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Portraits (6)
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Arthur EricksonJack Long 1981 28 minA portrait of Arthur Erickson, a Vancouver-based architect internationally known for his unique style. Seated in his Vancouver home, Arthur Erickson talks easily about his art, the importance of interpreting the site and of achieving harmony between environment and structure, the inseparability of climate and site, and the cultural role of a building. Five of his projects are shown. He explains how the designs evolved and what he was trying to achieve. Shot on location in Canada, Japan and Kuwait, the film introduces the man, the architect, the humanist. -
The Coldspring ProjectPierre Letarte & Kenneth McCready 1974 27 minThe human side of town planning, as exemplified in Baltimore, Maryland. The Coldspring Project concerned a proposed housing development for lower and upper income levels on a three hundred-acre site adjoining a wildlife sanctuary. The film records the differences aired in meetings of various interest groups that tried to modify the plan according to their views, and the compromise reached, based on plans drawn up by Montréal architect Moishe Safdie.
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Chairs for LoversBarrie Howells 1973 28 minIn this documentary short, Vancouver architect Stanley King demonstrates his method for involving the public in urban design. Called the "draw-in/design-in”, the method is applied to a downtown Vancouver area slated for redevelopment. How can it be made to best serve the needs of the people who will use it? Here, sketches prepared by students and refined by adults are used to guide city planners.
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The Innocent DoorKenneth McCready 1973 29 minThis short documentary affords us an unusual and privileged view of the old city of Jerusalem, before and after the redevelopment of certain key sectors took place in the early 1970s. The man appointed to try to reconcile the need for change with traditional values is Montreal architect Moshe Safdie. His plans, shown in scale models, are in harmony with ancient architecture and encompass the “innocent doorways” that lead from walled streets to pleasant courtyards.
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Krzysztof Wodiczko: ProjectionsDerek May 1991 53 minThis full-length documentary examines the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko, an artist who has taken his art out of museums to project it onto the sides of buildings. The film explores Wodiczko’s philosophy of art as social contract and shows examples of his provocative work, which has lit up walls from London's Trafalgar Square to Zion Square in Jerusalem.
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Spudwrench - Kahnawake ManAlanis Obomsawin 1997 57 minThis documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin introduces us to Randy Horne, a high steel worker from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal. As a defender of his people's culture and traditions, he was known as "Spudwrench" during the 1990 Oka crisis. Offering a unique look behind the barricades at one man's impassioned defense of sacred territory, the film is both a portrait of Horne and the generations of daring Mohawk construction workers that have preceded him.
