Friday marks 100 years since the birth of celebrated Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson. Examples of his work can be found throughout the region — including SFU’s main Burnaby Mountain campus, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, and Robson Square, among others.
“In my view, Canadians should know Arthur Erickson and his works in the same way they know the novels of Margaret Atwood or the paintings of Emily Carr. He’s really up there in the firmament of leading minds in the creative arts in Canada,” said Trevor Boddy, a critic and curator of architecture who sits on the board of the Arthur Erickson Foundation.
Boddy is also the guest curator of Erickson on Film: A Centennial Celebration, three nights of programming at the VIFF Centre in Downtown Vancouver. Erickson’s Brutalist style was a popular backdrop for Hollywood filmmakers.
“I have put together the events this week really as a celebration of his memory and to remind people that really good designs and original urban ideas make life better for everyone,” he said.
The events combine dialogue, special guests, and film. It begins on Friday night with Boddy discussing Erickson’s early life and work, ending with a screening of the 1994 film Intersection, starring Richard Gere and Sharon Stone. Gere plays an architect, not unlike Erickson, in the Vancouver-shot film.
On Sunday, director Michelle Smolkin will introduce Concrete Poetry, her 2002 documentary on Erickson done for the CBC.
Then, on Tuesday, Boddy will discuss Erickson’s major public buildings, including Robson Square, the Waterfall Building, and SFU. The night is capped with a screening of the 1972 Cold War thriller The Groundstar Conspiracy, which was shot at SFU’s main Burnaby Mountain Campus.
“The secret to saving Erickson’s legacy is to get the public involved and interested in the work, to keep the information and the images flowing, to show people what we have, and I think there will be greater and greater support for keeping this legacy alive,” Boddy said.