2021 - Vancouver Commercial Drive - subTEXT- Community Signature Project (1996)

            I have walked over the Grandview Cut bridge on Commercial Drive countless times over the past 25 years and paid no attention to this row of blue tiles imbedded in the sidewalk, until this day.

The morning sun cast a perfect or close to it shadow from the bridge fence onto the blue  tiles - click, click.

Turns out the row of tiles was a community art project in 1996.

subTEXT: Community Signature Project (1996) by Susan Schuppli.

Susan Schuppli about the tile work:

From a distance, subTEXT appears to be nothing more than tiles lining the east sidewalk of the Commercial Drive Bridge, over the Grandview Cut. 

Upon approach, however, it can be truly appreciated for its scope and symbolic value. The piece features hundreds of ceramic tiles inscribed with the signatures of locals, and occasionally pictures or comments. 

Despite bridges often having plaques set upon them, the inspiration for subTEXT came from contemporary projects like the Vietnam Memorial, which lists the names of those who died in the Vietnam War. 

By identifying each individual component of a larger history, this creates a more personal interaction with history than mere words can allow. 

By aiming to draw attention to pedestrian traffic and local residents, the project celebrates the role of the individual on city neighbourhoods and pays tribute to the ties that bind us together.

About Susan Schuppli:
(Swiss-Canadian, born 1959).
London, England-based artist and researcher Susan Schuppli creates conceptual and research-based artworks that respond to and investigate man's impact on environmental systems. 

Schuppli is Director and Reader of the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1991. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Media Arts from the University of California, San Diego in 1995. 

She attended the Whitney Independent Study Program in 1996. She received a PhD in Cultural Studies and Research Architecture from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2009. She has taught at the Emily Carr Institute in British Columbia, at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, and the University of Western Ontario (all in Canada).

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Taken in: Canada / British Columbia / Vancouver / Kensington-Cedar Cottage (show map)

Taken on: May 21, 2021

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2021

Vancouver

Vancouver City

City of Vancouver

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PublIc Art

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subTEXT: Community Signature Project

Commercial Drive

Susan Schuppli

Susan Schuppli subTEXT:

People and Paths

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East Vancouver

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Sets appears in: • 2021 - Vancouver BC

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Camera: Apple iPhone 12 mini, f/1.6, 1/2398 sec, 4.2mm, ISO 32 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Apple iPhone 12 mini
Aperture:	f/1.6
Exposure Time:	1/2398 sec
Focal Length:	4.2mm
ISO:	32
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Luminar AI
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