constructed destinations: art at airports
TRANSCRIPT
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C O N S T R U C T E D
DESTINATIONS:
A R TAND REPRESENTATIONS OF HISTORY AT THE
V A N C O U V E R
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
by
R O S A L I N D A L L X R O R K E
B.A. , McGil lUniversity,
1991
A THESIS SUBMITTED INP A R T I A L F U L F I L L M E N TOF
T H E
R E Q U I R E M E N T S
FOR
T H E D E G R E E
OF
M A S T E R
OF AR TS
in
T H E F A C U L T Y
OFG R A D U A T E
STUDIES
(Department
of
ArtHistory, Visual Art
and
Theory)
We
accept this thesis as
conforming
to the
required standard
T H E UNTVERSITY OFBRITISH C OL UM BI A
October
2001
RosalindAlixRorke,
2001
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In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced
degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it
freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive
copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my
department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or
publication
of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written
permission.
Department of
The
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
DE-6
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A B S T R A C T
Since its opening in 1931, theVancouverInternationalAirporthasbeenasite
where significant representationsofthe city, its geography
and
its population have
been
made. Insteadofbeing
utilitarian
structures the
airport
terminals have
been
purposefully
designed
and
decorated withartchosen specifically to communicate Vancouver's distinct
qualities
and
culture to travelers. As culture is neverstatic
and
changescontinuously, the
representations havealsoshifted over time.
Byconsidering the specific historyofVancouver's
airport
in conjunction with the
wider historyofCanadianandinternational
airport
development, patterns (such as the
continuous use of symbolsfromnative cultures to represent
aspects
ofthe colonizer's
culture)
and
tensions(such as Vancouver's relative position as a majorCanadian urban
centre
and
the growth of visible immigrant populations) which accompany the
representation of locality at the
airportbecome
apparent. HenriLefevbre's
understanding ofspaceasanactive socialproduct,DavidHarvey's
assessment
ofthe
impact of globalization upon the local and Siegfried
Kracauer's
interpretation of
architecture as illustrative
of broad
social trends
underpin
my analysis.
The
adoption,ofanhistoricalandtheoretical framework within
this
thesis
is
directed at developing
an
interpretation
of
the
current art program
at the Vancouver
InternationalAirportwhich can move beyond the point where
debate
regarding
"authenticity"
and
the
agencyof
the native artists
or
their communities constricts the
discussion. Throughanexamination ofairportdesign, both theoreticalandactual, the
genesisofandreactions toartprogramsexecutedat theairportsincethe1960s,as well
asaspectsofthecity'ssocial history, I illustrate that the currentart programis
representative ofmorethan a superficial thematic strategy. Instead, it points to a
complexandongoing struggle to defineandrepresentVancouverboth to itsresidentsand
therestofthe world.
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Abstract
;
;
1 1
List
of Figures
i y
Abbreviations
v u
Acknowledgments
v m
Introduction
1
ChapterOne ;
1 4
Chapter
Two
;
"
2 7
4 9
Chapter Three *
z
64
Conclusion
71
Bibliography
79
Figures .
iii
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 AntonioSan'tElia's
"Station for airplanes
and
trains with
funiculars
and
elevators
onthree
levels"from da CostaMeyer,E.TheWork ofAntonio
San't
Elia,Retreat
into
theFuture.1995.
Page
104.
Figure
2
"View of
theCentralStation,FlankedbyFourSkyscrapers"from
Le
Corbusier. The
Cityof
To-morrowandhsPlanning.
1987.
Page
192.
Figure
3
Richard
Neutra'sRush
CityAirTransfer
from
The ArchitecturalRecord.
August
1930.
Page
100.
Figure4
FrankLloyd-Wright's
submission
toLehighAirport
Competitionfrom
Shubert,
Howard.RACAR.
1989.Figure200.
Page
288.
Figure
5
Hangar
at
Vancouver
InternationalAirportin
1931from
McGrath, T.M;
History of
Canadian
Airports.
1992.
Page
242. -
Figure6 Vancouver
InternationalAirport's
Administration
Building
1931from
Piggott,
Peter.
Wingwalkers,A
History ofCanadian
Airlines
International.1998.
Page
77.
Figure
7
The
SheetMetal Workers'Rocket
1937.
City
of Vancouver Archives
negative
99-5075.
Photograph
by Thomson,
Stuart.
Figure8 Musqueam
men
view
Lockheed-l4 on
airfield
in
1939.National Archivesof
CanadaPA
207860.
Figure
9
Baggage
Claim
Lobby
at Edmonton's
Airport,
December
11,1963.
Brick
muralbyB. C .Binning.National Archives
of
CanadaPA207851.
Figure10
GiftShop
and
Concession
at
Edmonton'sAirport,December
11,1963.
National Archives of
Canada
PA207852.
Figure
11 Customs
Check
out
atEdmonton'sAirport,
December
11,1963. National
Archives
of
CanadaPA207850.
Figure12
Edmonton'sAirport,
Exteriorview,
westelevation,July
3,1963.National
Archives of
CanadaPA
207853.
Figure13
DorvalAirport,
Waiting Lounge,
November
2,1960.National Archivesof
CanadaPA207855.
Figure14
DorvalAirport,InternationalExit
Lobby,
November
2,1960. National
Archives ofCanadaPA
207854.
IV
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Figure 15 Dorval
Airport,BaggageClaim,
1960. National Archives of Canada
PA
207859.
Figure 16 Dorval
Airport,
Exterior
view
from
Northwest,
February
2,1959.
National
Archives of Canada
PA
207857
Figure 17
Mural
by Kenneth Lochhead
installed
inside
Gander
International
Airport,
October
1958. National Archives of Canada
PA
207847.
Figure 18
Postcard
of
sculpture
that
foregrounded
a
government
troutHatchery in
Wardner
B. C.
from White,
Peter.
It
Pays
to
Play:BritishColumbiainPostcards
1950s-1980s. 1996.Page25.
Figure 19 VancouverInternational
Airport,postcard
imagecirca 1968 from White,
Peter.ItPaystoPlay:British
Columbia
inPostcards1950s-1980s. 1996.Page
88.
Figure 20
Cumbria(1966)
by Robert
Murray,
courtyard
besideLasserre
building,
University
of British Columbia
campus.
Photograph
by Rosalind Rorke, May
1997.
Figure 21
Wave Wall(1995)
by
Lutz
Haufschild,
International
terminal.
Photograph
by
Rosalind Rorke, July 2001.
Figure 22
Spirit
of
Haida
Gwaii
(1994)
the
Jade Canoe
by
Bill
Reid,
International
terminal at VancouverInternational
Airport,
The
Postcard
Factory,
Reference
#:
PC57-Vanl63. Captionreads"Visitors to Vancouver
International
Airport's new
InternationalTerminal arewelcomedby "The Spirit ofHaida Gwaii",the
Jade
Canoe, by
artistBill
Reid. Thebronze
sculpturedepictslegendary
paddling
Haidacreatures."
Figure 23
Close
up of
"log-jam"
carpet
pattern,
corridorbetween
Domestic
and
International terminals.Photograph
by Rosalind Rorke, July 2001.
Figure 24 Bridge Medley
above
'Pacific
Market',International
terminal.
Photograph
by
Rosalind Rorke, July 2001.
Figure 25 Fairmont
Hotel's
Chateau
entrance.Photograph
by
Dagny
Vaney, July 2001.
Figure 26 The Pacific
Passage,photograph
by Rob Melnychuk
appearing
inVancouver
Magazine,March
2001.
Page
24.
Figure 27
Display
located
in
front
of
exit
to parking
garages.
Photograph
by Rosalind
Rorke, July 2001.
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Figure28 ChiefE d
Sparrow
from
Ward,
Andrew.
"Vancouver
-Good
Luck City"
National Geographic.April
1992. Page 101.
Figure29
'Monster House'
and
elderly neighbour
from
Ward,
Andrew.
"Vancouver
-
Good
Luck City"
National Geographic.
April
1992. Page 107.
Figure30
Vancouver
International
Airport,exterior
view.
Photograph
byRosalind
Rorke. July2001.
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ABBREVIATIONS
C A V CityArchives of Vancouver
C C A
Canadian CentreforArchitecture
DIA Denver International
Airport
I ATA International
AirTravel
Association
Y V R
Call
letters
forVancouverInternationalAirport
Y V R A A
VancouverInternational
Airport
Authority
Y V R A S Vancouver
International
AirportServices
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
I
wish to thank my
thesis
advisors,
John
O'Brian
and Ken Lum
for their sharing
their immense knowledge
andprovidingwise
direction throughout every
stage ofthis
project.
For
the
less
formal
discussions
which helped
shape
my research
I
would
also
like to thank
Charlotte Townsend-Gaultand
Ruth
Phillips.
I greatly appreciate the time
and
energy expended on
my
behalf by
Rita
Beiks
of
the
Y V R A rtFoundationduring
November
and
December
o f 2000.
I would
also
like to thank
AlanElder
for his advice
andhumour,MarinaRoy, Lara
Tomaszewska, Sheila
Rorke,
Stephen Jeong
and
Jeremy
Todd
for lending their time to
read
early drafts
andKarenLove
for her insightful
comments. I
am
grateful to
HarryToor
for his help with digitizing
images,
to Nancy
Ormandyfor her personal support
since
I
began
this
project
and
to
Bill
Uhrich
and
Jill
Anholt
who shared their
experiencesand
knowledge.
Finally,
I wish to
express
my
gratitude for the unwavering support
from
my family who made every effort to encourage
and
support my academic endeavours.
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INTRODUCTION
Thearton display at theVancouverInternationalAirporthas recently attracted
the attentionofboth journalistsandarthistorians.
The
airport'scollection, consisting
mostly of
neo-traditional
native sculpture, hasbeendiscussed in daily newspapers, local
magazinesandacademic papers.
1
Althoughaspectsoftheartprogram,such as the
political
andsocial implications for native artistsandnative communities havebeen
criticallyaddressed,pastconclusions havebeenlimited
by
the failure to consider the
airport's
history as
an
influence
on
the
current
construction of
Vancouver
as
a
destination.
Iwill argue thatbecausethe historical development of
airports
inCanadahas
beena complexprocessinvolvingmuchmore
than
technological changeandthe growth
of
theaviation
industry,this
development must be taken into account in any attempt to
assess
the significanceoftheartdisplayedinthem. As will be
argued
below, Canada's
urban
airports
have
been
treated as national
and
localshowcases,
sites
where changing
identitieshavebeenpresented,contestedandre-stated.
Through
a considerationofthe
history of representations atVancouver's
airport,
influenced over time by the social and
economic growthofthe cityandthe country, one mayarriveat a more nuanced
understandingofthearchitecturaldesignandthematicprogramat thecurrentfacility.
Informing
my study
of
the historical development of
Vancouver's
airport
is
the
basicprinciplethatartandarchitecturalstyle,beyond any decorative quality,
1
Foracademic papers see
Leddy,
Shannon.
Tourists,
Art andAirports,
Vancouver
InternationalAirportas
aSite ofCultural
Negotiation.
UBCDepartmentof Fine
Arts
Masters Thesis. 1997and
Fairchild,
Alexa,
1
CanadaCustoms,Each-you-eyh-ulSiem(?)UBCDepartmentofArtHistory,VisualArtand Theory
Masters Thesis,
2001.
1
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communicate meaning to the viewer.
Architectural
designandmonumental art have
been
employed at the
airport
to project
concepts
of
local
identity to travelers. The social
and
cultural
history of Vancouver, which includes constantly changing notionsof
identity, has influenced the
aesthetic
choicesmade at the
airport. Furthermore,anxieties
about the representation of local identity have
twice
resulted in significant re-modelling
of the terminals,once
in
the
late1960sand
again
in
the early
1990s. Althoughthe
primary
purpose
of
both reconstruction projects was
to
improve the airport's
infrastructure, other important
changes also
occurred.
Drawingon the workof
Henri
Lefebvre, the
space
oftheairportcan be
considered as a social product,andnotasaneutral or utilitarian
void.
In his analysis,
space is
not simply a
"passive
locus
of
social relations" but instead
is
"active",
"operational or instrumental" serving the hegemonic group which makesuse ofit.
2
Space produces social relations. In the era
of late
capitalism, heavily influenced by the
phenomenon
of
globalization,
space
ultimately
serves
the
interest
of
capital. Drawing
on
Lefebvre's theorizationofspace,
David
Harvey's own workThe
Condition
of
Postmodernity
(1990)reiterates
the
thesis
that spatial practices are not neutral but
"...always
express some
kindof
class
or other social content,andare more often than
not, the
focusof intense
social struggle."
3
He argues that
becauseof
the unimpeded flow
of capital
across the globe,
particular
qualities of certain
spaces
which are attractive
to
capital are emphasized as distant communities are forced into competition with each
2
Lefebvre,
Henri;
TheProductionof
Space,Nicholson-Smith,
Donald
Translator;
Blackwell
Publishers;
Massachusetts, 1991;page 10.
3
Harvey,
David;
TheConditionof
Postmodernity;
Blackwell
Publishers;
Cambridge,Massachusetts,
1990;
page 239.
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other.
4
This
competition is intensifiedoracceleratedunderthe conditions of
globalization which compress timeandspacein
order
to increase
production
and
consumption ofgoodsandservices.
5
Harveyimplies that "localized competitive
strategies"arise. Theyare designed specifically to maximize the special qualities
of
a
place to provideanadvantage over other,rivalplaces.
In
hisassessment,this reaction to
globalization"...looks strongly to the identification of place, thebuilding andsignalling
ofitsunique qualities in an increasingly
homogeneous
but fragmentedworld."
6
InthisthesisI will depart
from
the conclusionsofbothLefebvreand Harveyby
arguing
that while the
space
of
Vancouver
International
Airport
has been actively
producedin an effort to articulateaspectsof locality, efforts to represent the constructed
identity
of
the local hegemonic
group
have recently begun to work at something
else
in
addition
to the most efficient
manner
of attractingandaccumulating ofcapital.
Over
time, the dominant representationofthe city at theairporthas changed
from
one which
focused on a linkageofthe local to the nationalandinternational to one that promotes
'distinctive' local qualities, de-emphasizingculturalconnections to the restoftheworld.
Thespace
of
the
current
airporthas been harnessed toexpressonly certainaspects
of
the
cityandits history,thosewhich constructVancouveras a distinctive destination and
reinforce
a
particularidentity.
This
representational strategy has been aimed
primarily
at
travelersarriving fromtheUnitedStatesandother international points of
departure.
OtheraspectsofVancouverhave beenignored. Importantly, anyillustration ofthe area's
4
Ibid;page
271. See
also
Harvey;
page
295:"Theactiveproduction ofplaces with special qualities
becomes
animportant
stake
in spatial competition
between
localities, cities, regionsandnations."
5
Ibid;
pages 284-287.
6
/Wrf;page271.
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close
economic
ties
to
Asia
is refused by the airport's current thematic
program.
Instead
the local is signified overwhelmingly
throughart
by
First
Nations artists. The limited
pictureofnative culture generated through the display is but onepieceo fthe puzzle of
representations
of
a diverse population within one
site. M y
analysis must therefore go
beyond the inadequacies of
a
primitivizingconstruction of aboriginal
peoples
and
attempt to grasp what the significance or utility
o fthisportrayal
may be to other, non-
native, communities.
For
thesakeof
clarity,
I have divided development at the
airport
intophases,the
first ofwhich
ran
fromthe beginning of
aviation
in
the
late
1920s
through to 1962 when
the facility was sold by the municipality to the federal government. The secondphaseof
development
ranfrom
1962
until
the transfer
of
the airport's management, in 1992, from
the federal government to theY V R
AirportAuthority
(YVR AA ). Thethirdphasebegan
in
1992
and
continues to the present. As the re-construction of
aworkingairport
is a
lengthyprocessthese
arbitrary
chronological divisions
mark
the commencement, not the
completion, of
each
new design strategy.
Monumentalarthasbeenfeatured prominently at Vancouver'sairportsince1936.
Theairport'sartworks have represented
particularaspects
of locality with
varying
degrees
of
success.
Some works, such as the
SheetMetalWorkers'
Rocket
and Bill
Reid'sJadeCanoehavebeenembraced bya
broad
audience. Thepopularityofthese
two works
rests in
their high
degree
of
legibility.
They successfully communicate to
viewersby making use of symbolsaroundwhichexistsa common
consensus
ofmeaning.
TheRocketsymbolizes the future, the contribution of
organized
labour to Vancouver's
history as well as the
Sheet
Metal
Workers'
technical skills.
Similarly,
the
JadeCanoe
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symbolizes well recognizedaspectsofthelocal history such as the Northwest
Coast
style
ofcarving,the mythsor
legends
of
native
cultureanda
close
connection to thesea.
Other
works,
particularlylesslegible modernistpiecessuch asRobertMurray'ssculpture
Cumbria,haveprovokeda
storm
ofcontroversy
because
abstraction
tends
not to make
useoftheserecognizable symbols
and
subsequently fails to easily communicate with
viewers.
'Permanently'installed sculptures havebeendiscardedanddestroyed,andmajor
changesto the terminals haveoccurred. Thesechangeshavebeenrelated neither to the
logistics
of
safe
passenger
movement
nor
to advances in flight technology.
On
the two
occasionsthat
old
terminals have
been
replaced,a new
plan
to communicate a certain
imageorfictionofthe"local"hasbeenconstructed. Atno time, however, has the fiction
ofthe destinationbeenmonolithic;infact, competing representations oflocalidentity
have alwaysexistedsimultaneously.
Explanations
andjustifications for artistic and
designchoiceshave met with denialsandaccusations
during
momentsofchange
from
the oldaestheticto the new one. Editorial
opinion
andlaymen'sstatements
recorded
in
printregardingthe choice ofartworksforthepassengerterminals are often sarcastic and
abrasive,
illustratingthe disagreement over what
constitutes
an appropriate
representationofthe
Vancouverite
and/orBritish Columbianidentity.
In
each chapter of
thisproject, the'work'thatarthasbeen expectedto do to represent the destination
will
be examined.
Although airportsare facilities dedicated to thepracticalfunction of
air
transport,
theyare simultaneouslysiteswhere travelers' impressions are
formed
andwhere a local
'self-portrait'canbe created. Following
Harvey,
airportsarespaceswhere unique and
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particularaspects
of a place are presented
in
the competition for global capital.
Frequently,
however, the history of
airport
design
and
development has
been
discounted
as irrelevant
becausepractical
function is assumed to override all other considerations
withinterminalbuildings. In December2000,MurrayWhyte,writingintheNational
Post,described
airport
terminals as"...simpleutilitarianboxes,airportshavehistorically
beenarchitecturalun-statements,designedas little more than conduitsbetween
land
and
air."
7
In the Summer2000
issue
of
Western
Living,AllanCasey interpreted thestyleof
Canadianairports
of
thelate1960s,designed
in
the International Style, as"...
bland,
bilingualmimstry-of-transport approved spartanism...".
8
Contrary
to
this
perspective, Ipresentthe argumentthat
airport
architecture is
neither aforegoneconclusionruledexclusively by function nor is it devoid ofcultural
meanings. SiegfriedKracauerargued inThe Mass Ornament
that
architecture has
significance as a "surface level expression"
9
andas such is a medium through which it is
possible
to understandsome
aspects
ofsociety. Hewrote thatanera'srelative position
in
history can be understood by considering the "surface level
expressions"
as
articulations
oftendencies,
not as total comprehensivestatements.
10
Following
Kracauer,
I
will pursue the argumentthat
airport
designshould
also
be considered as an
ideologically embedded
statement
representing
aspects
of localitythatare important to
the dominant
cultural
group
Semotician UmbertoEcohasalsointerpreted architecture as aformofmass
7
Whyte,
Murray;The
National
Post;
December 12,
2000;
pageB1.
8
Casey,
Allan; AirMall"
inWesternLiving,Summer
2000; pages 20-26.
9
Kracauer,
Siegfried;The
Mass Ornament;
edited by
Levin,
Thomas.
Harvard
University Press;
Massachusetts, 1995;
page
75.
1
Ibid;page 75.
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communication. Architecture's
primary
purpose is identified byEcoas a "functional
object", which provides
shelterand
organizes
space,
while architecture's secondary
purpose is as a "symbolic object" which, for example,inthecaseofapavilion at a
World'sFair,
can symbolize a national culture." Isuggestthat in an
airportterminal
the
secondary, symbolic function may dominate the
primary
functional quality of
architecture in a similar way.
French
architect
Paul Andreu,
who was responsible for
Terminals
2 and
3
at
Roissy -
Charles
de
Gaulle,
described airports asplaceswhere "anything is
possible...
[they have]
no identity, no historyandno corresponding social fabric."
12
While
it may be true that anything is possible from a design perspective, I will illustrate
that development
of
Vancouver's
airport
has
been
inextricably tied to the
city's
social
history,attemptsat creatinganational identityandto the representation of the local to
therestof the world.
Designdoesnot occurin
a
vacuum; it bothreflects
and
is influenced by the wider
social, economic, political
and
technological climate,
13
The historical development of
Vancouverandof
Canada
have had direct bearing on the physical appearance of the
airport. The
desire to
create
a distinctive
'senseof
place'
14
using
artand
architectural
design, although more blatantinthe1990sstructure, hasbeena coherentstrategyat the
airport
sincethe
late
1960s. In asomewhatless
consistent
mode, the first
phase
of the
1 1
Leach,
Neil;Re-thinking
Architecture:
AReaderin
Cultural
Theory;Routledge, New
York,
1997.
Chapterby
Umberto
Eco"Functionand Sign: The Semioticsof Architecture"pages
182-202
and"HowAn
Exposition
ExposesItself' pages
202-204.
1 2
Ellenberger, Michelle;
"Paul Andreu: The
Architecture of
Airports" inArtPress;Sept. 1996;page64.
1 3
Woodham, Jonathan;
Twentieth-CenturyDesign;Oxford
History ofArtSeries;
OxfordUniversity
Press;
NewYork,1997;
page
8.
1 4
Phrase used in
Y V R
PressReleaseofJune
2000
re:
LATA
award
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airport
also
communicated regional identity. Since several plans to capture the
'sense
of
place' havebeenput into
effect
at Vancouver International
Airport
over thelast
seventy
years, it
does
not make
sense
to
suggest
that the
terminaldesigns
can reasonably be
assessedas purely functional or pre-determined.
In
Chapter
1, I will provide a foundation for the assertion that terminals are not
entirely determined by their
practical
function by considering several early theoretical
airport
designs.
While
none oftheseUtopianplanswereever built,theyillustrate the
wide range of possibilities which aviation
suggested
to architects.
Each
design differs
significantlyfromthe
next
andeach represents the philosophicalandpolitical perspective
of the designer. Because airports of the20thcentury have
beensites
where technological
advance is highly visible, flight
and
its infrastructure have
becomelinked
to
representations of the future. Early20thcentury predictions of the future, such as the
eventual replacement
of
the automobile by personal aircraft, hint at the affinity
between
aviationandpopular imagination of the future.
15
The
Sheet
Metal
Workers'
Rocketitself
was inspired by the image of the
world
of tomorrow created within comic books and
Buck
Rogers films.
16
The
decision to install
this
work at the
airport
in 1937, over any
other location, is indicative of
what
the
airport
siterepresented.
Chapter
2 will
discuss
the active production of
space
by the federal government in
the form of theairport buildinginitiative of the1960s.
This
government initiative
1 5
SeeWilson,
Richard,
Pilgrim,Dianneand Tashjian,
Dickran.
The
MachineAgeinAmerica.HarryN .
AbramsInc. NewYork.1986; seeChapter2"MachineAesthetics," especiallypages
55-57
and Koolhaas,
Rem.DeliriousNewYork.TheMonacelliPress. NewYork.1994. Seepage84 for
an
illustration captioned
"
The Cosmopolis
of
theFuture"which pictures a crowded skyfilledwith bi-planes buzzingbetweencity
buildings referred to as "1,000
foot
structures".
1 6
LetterfromRobert
Colvin,
BusinessManager andFinancialSecretary for
Sheet
MetalWorkers Union
Local280 toRosalind RorkedatedFebruary1, 1998.
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resulted in the expansionandupgrading of airports across
Canada
and
had,
asakey
component,
a
large art
program. The
artprogramwas specifically designed to
complimentandenhance the new International Style
airport
buildings
and,
at the time,
was heralded as
a
route by which
Canada
could favourablycompetewith thefinestair
facilities all over the
world. Theresultsofthis
well-defined policy
17
werehot always
appreciated. The
subsequent
failure in
some
quarters, only 30 years later, to
even
recognize the adoption of
International
Style architecture
and
abstract modern art by the
federal government as
a
conscious
aestheticprogram,muchless
as a policy directed
specifically at the formation of
a
'Canadianidentity', is illustrated by
Murray
Whyte.
Regarding
federal government involvement in
airport
construction
and
expansion, Whyte
quotedAndrewMcAlpinewho is a senior
associate
atArupNAPA,an international
airport
consultancy
firm
as saying:
Up
until
several years ago, it was a
Transport Canada
function,andit was very
much
patchwork development. It was sort of 'make do,
meet
demand, don't do
any more than you absolutely have to' ... I think that it was previouslyseen as a
public
service
in
the
same
way that a highway was,
or
that
a
utility
grid
was, or
any number of things. It was simply part of the infrastructure of the city,
and
it
was a government function to provide that infrastructure.
18
Examination of newspapersandperiodical literaturefromthe1960scontradicts
McAlpineand
leads
to a different conclusion. Carefulcentralized planning, attention to
detailandregional variation as well as an attempt tocreatean internationalfacefor
For
elements
ofthe federal policy seeLowe,
Frank..
"Art
in
the NewAirportsGivesCanadaa
Sophisticated Image".CanadianArt.May-June1964;
page
144 wheredetailsofDeputyMinisterof
Transport JohnR.Baldwin's activities to organize a budget forartacquisitions areprovided. See
also
Syme,Edwardand
Wells, Alexander.
AirportDevelopment,Management
and
OperationinCanada.
Prentice-Hall Career
and
Technology. Scarborough.2000;
page
12. See also,Ferrabe,Lynn."Toronto
Airport:
Interior Design".Canadian
Architect.
February1964;page63. The Chief
Architect
for
Department
of Transport
was
W A .
Ramsay, who over saw work across the country.
1 8
Whyte.
page
BI.
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Canada characterize this period far more accurately thandoestheglibdescription
'patchwork development'.
Abstraction
did not
resonatewith a l l
Canadians as appropriate art for airports.
The ferocityo fthe laymen's critiqueo fthe airport's modernist aesthetic is a window into
the anxietywhichwas caused by the federal planner's inabilitytocreatea
'sense
of
place' through
abstract
artthatwas legible to some
l o ca l
residents. The desire to
illustrate Canada's sophistication to an international audience dominated the Department
o fTransport's agenda at the expense of accommodating
loca l
domestic audiences.
19
Records
o f
the intense opposition to the
abstract
artworks installed at airports across the
country indicatetheseterminals were anything but blandutilitariantransport depots.
InChapter 3,1 showthata
'sense
o fplace' (which relies on neo-traditional native
art and references to the natural geography) wasdistilledand magnified for Vancouver
by
the Y V R
Airport Authority
in an effort to brand the destination. A shift in aesthetic
strategy occurred asabstractart was replaced by artwhichmade use of more commonly
accepted symbols. The representation of
locality
in Vancouver's airport is now achieved
withina neo-modern terminal
which
showcases the natural geography and prominently
featuresthe work
o f
native artists.Accordingto Y V Rpublicity,this type of native art
celebrates the natural beauty
20
o fthe region.
A rtpeppersthe terminals and is essentially decorative. Placed at points where
crowds stream by on their way to customs, parking lots or to
meetarriving
travelers, the
1 9
Lowequoted
Stan
White
of the
Department
of Transport as
saying:
"There was no
catering
to
popular
taste...Weweretrying to
achieve
for Canada the
most
sophisticated imagewepossibly
could."
2 0
Voice
overfrom
promotional
Y V R C D - R O M ,
distributed
from
information kiosk
at the airport during the
summer
of2000
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art
works function as
billboards.
Large
displays
of
native art
quickly
register Vancouver
as'exotic'anddistinct. The art's potential toengageandperhapseducate viewersis
limited by its physical arrangement in
space
which may
curtail,
but not eliminate, the
traveler's desire to contemplate the displays.
Nor
doesthe art allegorize the current
condition of native
peoples.
YVR'spresentation of native culture as non-
confrontational,
homogeneousand
transhistorical has the
effect
of eliding the ongoing
socialandpoliticalchallengeswhich native individualsandcommunities currently face.
The
artprogramdoesevenless
to address other
cultural
groups. In fact, the
currentairportdesign
seems
to be more than just indifferent to local realities. It will be
presented
inthis
analysis as an organized attempt not to
discuss
the
outsideworld
on any
level other
than
a highly superficial one.
The
worldbeyond the
Canadian
border is
represented within the
airport
terminals by
fast
food restaurants, bysignage,by currency
exchange
kiosks
and
by newspaper stands. Because the
Y V R
construction of
local
culture is based almost exclusively on native culture, the influence ofother
cultural
groups upon the character
of
the city of
Vancouver
is erased.
Perhaps as aresponseto the pressures of globalizationandinternationalization,
the airport's representation of
locality,
which as
late
as the
1970s
was focused on a
connection to other international destinations, has turnedinward. The desire toportray
the local as unique
and
distinct from all
else
has replaced the former representation.
However, the expression of
a
specific, narrow
'senseof
place' at the
airport
fails to
address the
cultural
diversity whichexistsinthe city.
The
limited representation of
Vancouverand BritishColumbia,
which was
undertakenpriorto the recent economic downturn,
resists
the illustration of the
close
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connection to
Asian
markets
and
travelers.
While
the attraction of
capital
may arguably
be themostsignificant motivation for the current representation of place within the
Vancouver
International
Airport
terminals,
aspects
of Vancouver's social history
complicate theportrait.
The
airport'srepresentationsof the cityandits culture are
complex
and vary
within facility
from
area to area. I will argue
that
the
absence
of
representations
of
other
cultures,
particularly
Asian
ones,reflects
the anxiety which
accompanies social
change
andethno-cultural competition.
The
changing patterns ofcity
life, from real
estate
development, to shifting ethnic demographics in certain
neighbourhoodsand
schools,
which
have
caused social
tension
andanxiety are avoided
by the
Y V R
version of local culture.
The
colonial vision of Vancouver as a "village on theedgeof the rainforest"
21
persistsand has
been
re-presented at
Y V R
as
a
marketing
device
which both courts
travelers from
abroadandobscures
Vancouver's position as
an
international port with
strongtradeandimmigration links to
Asia.
Simultaneously, however, Vancouver's
airport
is presented as a
worldclass
destination on the
Y V Rwebsiteand
by
Fairmont
Hotelbrochures.
This
advertising proclaims the hotel to be
"The
Most
LuxuriousAirport
Accommodations
in
theWorld"
andmakes
frequent reference to
services,
such as
internet
access,
newspaper delivery, advance check-in
andmeeting
rooms, which would
appeal to the international
business
traveler. The current
"Fairmont
VancouverAirport"
brochuremakes
absolutely no reference to native
art
or culture.
The
multi-layered and
occasionally contradictory nature of the
representations
currently constructed within the
2 1
AllanFotheringham's description
of
a
facet
of
Vancouver's identity as recordedinWynne,Graeme and
Oke,Timothy,Editors,
Vancouver
and its
Region;UBCPress;
Vancouver,
1993;page236.
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terminals will be discussedinthe final chapter.
Mymainconclusions will beasfollows:the
space
ofVancouverInternational
Airport
isa socialproductwhereartandarchitecture havebeenlinkedin communicating
particularaspectsof
local
identity, that
an
analysisofthe
current
representationsof
Vancouverattheairportis
aided
bya considerationofpastrepresentations at theairport
siteandthat the
current art
programcan be understoodas
an
aspectofone ofseveral
constructionsofthe city which havebeencreatedsincethe1930s. Finally,I willsuggest
that the
current
construction of
Vancouver,
which may be a
responseto
local anxiety
about globalization
and
internationalization
of
the city, represents
an
attempt to re-assert
a distinctive local identity. Moreover,the constructionofnative cultureas
"supernatural"
represents
an
aspect
of
the assertion of a hegemonic group's identity.As
such,
thedisplayofnativeartat theairportmust be understood as more thanevidenceof
increasing political empowerment of
aboriginalpeoples,of
blatant tokenismoras
a
mistakenrenderingofnativeculture.
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H P T E R 1
Airportterminal buildingshaveonlyexisted forapproximatelyseventy-five years.
Unti lthemid-1920s,aviators had no need for acentralizedgroupofmaintenance and
service
buildingsbecauseparks, race tracks and farmfieldswereadequateas runways for
the earliest aircraftwhichwere
relatively
lightandslow moving.
22
Becauseof
their
small
size,
airplanes
could
be stored
in
pre-existingagricultural
barns
that
had been converted
intohangars.
23
However, aviationwas apowerfulstimulant to theimaginationand the
designo fairports,however unnecessary, commenced as soon as the
possibilities
o f
mechanicalaviationwererealized.
Thefirst theoretical architectural
plan
for an urbanairpOrtwas prepared by
AntonioSan't
E l i a
a member
o f
theItalian
Futurist group.
San't
Elia's
airport was fully
integrated intohisLaCittaNuova(1914) projectwhichpresented a completecityand
urban transportation system (figure 1).
H is
designs were forimposing,angular structures
to bebuilt inconcrete where ornamentation was almostabsent.
24
The structural
silhouette ofhisairportmirroredother
buildings
intheCittaNuova. Its function as a
transportation nexuspracticallyandstylisticallyenhancedby
bridges,
overpasses and
2 2
Thefirstairplane
flight
n Canada was
made
in 1909 byJ.A.D.McCurdyat Brasd'OrLake,NovaScotia.
SeeMcGrath, T . M . ;History ofCanadian Airports,2
nd
Edition; LugusPublications;Canada, 1992;
page
1.
2 3
Canadian
Centre
for
Architecture;
Airport Origins:ThreeProjects
by
Frank LloydWright,Montreal,
1990; page3.
2 4
A
unifying
aestheticwas
created
by
repetition
ofelements
such
as
bridges,
archesand
exteriortower
elevators.
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elevator towers.
The large central terminal structure was placed within a
massive,
walled
trenchwheretrains couldarriveon onesidewhileplaneslanded on awiderunway on the
opposing
side.
His
design consistentlyembodied theFuturistideology which glorified
technology, speed,urban
development andthe new.
According
to the
Canadian
Centre
for Architecture(CCA),
San't
Elia's
was the first architect to envision "monumental
cities
centred on the airplane."
25
The
Futurists believed
that
theoretical architecture was
"...
a
direct expression
of
contemporary
forcesand
a dynamic celebration
of
the
uprooted, anti-natural
tendencies
of the modern city."
26
San'tElia's
design
for
Citta
Nuovahas
been
referred to as "visionary architecture"
because
it was
"...the
original and
classical expression of the notion of architecture as a metaphor fortechnology."
27
His
design
illustrates the Futurist's perception of the airplane as the "symbol of a new age, as
well as the instrument by which
art, and
civilization itself could be transformed",
28
It
points to the potential for aviationtechnologyto influence
urban
planning.
Anotherairportdesign thatwas similarly central, butevenmoreimmensein
scale
29
,was planned by
French
architect
LeCorbusier
in 1927,
and
was included in his
project
"The
CityofTo-morrow"(figure 2). LeCorbusierplannedatransportation hub
where
the roof of the centralrailstation was a landing strip for "aero-taxis" which would
link
the city to a larger
airport
beyond the downtown area.
30
Thisdesignexpresses
an
2 5
CCA;page7.
2 6
Curtis,
William;Modern Architecturesince1900;
Phaidon;London,
1996;
page
109.
27
28
Finch,Christopher;"Introductionone"
in
DesignQuarterly;Volume74/75;January1996;
page
6.
CCA;
page
7.
29
Ibid; page7.
3
Ibid;
page
11.
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efficient,rational approach tourbanplanning as the central landing pad/runway was in
close
proximity to fourhugeskyscrapers, theroofsof whichwere
also
conceived as
potential landing
spots.
31
The small airplanes illustrated in the plan appear to be intended
to function aspresentdayhelicoptersdo, making short tripsaroundthe city and landing
on small paved strips. As San'tEliahaddoneearlier,LeCorbusierpresentedacomplete
planfor the larger
urban
area, withfeederairports located within the city and specifically
mapping out
areas
of housing and open
spaces.
Designsfor airportsthat weremoremodestin
scale
thanthoseproposed by San't
Elia
and
Le
Corbusier,
were
created in the
late
1920s
by
Richard
Neutraand
Frank Lloyd
Wright.
The lack ofagrandiose monumentality wasreflectiveof
these
Modernist
architects'
desire
tocreatespaceswhich functioned on a more humanscale.Modernism,
both as astyleand philosophy, hasbeendescribed as a derivation of the
...
Enlightenment idea ofempiricaltechnical progress, through the Romantic
conception of epoch-making art formsandthe
Victorian
pursuit of an
amalgamation ofartsandmanufactures, to the earlytwentieth-centuryrejection
of historical
models
by Futurists,
and
the Constructivists
and
the De Stijl belief
in
the universal legitimacy of abstract expressionism.
32
ForNeutra and
Wright,
the relationship
between
form and function was paramount. The
work ofRichardNeutrabearsconsideration inthiswork
because
of the direct influence
he had on Vancouver
architects
in the 1940 and1950s,including the
firm
which built the
1968 airport, Thompson, BerwickandPratt.
33
Withrespectspecifically to airport design, architectural historian AnthonyVidler
3 1
LeCorbusier;The
City
of
To-morrow
and itsPlanning;Dover Publications Inc., 1987;
page
187.
3 2
Windsor
Liscombe,
R.;The NewSpirit: Modern Architecturein
Vancouver
1938-1963;
Douglas and
Mclntyre,
Vancouver, 1997,
page
28.
33
Ibid;page
40 minordetailsof interaction facilitated by
B . C .
Binning.
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noted that
...
from
the inception of
air
travel,modernist architects made themetaphorical
connectionbetween
air
flow,
air
speed, the streamlinedsectionofthe wingand
the determinants of
functional
design.
34
Anairportdesign competition was conceived
by
anAmerican
firm,
theLehigh
PortlandCementCompany,in 1929 to promote the useof portlandcementas abuilding
material.
35
Thecompetition attracted over 250 submissions
including
designs
by
Richard
Neutra. Neutrasubmitted
Rush
CityAirTransfer(figure 3), a modified version of apre
existing
projectRushCityReformed
whichwas a"utopian"design foran
American
city
that he
had
begun
in
the early
1920s.
36
In 1930,
Neutrapublished
a short article in
The
Architectural
Record
about his
Rush
Cityplans, entitled"Terminal
?Transfer
"inwhich
he discussed
transportation
systemsandthe
airport's
potential role
within
those systems.
Asthetitleofthe article indicates, he believed that theairportcouldandshould be an
integral partof
a
completesystemwhere "flow"
and
"efficiency"weretheprime
concerns. Hewrote
Atpresent
an
inefficientlinkbetweenlong distanceair
travel
andregional traffic
counterbalances theadvantagesoftheformerto quitean
extent.
Speed
and
fluidityinthetransitionfrom
air
togroundvehiclesis what is needed morethana
grandcourt
d'honneur
infront ofanairport.
37
Expressing
sentimentsstill of concern to travelers 70 years laterNeutrasuggestedthat
travel through airports
should ideally be "smooth,rapidandinexpensive."
38
To
thisend,
3 4
Vidler,
Anthony
in
Rosier,
Martha;
InThe
PlaceofthePublic;ObservationsofaFrequent
Flyer;
Cantz;
1998;
page
13.
3 5
C C A ;page
17.
3 6
Hines, Thomas;
RichardNeutra
and
theSearchforModern Architecture;OxfordUniversity Press;
Oxford,
1982;pages 60-61.
3 7
Neutra,
Richard; "Terminal?Transfer "inTheArchitecturalRecord;August 1930;
page
100.
3S
Ibid;
page
100.
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he designed theairtransfer point asanurbanhubwhere different
transportation
systems
wereconvenientlylinkedtogetherwithin one structure. Definitivelymodernaspectsof
Neutra's design include the streamlined appearanceo fthe terminal's exterior, the
creation ofregularsectionswhich would result inavisual
rhythm,
large openspaces
within
the structure
and
the nearabsenceof surface decoration.
The
transfer pointalso
includedpracticalamenities such as bathrooms, apostoffice,writingandwaiting rooms.
Another
level
of
the facility would feature shopping arcades,cafes,
a
hotel
and
an
amusementpark.
39
Neutra's
modern
design re-enforced his commitment to flow by
featuring
an
efficient, functional
building
with open
spaces
through which
travelers, not
staying long enough have need for any services, couldquicklypass.
Thepotential foranefficient
transportation
hubwhich included anairportwas
alsorecognized
byFrank Lloyd
Wright.
The
structure he designed for theLehigh
Competitionaccommodatedair andsea planes as well as ships, trains,busesand
automobiles (figure
4 .
40
Wrightdesigned
a
circular
terminal
structure which included,
as Neutra'shad,
offices
for
mail,
baggageandticket
sales
as well as a restaurant,
observation deckandweatherbureau.
41
Wright
triedto design theairportso that
passengerswould have the
shortest
possible distance to go to
reach
theterminalfrom
theiraircraftandplannedthe entireterminalaroundthe concept that it could be a
"transfer point"betweenvarious
modes oftransportation.
42
A llfour
ofthese
earlyairportdesignswere,
despite
their significant differences,
39
/Z;rf;page104.
4 0
C C A ;
page
17.
4
Ibid;
page
19.
42
/te/;page19.
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united by the fundamental optimismthey
express
towardindustrial,scientific and
technological advances and now characterize planningthisera. Faithinthe power of
transportation technology to
carry mankind
intoaprosperous, industrial future is
expressed
inthesearchitectural plans. However, the unrestricted dominance of
technology
in
the
designs
by San'tElia
and LeCorbusier
was rejected by
Wright
and
Neutra in favour ofamore 'human'scale. In hisassessmentofthe historyo fmodern
design, arthistorian
RhodriWindsor
Liscombe
notes:
By the time
Modernism
reached
Canada
inthe
late
1920s,its early iconoclastic
radicalismhadmoderated. Increasingly it
seemed
to promote a socially relevant
approachto design, not a dogmatic set of formulas.
43
WindsorLiscombesuggeststhat the moderation of modernism as an approach to
planning led to an increasing professionalinterestinand adherence tothisdesign
philosophy in
Canada
by1930s. As a result, modernist
ideas
had a significant influence
on
post-WorldWar
II development.
44
The
local history of
airport
design began in
Canada
shortly after
WorldWar
I.
Priorto the war, the
Aero
Clubof
British Columbia
(formed in1915),the first
organizationofaviators inthe province, operated relatively light and
slow
aircraft for
personal use
from
Minoruparkracetrack without what could be described as a
airport
(figure 5). The
critical
point
past
which airports became a
necessity
was reached only
when planes began to
carrypassengers
and
freight, thereby increasing their potential to
generate
profits. The
Canadian
Centre for Architecture's exhibitioncataloguefor
i rport Or ig ins
(1990) states
that
"Only
with the advent
of
a profitable commercial
4 3
W indsorL i scombe ;page 28.
Ibid;page 29-30.
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aviation industryinthe
late
1920sdidthe modernairportbecome essential."
45
Hangars,
passengerterminalsandcargo buildings became mandatory to the operation of larger,
heavierandfaster aircraft.
The
roots of commercial
air
transport are found, according to
Edward
Syme and
Alexander
Wells, with pilots trained for
air
combat
duringWWI
who
returned
to
Canada
andworked as bush pilots for small transport companies involvedinthe exploration and
development of remote northern areas. Theystate
These small operators
(often
one pilot, a mechanic,andan airplane) gradually
evolved into small
air
transport companies,
forming
the
basis
of
Canada's
air
transport industry.
46
Despite the creation of theA irBoardin 1919 to regulatecivilaviation, no
equivalent bureaucratic bodyexistedto deal with
airport
facilities.
The
development of
airport
facilities, according to Syme
and
Wells, was a co-operative effort
between
three
levelsof
government: federal,
provincial and municipal.
They
suggest
that federal
government
interestin
the development of
a
national
airmail
service
provoked
policy
changes
inthe
late
1920s. As a result ofthesechanges,financial support was provided to
municipalities to establish acrosscountry network of airports. By 1928 the federal
government
had
decided to construct theTrans-Canada Airway,a chain of airports every
100 miles "to be equipped with runway lights, lighted beacons, radio range
communications, hangars,
and
maintenance facilities."
47
For
increased
safety,
emergency
landing stripswereplanned every 30 miles
between
the main airports. Duringthe
4 3
C C A ;page
3.
4 6
Syme,
Edward
R.and Wells, Alexander
T .;
AirportDevelopment,
Management
and
Operation
in
Canada;Prentice
Hall
CanadaCareer andTechnology;Scarborough,2000;
page
5.
47
Ibid;
page
7'.
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Depression, approximately 50 airportswereconstructed
by
the un-employed, under the
supervision
of
the
Corps
of
Royal
Canadian
Engineers as
apart
ofafederal make work
project.
48
The
buildings constructed in
Vancouverin
the
1930sdid
not resemble the
theoreticalairportarchitecture mentioned above.
According
toarthistorian
John
Zukowsky,
many
of
the early
air
terminals built
inNorth America
weredesigned to
resemble railway
stations
in
order
to
assuage
traveler's
feelings
of anxiety
surrounding
the new technology ofairtravel.
49
Earlyluxury
aircraft interiors
also
mimicked
aspects
of
travelby
rail
or cruise ships as
passengers
were
seated
in relatively spacious cabins
fully equipped for finedining.ThetextofaFordMotor
Company
advertisement for
transcontinental
air
transport
in
the October 1929
ScientificAmerican
declared their
concern forpassenger
safety
andcomfort in a combinedrail andflight service
between
New
York and Los
Angeles.
The
dependability
of Fordengines
was emphasized, after
which
they
stated:
.. .never has greater care
and
forethought
gone
into the development ofa
transportation service. Because thevehiclesemployed must lift humanbeingsout
oftheir
element
to fly across the sky, it wasnecessaryto
leave
nothing to
chance... it was vitally important to reduce every
hazard
to a
minimumand
to
insure every possible comfort for travelers...A llmetal construction makes the
planes
durable,
weather-proof, uniformly strong,
and
fire-proof...
.Each
plane is
furnished with wicker chairs. The interior is beautifully decorated. Hot
and
cold
food
and
refreshments are served by
an
attendant. A lavatory with hot
and
cold
running
water is well-planned for the comfort
ofpassengers.
50
The
early association ofairtravel with
rail
travel has re-surfaced at the
currentairport
Ibid;page7.
Zukowsky , J ohn ;Building
forAir
Travel;U niversi ty
o f Ch i cago ; 1996 ;
page 13.
Scientific
American;
October 1929 ;page280.
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mostobviously at the FairmontAirportHotelwherea Chateau roofportalhasbeenadded
to the main entrance of an
otherwise
modern,
glass
facade, in an
attempt
to mimic
CanadianPacific Railways luxury resorthotelsbuilt in the
late1800s.
In the retail
corridors of
the
domestic
terminals trestle-like ornamentation has
been
attached to the
ceilingsat regular intervals.
In 1928, due to the increasing popularity of
flying,
the Aero
Club
ofBritish
Columbia
and the municipality of
Vancouver
arranged to
lease
fieldsonLuluIsland, '
where
the current day municipality
of Richmond
is situated, in order to construct the first
airport.
It had two runways, a hangar and a waiting room. By 1929, in order to
accommodate further expansion, a newsitewas purchased on Sea Island and the
VancouverMunicipal Airport
was opened by premier Simon Fraser Tolmie on July 22,
1931. This airport featured one runway, an administration building and two hangars.
51
The
administration building was a multi-storied brick structure with an art
deco
stepped-
facade which was
also
repeated on the power stationacrossthe roadway (figure 6). (The
administration building was destroyed by fire in1949.
52
)
Thegap
between
the
Utopian,
theoretical architectural
designsdiscussedabove
and
whatwas actually built in Vancouver in the
1930s
was bridged by a futuristic
5 1
McGrath, T M ;page242. The name was changed to Vancouver InternationalAirportin 1948,McGrath
page
244.
52
Ibid,page245. Shortly after the 1931 opening
of
the Vancouver International
Airport,
it was clear
that
further
expansion andcostlymaintenanceofthe facility
were
required. As early as 1935 the city of
Vancouver
wanted to relieve itself
of
thehugeexpense
of
runningthe airport andpasseda resolution
requesting the Department
of
Defencetotakeover maintenance and expansion
of
theairport. Atthistime,
the federal governmentpaidfor onethird
of
thecost
of
developing
airport
terminals and the municipalities
and
provinceswereresponsible for therest. Vancouver's airport remained a local venture with the
exception
of
theWWIIperiod, when it was temporarily taken over by the Department
of
Defence, until it
wasfinallysold to the federal government in 1962 for 2.75 million dollars. SeeMcGrath,
T . M . ;
pages243-
244.
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sculpture which was installedoutsidetheterminal. Thefirst monument at theairport
was theRocket(figure 7), a fortified
parade
float constructed by
Sheet
MetalWorkers
Local
250
for
the 1936 Pacific
National
Exhibition.
53
Thefloat won'best
of parade'
in
thisExhibition andwaspopularenoughthata localaldermansuggestedthatthe
Rocket
be fortifiedandinstalled permanently at the
airport.
54
This
sculpture, which made
reference topopularsci- fi comicsandspacetravel,was constructed of
sheet
aluminum
with brass detailing.
According
to its makers, theRocketwas created .to illustrate the
valuable
contribution
made by skilled
labour
to the growth ofVancouver.
55
The
industrial
construction materials
and
aerodynamic
formof
the sculpture simultaneously
expressed
the
excitementand
optimism which
surrounded
the potential of aviation and
air
travel,the ultimateextensionof
which
was
space
travel. Mountedon theRocket's
pedestal
werethe
slogans
"Use the
Airlines",
"Look
Ahead",
"Advancewith
Aviation"
and"Vancouver-
Canada's
Pacific
Airport"
all of
which
combined to promoteair
travel
as the transportationofthe future.
The
Rocketwasdesignedinan erawhen, assuggested
above, technological progress was optimistically embraced as thebest
path
to
an
exciting
andprosperous future.
The
efficient linkageof
British
Columbia,on thewestern
periphery of
the country to the
resource-richNorth,
the
west
coast
of
the
UnitedStates
andtoeasternCanadawas
important
to the growth ofVancouver.
From
1937 to 1972,
theRocketwas apopularfeatureofthe
airport. According
toVancouver
Sun
columnist
Rose,Chris;intheVancouverSun,
October
10, 1985.
54
Ibid.
5 5
LetterfromRobertColvin,Business
Manager and
FinancialSecretary forSheetMetal
Workers
International Association,LocalUnion No.280 dated
February
19, 1998.
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DennyBoyd,it formed the backdrop forcountlessfamily vacationsnapshots.
56
The '
celebratory quality ofthissculpture emphasized the rolethatindustry,technology,and
aviation would play in theeconomicgrowth of
British
Columbia.
The
Rocket
was removed in 1972whenthe airport was expanded and an anti-
skyjacking
fence
was
erectedaround
the airport perimeter.
57
It was re-located to a
maintenance
hangar forrepair andalteration after removal from the terminal area but
after the planned restoration was not performed, theRocketwas discarded in theTerra
Nova dump.
58
Technological advance and industrial
progresswere
not the only
representations
of Vancouver's identity created at the airport in the
1930s
and1940s. The idea of
Vancouver as a
frontier
settlementincloseproximity tonative
peoples
was
also
utilized
(and has continued to be
used)
as
athematic device.
One representation of the local
nativepopulation
exists
in the form ofaphotograph taken at the airport in 1939 (figure
8). Inthisimage,created at theoccasionof the launch of trans-continental serviceon the
Lockheed 14seriesaircraft,threeMusqueam individuals andateepeeoccupy the
foreground. They look at the plane, thelatestin aviationtechnology. Theviewer surveys
the entirescenefrom the behind the
three
men. The photograph's captionstates
Musqueam Reservation Indians, Basil Point,ChiefSemilhanoandDominic Pint
took part inceremoniesat departure from Vancouver of Lockheed14-H-2-CF-
T C Kon
April1,1939
inaugurating regularpassenger
service
on the
5 6
Boyd,
Denny; in
VancouverSun;July
1985. Boyd's
nostalgic recollectionswere
aimed at jumpstarting a
fundraising campaign
in
order to re-build theRocket.
"Rose.
5 8
TheRocketwas re-built
from
the original blueprints in 1986 after a publicity campaigngenerated sufficient
interest
in a restoration project. In addition to funding, considerable
time
and materials
were
donated by the
SheetMetalWorkersthemselves
to aid in the re-construction of the symbol of their contribution to the
growth of Vancouver.
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transcontinental.
59 ;
This
image records the employment by the
airline,Trans-CanadaAirways,
of
a
non-band
specific "Indian-ness" as the individuals are dressedinboth Musqueamandwestern
clothing
and
are posed with
atepee,a
housing type not normally used on the Northwest
coast. This
photographsuggests
a
multi-valent identity for
Vancouver,
as a city where
technological progressanda colonial frontierhadco-existed. It foreshadows the design
of
the
thirdphaseof
the
airport,
a design which has taken
maximum
advantage of native
cultures. The 'tradition' of appropriating the symbolsandart of theFirstNations by non-
native Vancouverites for their own use
in
representing
westcoast
identity was not new,
eveninthe
late
1930s. Aldona
Jonaitis'
work on the appropriation of Northwest Coast
cultural
signifiers by the non-native population of thewest
coast locates
the beginnings
ofthis
pattern as early as the
1880s.
60
Nor is the visual representation
ofFirst
Nations
culture without corresponding political or social recognition unique to
British
Columbia.
(The adoption
of
the totem pole as a
'Canadian'
icon is
part
of
a
larger discussion of
Canadian
identity formation beyond the
scope
ofthisessay.
61
)Fromthe1930sto the
1960s,the display of Native art works by
European
colonizers illustrated that
cultural
difference could be absorbed into the dominant mainstream without constituting
a
threat.
In the
1990s
the active promotion of native art at the
airport
still represents something
other than the native cultures
themselves.
It has
becomea
representation of
Vancouver
which
denies
the reality of globalizationandthe internationalization of the city. In
5 9
National Archives of
Canada;
R G
12; File1980-206,negative82.
6 0
Aldona
Jonaitis, "Northwest CoastTotemPoles", inUnpacking Culture:Art and
Commodity
inColonial
andPostcolonialWorlds,eds.RuthPhillips and ChristopherSteiner, Berkeley, 1999;pages 104-121.
6 1
Fora detailed investigation
of
the
appropriation of
the totem pole as a symbol by non-natives seeKim
Phillips
(2000) M A . ThesisMakingMeaninginTotemland:Investigatinga
Vancouver
Commission.
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Chapter3,1will
expand
the
argument
thatinthecurrent airportextensiveuse is
made
of
this
trope
in orderto
individuate
Vancouver, British Columbiaasa North American
destination
and' Y V R 'as a'unique' airport.
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C H A P T E R
2
The
art
work, aboveall,won't
be
parochial.
There'll
benofalling
logs,
or
fish
heads,or
mining
shafts
or
signs.Theidea is not to forget that Vancouver'sairportis international.
ReporterJack McCaugherty
inthe
VancouverProvince,June 13, 1968.
If
greater
Vancouver and
British
Columbia
citizensdonot scream,thenwewill
deserve
what we
surely
get, a 1966 or '67 edition
of
the
awesome
andabstruse internationalairterminal at
Toronto..
.Why
should wehaveto accept atwisted tangle
of
meaningless
shapes
andcolours
recommended
by a committeeoffar-out artists?
...
Wewant anairportso designed that when
people deplanefromEurope or
the
Orient orany otherpart oftheworldtheywill
know
beyond a
shadow of a
doubt
thatthey
are
inBritishColumbia.
Tourist Bureau ManagerHaroldMerileesintheVancouverSun,December 15, 1964
If
anyone
arriving
by
air
heredoesn't
see the beauty
of
thearea,its staggering
view
and
know
it's
B.C.-orisn't told by the
friendly
captain - then he'seitherblind orabsolutelygassed.
.
Tony Emery,VancouverArtGalleryDirector and
member
ofnational advisory committee on
air
terminal
artquotedintheVancouverProvince,June 13, 1968.
The
firstphaseofairportdevelopment describedinthe previous chapter
emphasizedanidentity forVancouverin which technologicaland industrialprogress
were
the dominant motifs
and
colonization
and
the
appropriation
of
local
native cultures
was a
less
significant one. The
themeof
technological progress was not limited to
Vancouver. It wasalsorecognized as a characteristic feature of
early
to mid-twentieth
centuryurbandevelopment.
The
secondphaseofairportdevelopment, which began in
the
late
1950s,continued to emphasize thethemeoftechnological progress and
modernity. It presented a
Canadian
national identitylinkedto the growth of
urban
centers
as international destinations. Thischapter will examine the Department of
Transport'sroleinthe modernizationofurban
airportsfrom
thelate1950sto
1980s.
It
will
also
consider the divergent reactions ofartcriticsandtheCanadianpublicto the
modern artinstalled atairportterminals aspart ofthisdevelopmentprogram.
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The
re-development of airportsinthe1960shadapracticalbeginning. Inpart,
the federal government's growing
interest
in
airport
infrastructure was motivated by
political concerns about
American
economic encroachment that could have anegative
impact on
Canadian
sovereignty.
Evenin
the
1920s
it was recognized that to avoid
complete
American
domination
of
the aviation industry,
ground
facilities would have to
be maintained on the
Canadian
sideof theborder.
62
In order for aviation to play a role in
national economic development, co-ordinated service was
required.
Syme
and
Wells
identify federal government policies which allowed for the creation of the
Trans Canada
Airwayin 1928, the Department ofTransportin 1936and Trans Canada Airlinesin 1937,
andprovided the foundation for a successful civilaviationprogram.
63
During
World War
II
the federal government took over financial responsibility
(either
by
lease
or purchase) for
civilianairportsin
Canada
and
made infrastructure
improvements to the 62
municipal
facilities. Following the war, work toward
establishing a more coherent policy for
airport
development across
Canada
commenced.
The
Department of
Transport
continued to develop major airports to accommodate
modern aircraft which became progressively faster
and
heavier. A
minimum
number of
international airportsweredeveloped tomeetCanada's international obligations. The
Department of
Transport
provided financial
assistance
to municipalities to further
develop their
airportsand
established landing strips in remote
areas
to facilitate resource
extraction. To increase air
safety,
the Department provided funding for aids to
6 2
Feldman,ElliotandMilch.Jerome;ThePolitics
of
Canadian AirportDevelopment;
Duke
University
Center
for Commonwealth and Comparative Studies;Durham,1983,
page
30. Also Syme and
Wells;
page
6
"Signswereevident thatAmericanairtransport companies wanted to tap traffic in the
main
centersof
Canadianpopulation and industry, all
of
which lie adjacent to the international boundary."
6 3
Syme and
Wells;
page
8.
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navigation such as landing
systems,
radio ranges,weathermonitoringservicesandair
traffic
control for all
airports. After
the war, municipalities
were
given the opportunity to
re-assume control over their airports while receiving financial
assistance
andall but three
chose
to do so.
Funding
for airports became a federal policy where grants of up to
$25,000were
available for each
site
per year.
64
The
A ir
TerminalBuilding program,
which was implemented
in
the 10 years
immediately following the war, resultedinthe construction of new larger, modernairport
facilities
inGander, Halifax, Montreal,
Ottawa,
Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton.
65
Vancouverwas oneofthe laterurbanairportsto be modernizedunderthe federal
initiative as re-development was begun on theeast
coast
at
Gander
andmoved across the
country fromeasttowest.
The
construction of new, modern
airports
across the country was specifically
identified as a national policy objectiveinthe
Governor
General's 1958
Throne
Speech.
66
Since their inception, the
cost
of maintaining
and
operating airports has steadily
increased.
The
greatexpenseof up-grading facilities tokeeppace with aviation
technology
and
increasing
passenger
demand became prohibitive for municipalities to
bear alone, and, as a result,massiveamounts of moneywere
spent
by the federal
government
from
the
1950s
to the
1980s
tokeepairports operational.
67
6 4
McGrath, T . M . ;pages 18-19.
65
Ibid;
page
51.
6 6
"Inparticular,a large expansioninthe construction and equipment
of our
systems
of
airports and airways
willbe proposed..."fromHouse ofCommonsDebates;Session1958;ThroneSpeech; Volume
1;
Queen's
Printer and Controller
of Stationary; Ottawa, 1958;page25.
6 7
Syme
and Wells;
pages11-12 "Cities, mainly for
financial
reasons, opted out
of airport
operation by
selling them to the federal government. Developments
in
the international aviationfieldthat
gave
rise to the
need for larger,betterequipped, and more
expensive
airports further involved the federal government."
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o ffiveartists. Other panels chargedwithselecting artworks were formed by
B a l dw i n
to
coincidewiththe expansion of
Toronto,
Edmonton and
Winnipeg
airports.
7
' This airport
art program has subsequently beenassessedby architect BernardFlaman,as the largest
publicart project ever in Canada
76
. Lowewrote (in 1964)o fthe program
It provided a handful of establishedartistswiththe biggest commissions they had
ever had.
A n d
it touched off a public brawlaboutartwhichdisproved forever the
plaint
thatthis country was indifferent to what was being painted and sculpted
byits native sons.
77
Further details o fthe Department of Transport's efforts topresentCanada as a
sophisticated nation were provided in a 1964
Canadian
Architectarticle entitled
TorontoAirportInterior
Design .
WriterLynr iFerrabee described the terminalitselfas
anoriginaland
exciting
building and identified the furniture as imaginative because
it admirably maintain[ed] the efficiencyo fthe machine while the interiors [were]
perfectly integratedwiththetemperamento fthebuilding.
78
Referringspecificallyto the
furniture, Ferrabee notedthatthe Department of Transport purchased onlythato fthe
best
quality, not stooping to buy Canadiani fthe quality was too l ow .
7 9
The Department of Transport planned to illustrate regional difference through
abstractart and the modern quality ofCanadiancities through aunifiedarchitectural
i d iom.Although
the federal government was responsible for a l lairports in Canada, it
chose to develop the larger urbancentersdifferently from the smaller,lowtraffic
75
ibid.
7 6
Interview
with
Bernard Flaman, March 31, 2001 andalso
quotediriWestern
Living
Summer2000.
7 7
Lowe,
Frank;page144.
7 8
Ferrabee,
Lynn;"Toronto
Airport
Interior Design";
in
CanadianArchitect,Volume
9,
Number
2;
February 1964; page63.
19
Ibid;page
63.
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facilities, whichdidnot tend to haveartprograms. In1963,
Yvonne
McWilliam
outlined the Department's
aestheticobjectives
in a lengthy, well-illustrated article
entitled
"FromRailway Prints
to
Riopelle"
published
in
News
on the
D 'oT.
McWilliamdescribed the
pre-1960s
stateofairportarchitecture in
Canada
as relatively
uninspired.
WhenCanada's
first transcontinental airline was established
in
the
late
1930s,
terminalswerehomey, blueandwhite
frame
buildings surrounded by picket
fences...
Inside artworks usually consisted of
large
sepia prints
ofLake
Louise or
Jasper scrounged
from
the railways.
81
This
assessmentof early terminals, which was inaccurate withrespectto Vancouver's
buildings, was likely motivated by the need
to
justify a new architectural
style
which was,
by 1963, receiving
some
criticism. McWilliamcontinued to illustrate that the purposeof
displaying abstract art at airports was to represent regional difference.