With the Vancouver Art Gallery officially on its way out of their current location between Robson and Georgia, we've been getting asked more and more whether we might be taking that space.

Today we announce that we are committed to finding an optimal location that will complement our provocative, award-winning programs and exhibitions - in other words, we don't know yet whether we will choose to stay here or move. But we have been taking deliberate steps towards securing our position as a thriving part of the Vancouver’s cultural landscape for generations to come.

The MOV has occupied its current location in Vanier Park since 1967, and while the location is picturesque it is not without its challenges (pictured above in 1971). A study is being conducted by AldrichPears Associates (APA) to define a functional program for the Museum in an optimal scenario.

“We are constantly asked about our location,” said Nancy Noble, Museum of Vancouver’s CEO. “With this study we will finally have a definitive answer to the question ‘should we stay or should we go?’”

Through the study, the Museum is examining many options for its location, the current Vancouver Art Gallery space being only one, with potential to stay at its current location. The functional program is informed by current operations, industry best-practices, the vision for the visitor experience at the Museum and the anticipated visitation levels at the current location as well as other locations throughout Vancouver.

Isaac Marshall, Principal at APA, said, “There are so many opportunities in Vancouver right now. It is the perfect time for the MOV to prove it is ready to lead the world in redefining the role of a city museum.”
 

When Tobias Wong released “This is a Lamp” – a Phillip Stark bubble chair installed with a light bulb and a pull chord – it was considered his breakout moment. It was the beginning of his acquirement of nick names like “Bad Boy” and “Enfant terrible of the design world.” He was showing what he did best – taking every day objects and twisting them to create a point of conversation.

Looking at it, I always wonder who got to sit in that chair. Would I sit in it, if it were in my house? Or would I put it on display. I dug into openMOV to see what Vancouver chairs we have in our collection, and who was sitting in them.

This cute almost wicker style chair was owned by Frances Barkley, the first European woman to view the coast of what would later be called British Columbia. She came while on a three-year honeymoon with her husband, Captain Charles William Barkley. The chair was made in Malacca between 1750 and 1775.

Then there is, of course, this lovely summery chair that was owned by Joe Fortes, the English Bay beach lifeguard and swimming instructor. He enjoyed the ocean view from his cottage at English Bay c. 1900-1920 while sitting in this chair, which he found at the cottage when he moved in.

And for the orderly and rigid Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie, a more stiff chair. Begbie was the first Chief Justice of British Columbia, starting in 1858. Some say the orderliness and lack of crime during the gold rush in BC were probably due to Begbie’s rigid, but fair, enforcement of the law.

It could be considered a shield for the heart, or a statement on a culture of fear following 9/11. You could admire it as a beautiful brooch, or an interesting piece of art. Tobias Wong hit chords soft and strong when he produced the Ballistic Rose back in 2004.

Accompanying the rose is the Bulletproof Quilted Duvet, a black duvet cover made from Kevlar and sewn with a pattern of ivy and centered with a rose image. Usually, we don't associate roses with violence, or bullets with bedding. In my life, roses have typically been associated with old lady furniture, 1990s Home Interior decor, birthday cards from my grandmother, and things I need to buy for my mother's birthday.

To get a sense of just how far out the Ballistic Rose is from what we typically think of as roses, I hit OpenMOV with a search for "rose".

If this isn't "normal" for roses, I just don't know what it is. Laura Chadsey handed out these calling cards way back c. 1870-1890. A cute cat, a red rose.

A bit more unusal for the search for roses is a Foncie Foto of Rose McCarthy, who was visiting Vancouver from Winnipeg on a windy day in April 1955.

But my favourite is Pauline Johnson's lingerie bag - a small drawstring sack owned by the famous Mohawk poet and writer who was born in Brantford, ON, and died and was buried in Vancouver. She is known for writing Legends of Vancouver, and when she passed away in 1913 her funeral was the largest held in Vancouver to date.

In this video clip, Object(ing) co-curator Viviane Gosselin talks about the Ballistic Rose.

What rose artifacts do you have in your house or family?

In Object(ing): The art/design ofTobias Wong, the MOV looks at relatively new objects - every day objects - that have been altered and given greater meaning by the Vancouver artist Tobias Wong.

Co-curators Todd Falkowsky and Viviane Gosselin have worked with more than 50 people from around the world to find Tobias' pieces, get stories, and find images. Tobias' had a great sense of humour, and in one of his pieces he took the Burberry pattern and put it on pin on buttons - thereby making this high-end fashion pattern accessible to everyone.

1" pin on buttons are so regularly used for making a statement, it got me thinking: what non-promotional (such as the PNE or Woodwords) buttons do we have in our collection? And I dug into OpenMOV.

There are, of course, political campaign buttons like this Vander Zalm button from 1986...

Buttons of support, like this simple yellow button that was part of a campaign for redress of treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII, which resulted in a 1988 apology and financial compensation by the Canadian Government.

And there are protest buttons, like this 1997 No Casino button...

And then there are general statements, that pass as non-political but if you choose they certainly make a statement about possession...

I now encourage you to surf OpenMOV for buttons and share your favourites here!

And now we'll have the addition of Tobias' Burberry buttons. Covertly political, they make a statement on the posession of patterns, of logos, they speak to consumption and advertising and captialism. Here's Pablo Griff, Object(ing)'s Content Advisor and good friend of Tobias, talking about how the Burberry buttons came to be.

Object(ing) opens to the public this Thursday, September 20. Tickets are still available to the Wednesday evening opening party.