A series of 13 unflattering paintings of Vancouver real estate influencers and moguls are now on display at a small gallery space on Main Street at Broadway, and aside from presenting an interesting take on the state of this city, they've also got a pricing model which might raise some eyebrows.
Christopher Brayshaw owns and operates Pulp Fiction Books, next door to the CSA Space gallery that he also runs, along with partners Adam Harrison and Steven Tong. We stand in the space at 2414 Main Street as he gives me a basic rundown of the latest exhibit on display - painter Rowan Melling's Boss Bodies - which he co-curated.
I ask Brayshaw what the prices are and he asks "Well, are you one of the subjects?" and I tell him no, after a quick glance around the room to make sure that I'm not. He then lets me know that the price is $1,200 per painting, but if the subjects want to buy them they'll have to pay what he essentially thinks is their fair share.
Brayshaw notes that he's happy to negotiate with the subjects on pricing, but the selling price for them will be scaled from $1,200 multiplied by the difference between a living wage in Vancouver, and the average wage of a CEO. So they don't pay market value, it's a sort of reverse "pay what you can" model for those who can afford more.
The wage-gap pricing is as much of a statement as the work itself, which offers "garish" depictions of people who, an accompanying essay states, are protected by the media here, which "deflect" away from the issue of the causes of the increase in real estate prices.
Most subjects are developers like Ian Gillespie and Michael Audain, some are high profile real estate owners like Chip Wilson, and a few are connected more loosely, as founders of PR companies and others that work with developers.
The above-mentioned accompanying essay is written by Dan Adleman, and it calls out a number of Vancouver-based news media outlets directly - Vancouver Is Awesome included - expressing the opinion that they (we) are "developer-funded" and that we work to protect the mostly-rich-and-somewhat-famous subjects of the artwork as their cronies, and cronies of their cronies. The gist is that a "seductive media ecosystem" is to blame for the rise in real estate prices in this market.
Adleman states that "The local press won’t likely have much to say about it [the exhibition]... That’s because the exhibition, in its own modest way, challenges a fantasy system to which so many of us remain indentured."
From the privileged place where I sit, the issue with the "fantasy system" seems like it might be on both sides. Perhaps we don't give people a clear enough window into our businesses, so they begin to fantasize about what it actually looks like in here, and how we operate. Looking at V.I.A.'s financial statements (which it's my job to regularly keep an eye on), real estate ads make up less than 1% of our total revenue. I can't speak for other outlets, but we write news where there is news, and we don't work to protect anyone who pays us to place ads.
Again, from where I sit I can see that one reason why the local media might not "have much to say" about this show is that they hadn't heard about it. I only learned of it when I noticed a poster for it on the wall of Pulp Fiction Books, which I saw in an unrelated tweet that they retweeted. I saw it randomly on Twitter.
Our outlet never received a press release or an invitation to the show, and I initially just wanted to cover it as a challenge, because they said we wouldn't.
Another reason the local media won't have much to say about it is that there are very few full-time arts reporters anymore. The Globe and Mail's Marsha Lederman is the only one I know of. We don't ever review art shows in the way I'm doing here anymore, because people don't generally read them - I've made an exception partly because I think this subject is worthy of exploring.
Perhaps it's time for a more open conversation about the housing crisis in this city, between the media and residents. It's an issue that we and other outlets cover daily, but we're still somehow seen as blame-worthy for its existence by some.
And while I don't agree with the artist and essay-writer's take that the subjects of this art show are hideous monsters to be reviled, we likely have a lot more in common than they might think.
For those looking to view the work themselves and read the entire essay, I would highly encourage you to do so. The gallery is located at 2414 Main Street, and it's open whenever Pulp Fiction Books is. Simply ask for the key to the space at the bookstore, leave your driver's license, and you can check it out for yourself.
Boss Bodies is showing until December 12, 2021. The subjects of the artwork are:
Miriam Alden
Beth Boyle
Lisa Chan
John Ng
Chip Wilson
William White
Carmen Leal
Brian Hill
Ian Gillespie
Renee Wasylyk
Bob Rennie
Genica Whitney
Michael Audain
