He\u2019s a blob on the sidewalk and he wants to be covered in gum. \u201cGumhead\u201d<\/strong> is the latest creation from author, artist and cultural commentator Douglas Coupland<\/strong>. The seven-foot high self-portrait welcomes visitors to his new show at the Vancouver Art Gallery called everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Coupland\u2019s been busy since writing his international best seller\u00a0Generation X<\/em>;\u00a0Tales for an Accelerated Culture<\/em>\u00a0in 1991. Canada\u2019s cultural guru has written 13 more novels and seven non-fiction books in addition to crafting sculpture, furniture and clothing. He\u2019s the man with his finger on the pulse of modern society simultaneously critical yet oddly fascinated with popular culture. \u201cThe early 21^{st<\/sup>\u00a0century condition,\u201d he calls it.<\/p>\n}

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\u201cI don\u2019t mind having the piss taken out of me; it\u2019s fine,\u201d he says of the huge spittoon which he\u2019s crafted in his own image, inviting passers-by to discard their confections upon his stony face. He reckons that stony face will be completely obscured before too long.<\/p>\n

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And Vancouverites are glad to oblige. The bust is dotted with gooey dollops and quite a few statements like \u201cThe Medium is the Message\u201d fashioned out of the appropriate sugary medium.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGumhead\u201d is positioned on a downtown thoroughfare next to two food trucks. It gets a lot of traffic.<\/p>\n

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Inside the gallery, the commentary continues with numerous tableaux comprised of the flotsam and jetsam of modern life including toys, underwear, license plates, household appliances and cans of processed meat. There are towers made out of Lego blocks; there\u2019s even a vision of suburbia composed of identical Lego houses. There are oversized containers and paintings in the style of Mondrian, Lichenstein and Group of Seven stalwart Lawren Harris. Other than a modern variation on\u00a0Broadway Boogie Woogie,\u00a0<\/em>the other Mondrian look-alikes can be read with a Quick Response reader. When scanned with a smartphone they reveal pithy statements about life and death written by the artist. Art meets technology. Or is that technology begets art?<\/p>\n

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Coupland’s work displayed at the Vanocuver Art Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Downy, Tide and Pennzoil<\/strong><\/p>\n

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345 Modern House 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Detail of “The Brain”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Photography is encouraged and gallery visitors unwittingly contribute to the event by hovering over the exhibits and clicking away. But that\u2019s okay. It\u2019s all part of Coupland\u2019s desire to engage the public and the dialogue starts right away with that gummy calling card, \u201cGumhead,\u201d in the heart of Vancouver\u2019s downtown core.<\/p>\n

Everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything<\/em>\u00a0continues at the Vancouver Art Gallery until September 1^{st<\/sup>.<\/p>\n}

Photo Credits:<\/strong>\u00a0John Thomson \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

+\u00a0Douglas Coupland<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

+\u00a0<\/em>Vancouver Art Gallery<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He\u2019s a blob on the sidewalk and he wants to be covered in gum. \u201cGumhead\u201d is the latest creation from author, artist and cultural commentator Douglas Coupland. The seven-foot high self-portrait welcomes visitors to his new show at the Vancouver Art Gallery called everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything. Coupland\u2019s been busy since writing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":41334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[7211,7210,6954,6633,7212],"yoast_head":"\n