The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

VISU a l Public Issues Abound at Artropolis 93 by/ Vancouver plays host to a major exhibition this fall with the return of Artropolis alter a three-year hiatus. Artropolis organizers have always chosen unconventional sites for their exhibits, and this year is no exception. The old Woodward's building downtown will be the primary venue, bul artwork will also be found in Stanley Park. Gasiown alleyways and on the Buirard Street Bridge. The Ihcmc of Artropolis M is Public Art & An about Public Issues. This is a timely topic and one that sparks much debate (sec "So What Is Public Art, Anyway?" on page 5). As the PR material states, "the majority of people think that public art is a large abstract formal sculpture or a fountain in die plaza. Artropolis 93 will attempt to alter this perception. Public an can be auditory, interactive, collaborative, impermanent...it need not occur 'in the plaza' or "in ihe lobby'; it may be manifested in yards, storefronts..." Some 250 artworks have been selected, and the North Shore is relatively wellrepresented. A popular public issue among the North Shore artists is die fate of the Lion's Gate Bridge. The photograph featured on ihe cover. Suspense Bridge. Eliza Massey. She fell that il was important to preserve the bridge on film, to have a record of it before anything happened to it. The Lion's Gate Bridge is an important part of the city's iconography, in the same way that the Golden Gate Bridge is for San Francisco. Massey senses the end of an era approaching, and wanted to have "an image of the bridge for us lo remember." West Vancouver resident Carole Amsion's work also deals with bridges, although in a more abstract manner. Her painting, Bridge No Bridge, forces us to think about what would happen if the Lion's Gate came down: "Imagine---the bridge falls away, cables dangle down to the inlet. place. In November, she will be having a show at the Ferry Building, aptly titled "Places of Consequence." A third Artropolis submission. Slacked Car Sundiul by North Vancouver resident Marcus Bowcott, is not so much about the bridge itself as it is about what its proposed five-lane reconstruction says about our society. For Bowcoit, too many people equate growth with progress, without stopping lo think of the consequences. Automobiles arc just one symbol of such excess. His piece-- wrecked cars stacked "like so many defunct bodies" in the shape of a sundiatas well as the site he has chosen for i l -- Stanley Park's pristine Lost Lagoon-- makes this poinl quite clear. Cars represent a threat to the natural environment; ihe sundial conveys the sense of time passing, running out. What Would You Kill Vs far this Time? The central panel depicts n human figure being tortured. The words 'faggot.' 'chink.' 'wop,' 'nigger.' 'dyke.' 'spic.' Public art can be auditory, interactive, collaborative, impermanent...it need not occur In the plaza or 'in the lobby'; it may be manifested in yards, storefronts... 1 'Communist,' Jew.' "Pollack,' and 'feminist' are inscribed above the person's head. Surrounding the figure arc a number of skeletal shapes, as well as the faini outline of a body in a blue and-while prison camp uniform. The ouier iwo panels are painicd in differeni styles--the left-hand one has the feel of a cave painting, whereas theright-handone is more contemporary. This chronology suggests (hat history repeats itself, and that we still have the same old skeletons in our closet as far as discriminalion is concerned. Khai Foo's painting, Pender and Gore, one of a series of Chinatown snapshots, explores notions of identity and cultural heritage. Khai's parents are Chinese, from Singapore; Khai himself was bom in England but has lived in Canada for mosl of his life. When he considers his heritage, he experiences a sense of bewilderment. A mini-narrative forms an accompaniment to his painting: "...He certainly doesn't wani to go to Chinatown for dim sum. Someone mighl ask him something. 'Whai do you want? How many'.' Are you deaf?' Then he would have to mumble something in shameful embarrassment. 'Sorry. I can'i Stacked C; Bridges are also the subject of Jennifer Judge's installauon in Stanley Park. The North Vancouvcriic is not in this case dealing with the First Narrows bridge, but with one made famous by the French Impressionist painter. Claude Monet, in his series entitled Le Bassin aux Nymphéas. Judge will be recreating--in real life--the atmosphere in Monet's paintings. Colour copies of his water lilies, sealed between sheets of plexiglass, will be floating in the water under the bridge, and the surface of the bridge itself will be treated and painted to evoke Monet's style. Jennifer is collaborating with her husband and fellow artist Michael and with architect William McCrecry on a second project for Artropolis. Their installation-- slated for the area around Canada Place-- was to deal with how views of the North Shore from the downtown core are being blocked by high-rises and big developments, but they wen unable to secure the necessary permits and approval. (This is an all-loo-common problem when it comes to public art, and many artists are loath to forsake their artmaking hours to jump through bureaucratic hoops. Some prefer to simply engage in gucnlla-stylc projects.) Instead, the trio are working on a display for the Woodward's site that will describe (heir original plan as well as ihe problems speak Cantonese." Or Chinese of any sort for thai matter. Can't speak ihe language of his ancestry. Of his heritage. Of his race. 'Lei's jusl go (o Safeway.' He'd feel safer there, l i s much cleaner and people don't talk so loud. It wouldn't feel as bad lo be a stranger there..." icre is no bridge, there i> no direct ehicular route from downtown Vancouver a the North Shore." All of a sudden, there re two places instead of one Indeed, much f Amsion's work addresses the issue of 12 A... Acc... S.p'Oc. Horseshoe Bay artist Lil Chrzan (whoseXX Dialogue was featured on the cover of u recent Arts Access) addresses a more political public issue in her triptych tilled