Nature meets consumerism in a new work by Vancouver artist Marcus Bowcott<\/strong>. Bowcott has stacked five junked cars atop a 20 foot high cedar tree in a piece called Trans Am Totem<\/strong>. An ode to the automobile? Not really.\u00a0 Bowcott\u2019s sculpture reminds us of our reliance upon fossil fuels, global warming and the continuing degradation of the environment.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0At the wreckers<\/strong> (Photo Credit:\u00a0Marcus Bowcott<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe automobile holds a unique position in our culture,\u201d says the artist. \u201cIt\u2019s a manufactured want and a symbol of extremes: practicality and luxury, necessity and waste. We can see this in the muscular Trans Am, the comfortable BMW and the workhorse Civic. Trans Am Totem questions the cycle of production and consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0The artist at work\u00a0<\/strong>(Photo Credit:\u00a0Marcus Bowcott<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Preparing the concrete base<\/strong>\u00a0(Photo Credit:\u00a0Marcus Bowcott<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Bowcott first turned to paints to make his point. \u201cI started painting images of cars and that was OK,\u201d he says \u201cbut I felt I needed to incorporate humour.\u201d Trans Am Totem started life, in Bowcott\u2019s mind, as a stacked car sundial before it rose to loftier heights.<\/p>\n

Five cars, five visits to the wrecking yard. Engines, transmissions and drive trains were removed; in fact everything was taken out to make them lighter. But stacking still posed an engineering problem. How do you support five automobiles, 33 feet high in total, on top of a tree trunk?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Attaching cedar to steel support<\/strong> (Photo Credit:\u00a0Marcus Bowcott<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

The answer: the tree trunk isn\u2019t a tree trunk but a steel shaft disguised as a tree. The cedar trunk which ostensibly supports the stack was sliced down the middle, hollowed out and then wrapped around the pole like a blanket.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Assembling the cars\u00a0<\/strong>(Photo Credit:\u00a0Marcus Bowcott<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

The irony of placing five metallic machines atop an old-growth cedar, an icon in environmentally sensitive British Columbia, isn\u2019t lost upon the artist. Nor is the fact the sculpture is located on a major thoroughfare through which thousands of cars pass very day.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Totem<\/strong> (Photo Credit: John Thomson)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the horns of a dilemma here,\u201d says Bowcott. \u201cWe\u2019re fascinated with speed, we\u2019re fascinated by consumer objects and this consumerism has an effect on Nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Totem Closeup\u00a0(Photo Credit: John Thomson)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

(Photo Credit: John Thomson)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

(Photo Credit: John Thomson)<\/em><\/p>\n

Bowcott produced the work for the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, an ongoing bi-annual celebration of global themes expressed through public art. The Biennale contributed $10,000 of Totem\u2019s $40,000 cost. Bowcott financed the rest through personal funds, in-kind donations and a crowdfunding campaign. Trans Am Totem will remain on site, a prime downtown location, for another two years.<\/p>\n

+\u00a0Marcus Bowcott<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

+\u00a0Vancouver Biennale<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nature meets consumerism in a new work by Vancouver artist Marcus Bowcott. Bowcott has stacked five junked cars atop a 20 foot high cedar tree in a piece called Trans Am Totem. An ode to the automobile? Not really.\u00a0 Bowcott\u2019s sculpture reminds us of our reliance upon fossil fuels, global warming and the continuing degradation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":43149,"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":[6954,7492,6633,7491,7490,7127],"yoast_head":"\n