February 2012

Roughly five months into cataloguing and digitizing the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Legacy Collection, it can be stated that the process is a lot more exciting than it probably should be.  Along with the torch Wayne Gretzky used to light the Olympic Cauldron and the racks of intricate costumes worn by performers in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, there are also boxes of paper material containing years of licenses, correspondences, and memos.

It’s a common assumption that paper material seldom equals gripping material. But among the inter-office scraps are pockets of brilliance, such as a collection of sketches and photographs used as inspiration for VANOC’s signature “Look of the Games”: the sweeping green and blue graphic vistas peppered with prototypically West Coast and urban motifs. It’s inspiring to leaf through a folder and see how hand cut stencils were incorporated into a design that became a second skin for Vancouver during the Games of 2010.

For the philatelists among us, international post bureau websites have been scoured to acquire information regarding Olympic issue stamps. Blindly trying to decipher Cyrillic characters on postage stamps quickly lost its novelty, but it’s fascinating to see which sports countries chose to depict. Seemingly few pandered to their Canadian host. Most stamps feature skiing, whether alpine or Nordic, over ice hockey. A personal favourite are those from Hungary, which rival the Vancouver 2010 mascots in terms of a sense of unbridled joy (or cuteness, if we’re going to get really technical).

Speaking of the mascots, we have become well versed in the surprisingly elaborate backstories of Quatchi, Miga, Sumi, and Mukmuk. This is in addition to charting their evolution from simple line drawings to 3D renderings to officially licensed Olympic merchandise and full-sized costumes.

While to date it has been fulfilling to discover these gems (we’ve got roughly another 1,200 objects to go), it would be a lie to say handling the medals and the torch hasn’t been a highlight. The medals are astoundingly heavy; frankly, it’s a wonder exhausted athletes didn’t crumple under their weight. Even more astonishing are the number of hands both the medals and the torch passed through, from their inception to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and the nightly Victory Ceremonies.

Many of us watched as athletes bit down on their gold medals, or as the Olympic flame was passed from torch to torch. But not many of us got to watch as a print of an orca’s dorsal fin became a medal struck at the Royal Canadian Mint. The technical prints and sketches allow us to visualize the massive collective effort behind Vancouver’s Games of 2010. This is why the paper material ends up being much more gripping than one would initially expect.

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Jillian Povarchook is the MOV's Collections Associate.

Roll out the red carpet and get your glam on… Art Deco Chic is coming to the MOV (March 8 through September 23).    

Art Deco Chic:  Extravagant Glamour Between the Wars features more than 60 women’s garments from the 1920s and 30s. Handpicked for their decadent beauty and exquisite craftsmanship, many of these garments boast couture labels like Chanel, Vionnet, Patou and Schiaparelli. 

Notable Vancouver treasures include this black gown (right), worn to the opening of the Commodore ‘Cabaret’ in 1929.  Handbags, hats, shoes, jewelry and dresses (like this golden sunburst flapper shift (below) illustrate the distinctive, sleek geometry of the Art Deco period. 

If you just can’t wait to see what else we have in store, you can immerse yourself on a glittering night on the town here at the MOV for the Art Deco Chic Opening Night  on Wednesday, March 7. [Note: The opening night is primarily for Members and VIPs, so a limited number of tickets are available for purchase, and must be bought online beforehand!].

Dress Code?  Vintage glam of course! We’ll all be reveling in the sassy spirit of these roaring ‘boom and bust’ eras so this is your big chance to float into the room like a tall glass of champagne!

Hot vintage styling tips to get you ‘the deco look’

Attitudes & Inspirations…Think of rebellious young flappers…The exuberant movement of Josephine Baker…Sweet cinema darlings like Mary Pickford or Clara Bow  (the original ‘it girl’)…The confident modernism of the Empire State Building…The bright lights of Broadway…The streamlined  elegance of  Coco Chanel  and vintage Vogue couture …Mae West in all of her cheeky swagger…Jean Harlow dripping in long, cream satin and bombshell shine…Marlene Dietrich smoking in a tailored tux…Smoldering Greta Garbo or those famous Betty Davis eyes. 

For a little extra inspiration, you can also check out these videos on 1930s hair and makeup.

• 1930s Hairstyles (Vintage Clip)
• 1930s Make Up & Skincare Guide (I do this every morning…Don’t you?)

And if you’re now day dreaming about the perfect outfit, you could always take a trip out on the town and do a little vintage shopping at some of these great local stores:

• Deluxe Junk:  Vancouver Vintage since 1973. (Pictured right, the lovely Rod from Deluxe Junk digging through the storage room and showing off some 1930s casual frocks)  
• Woo Vintage
• Burcus Angels
• John Fluevog: Scan these originals for vintage inspired looks like the Bellevue Etta Place, Pearl Heart, Operetta Brightman, Gertrude.

If you read this after the event has already happened, we hope you’ll join us for some upcoming events that celebrate this Art Deco Era!

Sunny days have struck the city, slowly filling up parks and bike routes as we seek out that elusive vitamin D. Different story for Europe, however. Record-breaking temperature lows are sweeping westward and causing much grief for the continent.

The good weather might even have you brainstorming fun summer building projects, in which case you might be interested in applying for a VIVA Vancouver public space invigoration grant. Ever been to the “Parallel Park” bench on Main and E.14^th? Your proposal could easily be the next best sidewalk extension project. Applications due Feb 14!

In harmony, Douglas Coupland is urging us to break free from our conservative cloaks:

“My own theory about Vancouver is that we’re all at our best when we’re experimenting with new ideas, and we’re at our worst when we ape the conventions of other places.” He said at the Cities Summit last week.

The Vancouver Design Nerds are listening, and they want you to help them transform Vancouver’s public spaces this Thursday evening at City Studio. And you really should – if only to partake in a “Nerd Jam”. Our MOV Youth Council had the chance to hang out with the Design Nerds last spring and ended up yarnbombing the crab outside the MOV!

Still not convinced that there are people trying to create opportunities for creativity? Last on our list this week, DOXA International Film Festival has just released their call for young women to participate in the Youth Connexions Forum, which offers two weeks of intensive film workshops in the beginning of May. At the MOV, we can’t stress enough the importance of being able to tell a good story, and certainly encourage you to apply. Here is one of our fave short doxa flicks: Love Life