Gesamtkunstwerk. Try saying that three times fast. Gesamt/ Kunst/ Werk; that may look a little more familiar. It has been plastered on the wall of a building by Vancouver’s Granville Street Bridge for weeks, and you can see the letters glowing boldly in the night.
Although you probably aren’t able to pronounce it, on March 22, you’ll be able to see it. Witness “life as a total work of art” at the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition, designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group and produced by Westbank, in the former storage shed at 1460 Howe. From sketches to models and photography to video, Gesamtkunstwerk will demonstrate how “total design” can change contemporary condo living into something magnificent through art, energy and architecture. The exhibition will showcase Vancouver’s architectural story, from the 1950s to 2018, so the past, present and future can all be admired in one show. The exhibit will feature a never-before seen 1955 sketch by Arthur Erickson of a futuristic Vancouver, imagery of Rodney Graham’s public artwork of a “spinning chandelier” (pictured) and a model of Vancouver House, which will break ground in about 12 months. This event set to blow your mind through imagination and story telling. The admission is free if you want to drop by or stay a while to enjoy good food, nice people and some enchanting artwork.
