast rather than formal unity, is stressed. The western side, facing the setting sun, is like a flat wall with projections and indentations. The eastern side facing the sunrise is organic, rounded. The bottom block is carved into two forms. One is geometric, flat masculine; the other is organic, rounded feminine. The upper, smaller form, supported like a child by its parents, has some of the characteristics of each of the lower forms. It acts as a unifying element.” Originally named Travertine Sculpture 75 by Mr. Marshall for the 1975 Symposium, he has also referred to this piece at various times by two other names – Three Forms and Family Life. Choose the one you like best!
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8. Developing Form
by Michael Prentice (1944)
marble – 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: “Each new piece is like a religious rite in its formation, development and eventual life. The role of artist creator is constantly being faced with decisions that render the piece real and integral. The reason I like stone carving so much is that the process itself has a certain gut-level truthfulness; the physical effort being so great that there is no half-way commitment possible. It is hard and dirty work, only for the devoted, which perhaps set us stone.”
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9. Landscape 75
by Jiro Sugawara (1941)
travertine – 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: “I find myself considering how to speak to society…a symposium is like a society. It means getting out of one’s own small space and working together. Perhaps it’s like composing a speech. We artists and our works are like the words. The question is what do we want to say?”
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10. Meta Morphosis
by Olga Jancic (1929)
marble – 1975 Symposium
Ms. Jancic observed “the moment it was laid down at its chosen place, the sculpture struck up a friendship with the surrounding countryside and started a quiet life of its own for many years to come.”
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11. Between
by Adolf Ryszka (1935)
travertine – 1975 Symposium
Artist statement: “I believe in wisdom and suffering, self-sacrifice and love, modesty and kindness. …I would like to feel that the particle of my personality left in Vancouver will remain a symbol of understanding with all those who will meet my stone there.”
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12. Observing Your Society
by 'Piqtoukun' David Ruben (1950)
marble - 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: "The subject of my work is that of my northern outlook upon the way of life of our southern counterpart. The faces are looking in three directions, one towards the sky and the others, east and west. The faces tend to watch the directions of growth and progress of your society. The eyes are constantly observing."
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13. Horizontal Column
by Wolfgang Kubach (1937) and Anna-Maria Wilmsen-Kubach (1936),
black marble - 1975
Symposium Artists' statement: "Symposium sculptors were people meeting in a Canadian metropolis. in the joint effort of initiating a countermove to emphasize physical execution rather than the present international domination of a planning mode. In the pluralistic exchange with the multi-national inhabitants of Vancouver, symposium sculptors realized eleven individual concepts in stone, integrated with the city's botanical garden, set between water and mountains."
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14. For the Botanical Garden
by Hiromi Akiyama (1937)
travertine – 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: "The isolation of the artist causes weakness in any art movement and ultimately its diffusion, left to history. The human environment I believe is the only possibility for the symposia's existence.
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15. Throne of Nezahualcoyotl
by Sebastian (Mexico, 1947)
painted steel – gift of the Government of Mexico, 1978
A poet, architect, legislator and wise lord, Prince Nezahualcoyotl is one of the most renowned figures in the history of ancient Mexico. Ascending the throne of the Aztec state of Tetzcoco in 1418, he ruled for more than 40 years. His poetry dealt with metaphysical themes inspired by the beauty of nature and flowers.
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16. Woman
by Kiyoshi Takahashi (1925)
marble – 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: “A piece of stone sculpture should be an informal kind of form in which the character of its medium takes up the environment’s spatial energy and then lets it settle into the ground upon which it is placed.”
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17. Earth, Air and Sea
by Joan Gambioli
travertine – 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: “Each sculpture is an attempt to express my deep, unwavering affection for the materials and forms found in nature, and for the human figure itself. If some of my work seems simple, then it has accomplished its purpose. It needs no words. It is created for people.”
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18. In Memoriam of Teilhard de Chardin
by Mathias Heitz, (1923).
marble – 1975 Symposium
Artist Statement: “The most obvious symbolism was conjured up by the grid – incarceration, imprisonment or a barred way. The sphere in the middle symbolizes the eternal mystery. The two openings on the one side of the piece stand for the two sciences through which he (de Chardin) sought to shed light on this mystery. The grid states our access is barred, and/or, we ought not to touch it until we are mature enough. The whole concept could be applied to the exploration of the atom…”
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19. Puttino
(Boy with Dolphin, copy)
by Andrea del Verrochio (1435-1488)
bronze – gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Pitcher to mark The Year of the Child, 1979
The original of Verrochio’s 15th C. fountain is located in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli were his most famous pupils.
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20. Mosquito
by Earl Muldoe (member of Gitsan first nation from K’san)
cedar totem pole – commissioned by VBGA, 1976
This pole incorporates four figures from top to bottom: Baboudina – Chief of the mosquitoes, young woman with her baby, young husband.
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21. Al of the Gispuwada
by Arthur Sterritt (member of Gitsan first nation from K’san)
cedar totem pole – commissioned by VBGA, 1976
The Black Bear (Al) is the crest of the Killer Whale clan. Unveiled during Habitat, the pole tells the story of the Al and a hunter to whom he taught all he knew. While with the bear, the man transformed into a ‘bear man’ and was unrecognised when he returned to his village. A shaman understood his true identity and changed him back into human form. The four figures from top to bottom: Human form is man before he met the bear, the face in the chest represents the shaman, bear figure at the bottom represents Al and the human head on its chest represents ‘bear man.’
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22. Swedish Fountain
by Per Nilsson-Ost
bronze – gift of the Swedish Folk Society, 1975
The fountain was originally envisioned by Edward Alm who wanted to foster the relationship between Sweden (the land of his birth) and Canada (his home). The Swedish Folk Society was formed to fundraise for the project. On Mr. Alm’s death, his widow traveled to Sweden and engaged renowned artist Per Nilsson-Ost. Seven panels of the fountain represent the work of the Swedish pioneers. The eighth panel displays a Viking ship, three crowns of Sweden, a dogwood blossom, and totem pole to symbolize the friendship between the two countries.
Select any sculpture image to go to the sculpture map or select the thumbnail image to see a full size map of the sculpture locations.
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