Woo, The Monkey Who Inspired Emily Carr: A Biography by Grant Hayter-Menzies, with a foreword by Anita Kunz Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2019 $9.99 / 9781771622141 Reviewed by Jessica Poon * What, ultimately, does a statue represent? A statue is allegory at its most literal. A statue can never be the very person it…
Read more #931 Carr, captivity, creativity
Everything is Relevant: Writings on Art and Life, 1991-2018 by Ken Lum, with an introduction by Kitty Scott Montreal: Concordia University Press, 2020 $64.95 / 9781988111001 Reviewed by Phyllis Reeve * Where on earth is he? The Vancouver Art Gallery is staging an interview with Vancouver-born art star Ken Lum. It’s May 2020, deep into…
Read more #930 The relevance of Ken Lum
McIntyre House by Sherry McKay, with a preface by Douglas Coupland and photography by Michael Perlmutter Novato, California: ORO Editions, 2020, and Vancouver: UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture [SALA] / West Coast Modern House Series $24.95 (US) / 9781943532940 Reviewed by Martin Segger * As Leslie Van Duzer — series editor of UBC…
Read more #917 McIntyre’s West Coast Modern
Hand Drawn Vancouver: Sketches of the City’s Neighbourhoods, Buildings, and People by Emma Fitzgerald Toronto: Penguin Random House (Appetite), 2020 $24.95 / 9780147531209 Reviewed by Jennifer Chutter * Emma Fitzgerald’s Hand Drawn Vancouver weaves together her autobiographical accounts of growing up in Vancouver with visual depictions of personally meaningful places around the city. After spending…
Read more #905 Fresh and whimsical Vancouver
Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti: Tenth Anniversary Edition by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2019 (first published 2009) $24.95 / 9781551527918 Reviewed by Margot Fedoruk * Whether you are a knitter, crocheter, or wanna be Banksy, the tenth anniversary edition of Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet…
Read more #904 Celebrating acts of yarnarchy
Craigdarroch: The Story of Dunsmuir Castle by Terry Reksten Victoria: Orca Books, 2019 (first published by Orca Books, 1987; reprinted 1994, 1997, and 2000) $16.95 / 9781459823846 Reviewed by Matthew Downey * This new printing of the late Terry Reksten’s Craigdarroch: The Story of Dunsmuir Castle provides to a new generation of readers a short…
Read more #873 A castle for all Victorians
Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry: The Art, the Artists, the History by Alexander Dawkins, with a foreword by Corrine Hunt Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2019 $24.95 / 9781771642972 Reviewed by Victoria Wyatt * Northwest Coast Indigenous artists working in jewellery have long deserved more attention on these arts. Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry: The Art, the…
Read more #859 Celebrating Indigenous jewellery
The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Rock Art by Bruno David and Ian J. McNiven (editors) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019 $175.00 (U.S.) / 9780190607357 Reviewed by Chris Arnett * “Rock art,” for those who don’t know, is a general term for Indigenous paintings or carvings found on rock surfaces inside caves,…
Read more #856 Alas, poor British Columbia
Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow by Catherine B. Clement, translated by Winnie L. Cheung Vancouver: Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia, 2020 $70.00 / 9780993659331 Reviewed by May Q. Wong * Chinatown’s photographer was not just for Chinese. This substantial coffee-table book of photographs tells not one, but…
Read more #836 Yucho Chow’s wide & diverse lens
Lowering Simon Fraser by Maddie Leach (concept and editing) and Michael Kluckner (drawings and interpretation) Vancouver: Contemporary Art Gallery, 2019 [catalogue; no price] / 9781989503027 Lowering Simon Fraser (the catalogue) is available from the shop at the Contemporary Art Gallery Reviewed by Forrest Pass * 1908 should have been a bumper year for commemorations in…
Read more #802 Cutting Simon Fraser down to size
Henry & Self: An English Gentlewoman at the Edge of Empire by Kathryn Bridge Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 2019 (first published by Sono Nis Press, 1996) $22.95 / 9780772672612 * By Snowshoe, Buckboard and Steamer: Women of the British Columbia Frontier by Kathryn Bridge Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 2019 (first published by Sono…
Read more #776 Five women at the edge of empire
Design for Living: West Coast Modern Homes Revisited by Darrin Morrison, Greg Bellerby, Kiriko Watanabe, Adele Weder, Barry Downs, Hilary Letwin, and Alan Bell West Vancouver: West Vancouver Art Museum, 2019 (catalogue of an exhibition held at the West Vancouver Art Museum, 2019) $30.00 / 9781989236024 Reviewed by Martin Segger * This is the book…
Read more #769 Celebrating West Coast Modern
111 Places in Vancouver That You Must Not Miss by Dave Doroghy and Graeme Menzies Cologne and New York: Emons Verlag, 2019 $26.90 / 9783740804947 * The Vancouver Sketchbook: Lush Landscapes, Vibrant Streetscapes, Soaring Skyline by T.K. Justin Ng Vancouver: Whitecap, 2019 $29.95 / 9781770503250 Both books reviewed by Jennifer Chutter * …
Read more #767 Show the Vancouver patchwork
On the Arts by Naomi Beth Wakan Brunswick, Maine: Shanti Arts Publishing, 2020 $17.95 (U.S.) / 9781951651091 Reviewed by Phyllis Reeve * Every man is at liberty to understand nothing about anything. So said Montaigne. Or at least Naomi Wakan says that he said it, and I am not going to contradict her. He certainly…
Read more #763 Beach glass on a bed of seaweed
Direct Action Gets the Goods: A Graphic History of the Strike in Canada c0-authored by the Graphic History Collective, with Althea Balmes, Gord Hill, Orion Keresztesi, and David Lester Toronto: Between the Lines, 2019 $14.95 / 9781771134170 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * Follow the Black Cat: How to bring history back to people who flunked…
Read more #760 Follow the faithful black cat
Fluevog: 50 Years of Unique Soles for Unique Souls by John Fluevog Vancouver: LifeTree Media, 2019 $69.99 / 9781928055532 Reviewed by Elena Siemens * Founded by John Fluevog in Vancouver in 1985, Fluevog Shoes now has 27 stores in North America and Europe. Remarkably, Fluevogs have strong aftermarket value, selling on high-end arts and crafts,…
Read more #758 Fine shoes from the Fluemarket
The Eyelash and the Monochrome by Tiziana La Melia Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2018 $19.95 / 9781772011975 * beholden: a poem as long as a river by Rita Wong and Fred Wah Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2018 $24.95 / 9781772012118 Both books reviewed by Candace Fertile * …
Read more #739 Consider the image and the word
Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History by Robert Budd, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $29.95 / 9781550178838 Reviewed by Tyler McCreary * On March 12, 2020, Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History, by Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers, was one of five books shortlisted for…
Read more #697 Skeena echoes and silkscreens
Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii by Gid7ahl-Gudsllaay Lalaxaaygans (Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson) and SGaan Jaadgu San Glans (Sara Florence Davidson), illustrated by Judy Hilgemann and Alyssa Koski Victoria: Heritage House, 2019 $22.95 / 9781772032963 Reviewed by Molly Clarkson * This review contains words in the Haida Language. Both Gaw Tlagee Xaad Kil (Haida Northern Dialect, which brings…
Read more #681 Haida matrilineal magic
E.J. Hughes Paints British Columbia by Robert Amos Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2019 $35.00 / 9781771513104 Reviewed by Phyllis Reeve * How can I “review” a book that renders me breathless even before I open it? It takes a while to get past the cover, vibrating as it does with colour. This is the Fraser Valley…
Read more #679 E.J. Hughes crosses the Strait