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Days in Pictures

burning bush / cardinal birds: days 391 — 395

In which I explore a bit, discover archaeology, and listen to what people see

I took my own lesson to heart this time, taking different routes to and from work. And I feel better about things; maybe all I needed was to get the rant off my chest.

Friday, a bunch of little graffiti on Robson Street. Simple little doodles? Maybe, but I found myself examining them as closely as the Lascaux paintings. Did a single person draw them? It’s possible… most of them have a biblical theme, but not all. The one on the left reminds me of an Eye of Horus, which also sorta-maybe fits into the Bible, what with the Israelites and ancient Egypt?

The three little flames / cardinal birds are odd, because they looked like flames that got turned into birds by someone else, but the flames and the “cardinal birds” label are in the same pink, suggesting they were done by the same person, and likewise for the feet, faces and “burning bush” label. So, one person, two colours, and a piece I’ve already spent way too much time overanalysing? Hey, if that’s not art, I don’t know what is.

On the way back from Taichi class in the burbs, I kept a lookout for interesting things to shoot. On an impulse I turned off Broadway near VCC, wandered around for a bit, drove west along Great Northern Way and stopped again. Here was a view of downtown I’ve never seen before. Not very different than from 1st Avenue, but still a different place, a different angle. Same big old sky, though.

Saturday night a house burned down in the West End. Just that one house, and it wasn’t close to me, but it was all over my social media feeds. When I got there Sunday afternoon the street was still partly cordoned off, and there were still firefighters and some equipment on the scene. Two people were injured. The house was over 100 years old.

But hey, I’ve got a bunch of old buildings within walking distance of work! On Monday I went wandering a bit during my lunch break, and stopped at the corner of Cordova and Water, where Gastown begins. I really need to explore Gastown more, those are beautiful buildings, with tons of… texture. Not like Amsterdam, but gorgeous in their own way.

Tuesday, I had no plans. I walked with a coworker towards the train station, and stopped at the pedestrian overpass. I’d shot this scene before, but never at that hour, when the light was soft and blue… I didn’t think much of it at the time, just another candidate, so I went on into Gastown for a little bit. Now that I’ve posted it, I’m looking at it with a bit of distance, and I like it more and more. The time of day does make a difference, and makes the colours pop—the warm brown of the station mirroring the dark grey of the parkade. I never saw that before.

And really, isn’t that part of the fun of this whole project? To look at things with fresh eyes, not just mine but those of my audience? Those who don’t live in Vancouver, or just don’t have the same perspective I do. It’s not just about me, sharing what I see. It’s also about getting back from my audience.

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