Gen X author and capital-A artist Douglas Coupland confesses to his undying love of Lego
Douglas Coupland lives at the very other edge of the country, obscured by trees in a glass 1960 post-and-beam "matchbox bungalow" designed by the architect Ron Thom. He’s notoriously private, a Canadian icon ensconced in a physical manifestation of iconic Canadiana – not exactly inaccessible, but, let’s say, not totally easy to find.
Coupland’s West Vancouver lair, at the end of an ordinary cul-de-sac in the hills above this country’s most expensive strip of waterfront real estate, looks like a photo from a ’60s-era Architectural Digest spread until, peering in the window of the front entranceway, I see a wall of shelves containing an extensive collection of fluorescently repainted spray bottles of household cleaning products. As Coupland opens the door and shakes my hand, I almost trip over a life-sized Canada goose with two heads. Along the foyer floor, a few dark-grey rocks are scattered.
"Pick one up," he says excitedly, and I do. It is at least eight times heavier than it looks. "It’s a meteorite. It’s fucking amazing, isn’t it?" he says. I notice that Coupland’s meteorite collection is artfully interspersed with rectangles of dried Ramen noodles, like Hansel-and-Gretel crumbs leading into the living room. "I’m casting the Ramen in bronze next weekend," he says, by way of explanation. "It’s for another project."
Super City of glass
Coupland, at the moment, is winding up Super City, an installation at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in which he has built an imaginary urban landscape of known buildings – the Seagram Tower, the World Trade Center, Toronto’s CN Tower, segments of the American Interstate Highway System – out of children’s building toys from the 1960s, including Lego, Tinkertoy, TOG’L, Matador, Meccano and the lesser-known Super City, a "modular" building kit that fell into obscurity in the shadow of Lego’s mega-popularity.
"It’s funny that you should come today," he says, bringing coffee into his recessed living room, where a gas fireplace whispers cosily around fake logs. "The last four years began with one eBay purchase, and this room was filled with more kits than you can imagine, and now all of a sudden they’re wrapped, shipped and gone. I’m having empty-nest syndrome or something."
Coupland HQ, by the way, is by no means empty. The gas fire and low West Coast afternoon light reveal an insane art collection he notoriously won’t discuss or allow to be photographed. My urge to ask about every piece is distracting, but Coupland’s privacy is understandable.
Besides being the author of nine novels, including Hey Nostradamus!, Microserfs, and Generation X, the book that launched a generation’s self-defining catchphrase, he has lately become something of a coffee-table book cottage industry. A few years ago he produced City of Glass (2000, Douglas & McIntyre), the definitive millennial book about his hometown, in which he explains the secrets of Vancouver in a series of photo collages and essays about disparate city-specific phenomena, including Japanese slacker exchange students, fleecies, the number 8, Wreck Beach, the colour of the sky and trees, the Lions Gate Bridge, and, yes, glass. The book, which is sold in tourist kiosks across the city alongside totem-pole keychains and shrink-wrapped smoked salmon, is both a souvenir object and an art project. Coupland explained the city better than anyone ever has via what has now become a signature technique: bright, hyperreal photographs accompanied by large, easy-to-read Helvetica headlines and descriptive text that place these objects in a Couplandesque emotional/intellectual context.
In 2002 and 2004 respectively, Coupland produced Souvenir of Canada and Souvenir of Canada 2, different permutations of the coffee-table tome (the cover of Souvenir of Canada 2 is a photo of the two-headed Canada goose I met on my way in). This year, he goes further into our national psyche with Terry, a book that memorializes 25 years since Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope by retelling Fox’s story through a series of found snapshots and close-ups of Fox fetish objects, including, remarkably, the dirty, decimated "lucky sock" he wore on his prosthetic leg. The impact of that photograph and others in the book is remarkable, especially for a generation accustomed to the one iconic shot of Fox running along the highway. It is, in a sense, the culmination of Coupland’s rare ability to combine a writer’s sensibility with his artist’s understanding of objects of contemplation.
"I think it’s possible for objects to convey one person’s experience in a way that other people can tap into it," he says, mildly summing up his part in what is, to some, a radical reorientation of one of our most treasured Canadian narratives. "There is a way for objects to be the [touchstones] of shared experiences."
Pop goes the po-mo
Coupland is an object of collective contemplation in his own right. As a writer, he is sometimes viewed more as a purveyor of pop-lit rather than serious literature, and yet he is better known – and certainly better read – abroad than many of our other, more "literary" writers.
A recent London Guardian profile of Coupland called him an "accomplished lifestyle taxonomist," referring to his habit, in novels, of contextualizing the action in particular historical moments, peppering his story with specific references to the macro and the micro: product names, world events, a specific mall in a specific town on a specific week in, say, 1995.
It’s easy to ascribe Coupland’s mass-market appeal, in part, to his habit of name-checking the detritus of our everyday experience. And yet Super City is not pop art per se – it’s a gallery installation featuring Coupland’s toy reconstructions in a 12′x12′x12′ display, all painted white. The eureka moment for Super City happened a few years ago, when the architect Arthur Erickson brought CCA founder Phyllis Lambert to visit Coupland’s house ("She likes to tour modernist houses where people actually live," he explains). During the tour, she saw a bunch of kits in boxes in his garage.
"From far away, it will look like cubes of sugar, and when you approach, as you get closer and closer, you will see that it is something else," says Coupland about the installation. "I want it to fuck with perspective, so that you’re not sure where toys end and architecture begins."
At this early date, he eschews the theoretical scaffold of Super City – he is, after all, interested in objects, and it’s the details of objects that get him excited.
"Thing is, we all played with Lego…. There just comes a time when you don’t go into that box anymore, and then for the next 30 years Lego’s been playing with me. Messing with my mind and my way of looking at things. I’ve [been wondering] all this time, where do I end and toys begin?"
"I am in a sort of stacking phase, as you can tell," he says, looking around at the room. "I’m almost through it now, but it’s been a long one. Plastic tubs, toilet paper, steel wool, they’re all over the place. I’ve got this fascination with modularity. Where does that come from? Lego!"
By way of illustration, Coupland shows me the prototype for the Super City "zine" – a gorgeous, limited edition, full-colour catalogue (complete with Helvetica-printed paragraphs and crisp, colourful art photos) of, among other things, his actual childhood Lego box (a Cutty Sark box with the top sawed off) and the architectural marvels he has reproduced. "Only at the CCA could a full-colour art book like this be called a zine," he says, chuckling.
Still, Coupland effortlessly switches between contexts – the same artist who makes coffee-table books for tourists and novels for everyone is excited by the prospect of making something for the viewership at the CCA.
"Art is different that way, capital-A art, and the nice thing about working with the CCA is that you can make a lot of assumptions about the viewers’ points of reference. They know who Wallace K. Harrison or Craig Elwood is."
Still, Coupland’s "capital-A art" shares with his other work the ability to bring people together in the collectivity of object fetishization.
"I wouldn’t call [the building of] Super City work, exactly," he says.
"It was play in the sense that you can get really lost in it… For [the zine], I had to build the Cape Cod house with two dormer windows, and my God! My fingers still had that weird Lego tingling feeling. I was still hunting down in the bottom of the box for that one piece. That sound? You remember that sound? Of stirring around in the bottom of a box of Lego? When I’m building things in my mind, I call it ‘shapehead.’ When I’ve got shapehead, I can’t sleep, I might as well just keep on building and building, and [projecting the world in 3-D]. All I can hope is that Super City gives other people shapehead."
Super City
At the Canadian Centre for Architecture, June 8 to Nov. 6
9 comments
Rare is the artist who can combine pop culture sensibility with modern existentialist woes, then blends in a healthy understanding of classic scholarship, literary stylistics, teenage angst, and realistic interpretations of nationalist pride. No matter what medium he is exploring in, Douglas Coupland touches on a certain sentimentality for arcana that is as essentially Canadian as the maple leaf. He has a strange, vivid intuition for speaking to the heart, while probing the more obscure, and seemingly anticeptic, elements of modern life. I only wish the quality of his fictions hadn’t suffered as a result of these side projects, but, then, with about five coffee table books to his name so far, perhaps these non-fiction asides have become his central focus. Whatever he takes on, we can be sure that the end product will be riveting, quirky, and subtly provocative. Bring on more of his experimentation!!
This Douglas Coupland sounds like a very bright person, but how human is he. God did not make man to live alone. This man lives in a world of his own and isolated from the rest of the world. He does not share his ideas or his passion . I man with alot of talent , maybe a very high IQ. but no soul, love or passion. This is what I read from this interview. I believe a man’s work must be looked at from the outside and inside of his mind. Already for some one to have a need to hide away from society (other humans) is not a healthy sign. I might look and like some of his work , but I am not I could like him as a person .
It’s about time that Mr Copeland makes it to the cover of the fabulously impressive Hour.
What has he done for us lately? How about authoring nine novels and delivering us our generation’s definition of who we are: Generation X for starters.
Copeland is someone with big plans, fearless in accomplishing what he sets out to do and proudly enjoys the title of trendsetter.
Why not?
He is someone who leads by example, enjoys exploring new areas of thought and controversy and building pillars that other more fearful people may be more comfortable hiding behind instead of standing in front of.
Now, with current plans underway to recreate large buildings with Lego and the like, and launching a refreshing and chilling memoir/ode to our favorite son: Terry Fox, Copeland is still unspent and still willing to go the extra mile for continued success.
He is someone who has been able to capitalize on understanding our needs, needs very little to show his vast array of creativity and creatively restores our core understanding of what we mean to our generation and what symbolism may reflect our generation to future inhabitants of this thoughtful and needy planet of ours.
If Copeland follows any roadmap, it is the one that reads: “Be true to yourself and never change what makes you the unique, wonderful person that allows for self-preservation and enlightenment”.
Bravo Douglas. Nice Cover.
I want to relive my childhood with a modern twist is why I am so excited by this
show at the CCA . I am so looking forward to seeing how he will play with my
favorite Meccano. I can remember building bridges that would be open-ended so
the cars would fly off. As well my Lego would let me build castles and
high-rises with either only windows or just a door and no windows I am sure
Mr..Copland will expand my mind and enlighten us all with his creativity and bring us back to an age of innocence. We can only hope we will also get a glimpse into the future.
My friends and I are a little cult-ish when it comes to Coupland’s work. I anticipate every word he writes / says / structures / creates (‘shapehead’). We once, while sitting around our bookstore, tried to contextualize our feelings towards this now household Canadian author. The closest we could come to comparing him to anything, is to a rock star of some sort. A Groupie relationship to him. You want to hang on his every word, knowing that there is so much more beneath the surface.
I often recommend his books, whether fiction or non, by saying “its the type of book you will read and want to write down so many quotes from, that you might as well quote the whole thing” or “You will read it and find yourself thinking ‘I thought exactly the same thing, but never could have phrased it so well and to such a degree of emotional accuracy’.”
Its really uncanny. I found myself reading the above article, being insanely jealous that this journalist got to meet with him, in his sanctuary, of all places. But also, I found that as an Artist, I understand his method, his madness to some. I love it, he is so approachable, in his own way.
I look forward to the CCA exhibit, not for the achitecture, which is a subject I am not familiar with, but rather, the child-like approach. The Lego, oh, the Lego! The building blocks of a child’s imagination. What I wouldn’t give for my old box of Lego, just to run my hands through it and my nostalgia.
A very false impression exists regard ‘art’ with that capital ‘A’.
That ‘Art’ needs to be worshipped and liked by the masses, or it fails to be ‘Art’. what impresses me the most about douglas coupland, as author and as artist, would be his ability to strive his path on his terms. there are plenty of ‘play pretend’ artists creating ‘Art’ for the masses like wrigley produces chewing game to be bought in every store imagined. these artists do not offer anything other than a status quo made to pacify the masses into further boredom and blandness.
Any individual that endures their calling doesn’t need to please the masses. let george lucas in the next several years give us his ‘true vision’ of the first three episodes of star wars, to make the masses jump through hoops to purchase that special edition dvd. however, as an artist, lucas plays his craft to appease the masses.
The bored and bland masses, looking for distractions and reasons to be always bored with themselves.
But douglas coupeland doesn’t owe anyone anything, and this makes his art and his craft pure and organic. anyone with the eyes to see and the mind to understand can grasp the importance of the artist to remain true to his or her vision. why does a culture need to have a thousand and one artists running around, doing nothing other than creating ‘pleasing art’ to appease the masses?
Wouldn’t this strike as being the stench of censorship?
The all-mighty creative essence that continues to create the universe doesn’t create to please. the all-mighty creative essence creates to create, and in that very simple thought, the all-mighty creative essence inspires all of us to follow our own unique path. i have known very creative people who were warm, articulate, witty as all hell, and deeply enjoyable to know and to trust. most of all, i admired them for embracing their creativity which meant not needing some ‘gold star’ and pat on their backs to motivate them to create. true artists endure.
I really interested in going and see the work that has been done by Douglas Coupland. I have been hearing many great things about his work over the years and I’m really interested in seeing the exhibits that he has planned for Super City at the Canadian centre for architecture. I think that it is excellent that Douglas Coupland has finally made the cover of a paper because this man has been shy away from the media and not many journalists write about him. I have read his novels and I find it very interesting and fascinating what he has accomplished over the years. Douglas is always exploring new ideas and discovering new things that fascinate the audience. I know that Montreal will adore Douglas Coupland.
Douglas Coupland has done what every creative artist longs for… He has this ability to fuse together Artistry, Literacy, Tourism and Architecture, and make a living at it. Many of us have some type of creative niche that we hope will turn into some kind of income and of course acknowledgement of our craft. It is daunting to try and understand the complexity of Mr. Douglas Copeland’s inner workings of his intellect; and I can honestly say that I am a teensy weensy bit jealous that he has this amazing ability to achieve genius, but then that is why he is who he is; a very talented and resourceful individual who can see what we may have overlooked. I have a very high regard for this enterprising gentleman and wish him much success for his future endeavors.
I had a great time at this event! I am not a person who really enjoys art, so I was a little bit nervous when I won the passes to see Douglas Coupland. I ended up having a great time!
This exhibit is built with lego, and other building kits. Seeing some of them really brought back childhood memories! It’s amazing the things that we forget, but that are stored in your mind. This exhibit brought back so many of those memories.
Coupland is a great speaker! A lot of authors tend to be dry. But Coupland has it down perfectly! He doesn’t read from cue cards, and as a result, you feel like he is being honest.
He did a great job at making me understand his vision his passion for building kits.
I recommend this exhibit! It is for everyone, young and old alike. Everyone will find something to like. Check it out!