Hippie Chick by Dana Claxton launches April 18 on YouTube and runs April 18 to 30 on the Canada Line video screens. One of 13 new public art projects commissioned by the City of Vancouver’s Public Art Program for Vancouver 125, Hippie Chick celebrates Vancouver’s history of counter-culture using archival footage from the first Easter Be-In held illegally in Stanley Park in 1967.

The human “be-ins” were gatherings of hippies, a vocal and growing subculture rejecting the conservative values of the status quo. Claxton’s focus on the undulating movements of a hippie chick with long flowing hair suggests that one of the streams in the hippie movement’s demand for social change was manifested through creative expression and collective dance. The female body is self-realized through the right to dance freely.

The black/white film, unearthed from the CBC archives and shot by Stan Fox, signals the launch of 10 Seconds, a commissioned series celebrating Vancouver 125 and presented on the Canada Line April 2011 to March 2012. 10 Seconds will feature a new work each month, playing every 2 minutes over the commuter digital network to over 100,000 commuters per day.

Dana Claxton is an interdisciplinary artist creating works in film, video, photography, installation and performance that has garnered international recognition. She is represented by the Winsor Gallery, Vancouver. She is also active as a curator and she teaches Advanced Digital Arts and Performance Art at UBC. www.danaclaxton.com

Curated by Paul Wong and presented by On Main in partnership with InTransitBC, 10 Seconds is commissioned by the City of Vancouver Public Art Program with the support of Vancouver 125 and the participation of the Government of Canada.

YouTube: www.youtube.com/offonmain
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/On-Main/200712499969520/

For more information:
vancouver.ca/publicart or [email protected]

On April 30th at 1:30 pm join Canadian Art Foundation Gallery Hop for Paul Wong in conversation with Carol-Ann Ryan at the Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain Station (Granville/Georgia).