Stan Douglas

Stan Douglas (born October 11, 1960) is an African-Canadian Installation artist from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Infobox Artist
bgcolour =
name = Stan Douglas


imagesize =
caption = "Win, Place or Show", 1998, video
birthname =
birthdate = October 11, 1960
location = Vancouver, British Columbia
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = Canadian
field = installation art, photographer
training =
movement =
works = "Win, Place or Show", 1998
patrons =
influenced by = Samuel Beckett
influenced =
awards = The Hnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Award

Life

Stan Douglas was born in 1960 in Vancouver, where he currently lives and works. Educated at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, Douglas has exhibited widely since his first solo show in 1981. Among numerous group exhibitions, Douglas was included in the 1995 Carnegie International, the 1995 Whitney Biennial, the 1997 SkulpturProjekte in Münster and Documenta X in Kassel. From September 15, 2007 until January 6, 2008, the Württembergische Kunstverein and the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart is presenting a comprehensive exhibition of the works of Stan Douglas within a space covering 4,000 square metres. The exhibition encompasses fourteen video and film installations plus numerous photographs. He also won the 2008 Bell Award in Video Art. [citation | title=Curator Catherine David and Artist Stan Douglas Receive Awards | publisher=ARTINFO | year=2008 | date= March 19, 2008 | url=http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/27131/curator-catherine-david-and-artist-stan-douglas-receive-awards/ | accessdate=2008-05-19 ]

Work

Douglas' work reflects the technical and social aspects of mass media, and since the late 1980s has been largely influenced by the work of Samuel Beckett. Also of concern is both modernism as a theoretical concept and modernity as it has affected North American urbanism since World War II.Cooke, Lynne. "Stan Douglas and Douglas Gordon: Double Vision" [2000] http://www.diachelsea.org/exhibs/douglasgordon/double/essay.html] Douglas' installation "Win, Place or Show" is shot in the style of the late-1960s CBC drama "The Client", noted for its gritty style, long takes and lack of establishing shots. Set in 1950s Vancouver in the Strathcona redevelopment, the installation explores the modernist notion of urban renewal with the demolition of existing architecture in favour of grids of apartment blocks. Two men share a dormatory room on a rainy day off from their blue-collar jobs. The conversation flares up during a discussion of the day's horse races and the 6 minute filmed loop is repeated from different angles on a split screen, each cycle presenting ever-changing configurations of point-of-view. The takes are edited together in real time by a computer during the exhibition, generating an almost endless series of montages.Cooke, Lynne. "Stan Douglas and Douglas Gordon: Double Vision" [2000] http://www.diachelsea.org/exhibs/douglasgordon/double/essay.html]

Douglas is currently working on a 30' by 50' image of the Gastown Riots of 1971 which will become the central focus within the atrium of the Woodward's building redevelopment, the new buildings are designed by architect Gregory Henriquez and are currently under construction, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

Bibliography

*Douglas, Stan. "Samuel Beckett: Teleplays." Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1988.
*"Stan Douglas." Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, 1994. Texts by Christine van Assche, Peter Culley, Stan Douglas and Jean-Christophe Royoux.
*"Stan Douglas." London: Phaidon Press, 1998. Texts by Carol J. Clover, Stan Douglas, and Scott Watson, and an interview with Diana Thater.
*"Stan Douglas." Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1999. Texts by Diana Augaitis, Stan Douglas, George Wagner and William Wood.
*"Stan Douglas: Monodramas and Loops." Vancouver: UBC Fine Arts Gallery, 1992. Texts by Stan Douglas, John Fiske and Scott Watson.
*"Stan Douglas: Television Spots." Vancouver: Contemporary Art Gallery, 1988. Texts by Stan Douglas and Miriam Nichols.

References

External links

* [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999976&artistid=3038&page=1 Tate Collection]
* [http://the-artists.org/ArtistView.cfm?id=8A01F383-BBCF-11D4-A93500D0B7069B40 the-artists.org]
* [http://www.diachelsea.org/exhibs/douglasgordon/double Stan Douglas and Douglas Gordon: Double Vision]
* [http://www.diachelsea.org/exhibs/douglasgordon/double/essay.html Stan Douglas and Douglas Gordon: Double Vision, essay by Lynne Cooke]
* [http://www.wkv-stuttgart.de/en/programme/2007/ausstellungen/stan-douglas/]
* [http://www.arsenalpulp.com/contributorinfo.php?index=137 Stan Douglas: Every Building on 100 West Hastings]