Art History in Vancouver 1

This past weekend, I had the privilege of taking a trip to Vancouver with the rest of Mr. Robert MacLean’s Art History 11 class. Three students from another art class, who were eager to experience the art forms that Vancouver has to offer, also joined us. Along with MacLean, Ms. Erica Weiss was a chaperone. She was kind enough not to make Mr. MacLean look out for twelve energetic teenagers on his own. After almost two hours of compulsory prep on the ferry across to Horseshoe Bay, we disembarked and boarded the city bus to drop off our luggage at the YWCA. We then proceeded to the Holy Rosary Cathedral, where we sketched any part of the building that intrigued us. Afterwards, we ate a late dinner at the Vancouver Art Gallery Café, followed by a quick browse around Chapters. We headed back to the hotel, hoping to get to bed at a decent time. But, you see, the excitement took a bit of a toll on us as we got ready for bed…and many giggles were to be had before we hit the hay. No more than five and a half hours later, we awoke to our pre-set alarms and were downstairs ready to go in the hotel lobby at 6:45am, coffee in hand. On our walking tour, Mr. Maclean pointed out numerous buildings with beautiful architecture, and, of course, gave us the historical background of each one. For instance, the Vancouver Library was designed in a similar fashion to the Coliseum in Rome, a circular structure with many square window archways. This is a fantastic example when looking at how ancient art compares to art in the present day. After our walking tour, we stopped for a crepe restaurant on Robson Street, where we enjoyed a fabulous late-morning breakfast. We then advanced to the Vancouver Art Gallery, where we were free to take notes and/or sketch anything we were fascinated by. By this time, not only were we all starting to feel our lack of sleep start to catch up with us, but our legs were fully exhausted from all of the walking! We then caught the bus to the ferry terminal, grabbed a bite to eat, and then boarded the ferry, eager to get back to Brentwood for the much-awaited first Open House of the 2013/2014 school year: “Rope: Glow”. The consensus was unanimous: we all enjoyed ourselves so very much. Not only did we get to study some beautiful pieces of art, we were given the chance to bond with each other and grow closer as a class, making memories that will last a lifetime. Karli S, Hope, ‘16