A towering public sculpture in Vancouver has become a vehicle for civic antinomy, setting off a dispute pitting its creators and fans against residents who claim its proposed relocation to their neighbourhood will block their views.<\/p>\n
Marcus Bowcott and Helene Aspinall\u2019s Trans Am Rapture (2015)\u2014a 33-ft-tall sculpture originally titled Trans Am Totem<\/a> that consists of five salvaged cars stacked atop the trunk of an old-growth cedar tree\u2014was initially installed temporarily as part of the 2014-16 Vancouver Biennale. In 2019, Chip Wilson, the local philanthropist and founder of the Lululemon athletic apparel company, donated C$250,000<\/a> ($201,000) to save the sculpture and make it part of the city\u2019s permanent public art collection.<\/p>\n The work suffered damage after pigeons took up residence inside it and in 2021 it was dismantled and removed from its original Northeast False Creek location on Quebec Street\u2019s median for cleaning and repair. The sculpture, part of a body of work described on the artists\u2019 website as focussing \u201con human activity in relation to the natural environment\u201d, was refurbished with bird-proofing measures, including metal mesh to prevent nesting and damage. But four years later, after the city and the artists finally agreed on a new home for the sculpture in a park next to the southwest corner of the Granville Street Bridge, and after foundations has been laid for its planned installation there this month, the city cancelled the plans<\/a> on 30 July in response to a neighbourhood petition in opposition.<\/p>\n \u201cCity staff have been asked to revisit previously assessed locations and explore potential new ones that can better accommodate the artwork,\u201d a municipal statement explains, adding the \u201cthe existing concrete pad at the site will be repurposed to support a future, smaller-scale public art installation\u201d.<\/p>\n The petition was initiated by Doreen Forst, who owns a condo near the site and feared the installation would block her view. \u201cThis sculpture stands 10m (three storeys) high and is an inappropriate imposition on the residential Fairview neighbourhood known for its beautiful views of the North Shore,\u201d she wrote in the petition<\/a>, which garnered more than 250 signatures. \u201cThis is not the right location for this structure.\u201d<\/p>\n