ICOM International Council of Museums - International Institute for ...

collage referencing “Fairview: A Modern Neighbourhood”. “Comfort by Instalment Plan”features a washing machine and products.“New Country Challenge” is comprised of a small collage on immigrants, a flip bookcontaining some personal stories of a few individuals, and a wall telephone on whichvisitors can dial up oral histories of and reminiscences from these same individuals.“Dolled up for Downtown” shows a female mannequin all dressed up for an outingsurrounded by other accessories such as hats, shoes, and purses. In “Out on theTown”, another female mannequin is dressed in the kind of costume showgirls wouldwear at local supper/night clubs. A sample of the old floor from the CommodoreBallroom and replicated drinks in glasses sharing space with old bar bottle dispenserscomplete the display unit. James Inglis Reid meat shop comprises a false front withoriginal signage and replicated meats and sausage hanging ‘in the window’.“Downtown 1950s”, along with sub-captions, “The Place to Be”, “Working Town”, and“Neon Lights Light up the Night”, includes a ‘Palm Ice Cream’ neon sign, and, “NewDecade, Fresh Start” features laminated copies of newspaper pages and articles.“The Teen Scene” is a cafe type of area with a booth (bench seats and table in whichvisitors can sit) and ice cream images on the walls. Also included is a working juke boxand a little space for patrons to jive, should the music move them! Very lively to besure! “Front Row at the Movies” comprises movie posters and hand bills. “StreetSnapshots” features the camera used and photographs taken by Foncie Pulice, a wellknown chap who worked on the streets downtown taking photos of those walking by.He was a fixture in Vancouver for many years and a photo of yourself taken by Foncieis considered a treasured souvenir.The disparity between the east and west sides of the city is briefly mentioned in“Celebrating Across the Great Divide”, and focuses on Hastings Park as a meetingplace for both sides to ‘celebrate’ common experiences such as the annual PacificNational Exhibition, and football matches. In front of the text-image collage are two oldblack and white television sets running news reel type clips of Hasting Park events,including the ‘Miracle Mile” (Bannister and Landy running the famous under 4 minutemile race at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games), interspersed withadvertising.Scattered through out the gallery are assorted neon signs, telephone/electric poles withremnants of lines attached, and textual and graphic materials.The second gallery to open (in April 2005) was “The Revolution Gallery” and focuseson events from the 1960s and 1970s. Under the rubric of “You Say You Want aRevolution”, the exhibition deals primarily with protest and the counter-culturemovement spearheaded by the younger people then known as ‘hippies’. This was avolatile period punctuated by large rallies of people carrying signs and wearing buttons,all aimed at igniting public support in an attempt to effect a change in the status quo.Flash points included: the Vietnam war - peace (not war); boycotts of Chilean grapesand support for Chilean refugees; support heritage, stop demolition; and a range ofwomen’s rights including abortion, and, = Pay 4 = Work. As with the previous gallery,collage panels bearing texts and images are also featured.The protest and counter-culture sections look at such topics as: “Freaks Around Town”;Greenpeace; ‘be-ins’; lifestyle clashes; “Mom’s Resist” speeding trains through theRaymur housing project; the counter revolution; the “Save Our Neighbourhood” effortmounted by the primarily Asian population of the city’s area known as Strathcona; andoil spill affecting a beach area. Throughout this area, photographs, documents, objects329