Trans Am Totem

[mcminsen]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

I heard a coworker talking about this earlier today. Apparently some homeless guy climbed up to the top white car last night and was caught sleeping inside it.

The modern mythology got started even before it was completed!

One of the things I love about art installations like this is watching and listening to the reactions of people. It's already a success if it's (in)famous and stories are circulating about it before it was even finished. April Fool's Day will be the first full day for the car drivers below to admire the completed work and ponder it's message.

I think that's Marcus Bowcott (the artist) in the first pic below.



March 31 '15, all my pics

[red-paladin]

Terry Gilliam called, he wants his 1980s drawing back.

[urbancanadian]

It's part of the Vancouver Biennale, so no, it's not (necessarily) permanent. If someone wanted to buy it and donate it to the city, then it could be... But I suspect this one won't be quite as popular as A-maze-ing Laughter. The mural on the concrete silos at Granville Island is permanent though.

That being said, I love the biennale. I wish we could keep more pieces, or if the public could vote on the best one and the City would buy it or something.
http://www.vancouverbiennale.com/

[quobobo]

I walked by just now, and the top car is lit on the inside with a bright green light that matches all the park protest lights in all the surrounding buildings. Somehow I doubt the City is especially happy about that.

[officedweller]

Trans Am public art sculpture of stacked cars finds new permanent home at Granville Bridge's south end
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/trans-am-rapture-granville-bridge-south-end-location-public-art



Construction progress on the foundation for Trans Am Rapture at Granville Street Bridge’s southwest loop, as seen on June 19, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/trans-am-rapture-granville-bridge-south-end-location-public-art

[Tysonbrown]

I hoped
this garbage was gone for good.

[vanman]

Same.

[hollywoodnorth]

biggest POS art ever.....so happy its not next to skytrain anymore ... what an embarrassment.

[GenWhy?]

Interesting... it's one of my favorite art pieces in the city and miss the old location LOL

[Tysonbrown]

Gee, I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of $$$ I could get paid by the city for a pile of car wrecks on a stump. Banksy this is NOT.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Tysonbrown

Gee, I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of $$$ I could get paid by the city for a pile of car wrecks on a stump. Banksy this is NOT.

The Vancouver Biennale (a non-profit charitable organization) contributed $10,000, and the artist the remaining $6,500 (which was then raised by crowd-funding) to cover the cost of the piece initially, in 2015. In 2018 Chip Wilson bought the sculpture and donated it to the city.

The City of Vancouver covered the cost of dismantling, storing and re-erecting the piece from the Public Art funds.

[Tysonbrown]

Obviously, Chip has a sense of humour.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Interesting... it's one of my favorite art pieces in the city and miss the old location LOL

Mee too. I loved this piece

[RedArbutus]

Whole bunch of haters here. I've always liked it, and it's a good location to move it to.

Now the Main Street Poodle, that's an art piece we can all get behind hating.

[idunno]

It's a great location! Right in the middle of a former cloverleaf of a highway system that was mostly never constructed? Perfect place for a car metaphor.

[logan5]

You could vastly improve this piece (lol) by painting artwork on the cars themselves. Graffiti art would be appropriate, otherwise, as others have said, this is just an eyesore.

[officedweller]

Agreed, good new location for it.
It needs to be seen from above or at eye level to the cars (like it was from SkyTrain),
so hopefully it will be visible from the bridge and Fir St. ramp.

[jollyburger]

I doubt it will be that visible from the bridge or off-ramp especially with the curb lane on the bridge (right) and Fir Street off-ramp (left). Along with all the trees and it's only 33 feet high.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by RedArbutus

Whole bunch of haters here. I've always liked it, and it's a good location to move it to.

Now the Main Street Poodle, that's an art piece we can all get behind hating.

The dumb striped box and gold balls at Hastings and Bute are worse IMO.

[jollyburger]

For Zepf:

A few of the cars were spotted outside the shop where it was being refurbished at Station Street. Maybe getting installed soon

https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1lsn83l/comment/n1kbc7r/