Interesting dude, Curt Lang:
Curt Lang (1937–1998) carved a meteoric path through the Vancouver cultural scene from the 1950s to the 1990s; that path had many twists and turns, all of which are chronicled in Claudia Cornwall’s recently published book At the World’s Edge: Curt Lang’s Vancouver.
Lang’s major intersection with photography came in 1972, when a group of artists formed the Leonard Frank Memorial Society. The group received a grant under the federal LIP program to document ordinary British Columbia places and situations that would have normally been overlooked. The 32 photographs in this exhibition are a small selection drawn from Lang’s vision of Vancouver as he saw it in that year — half the images are streets and exteriors; the other half cafés and shops.
You can see for yourself March 15 to July 13 when the SFU Art Gallery mounts “Curt Lang: Vancouver 1972 at the Teck Gallery (515 West Hastings), end of the concourse:
A symposium on Curt Lang’s photography, followed by a walking tour of the exhibition, will be held on Wednesday May 9, 7pm. Room 1600, SFU Vancouver, 515 W. Hastings Street. Speakers: Claudia Cornwall, Gordon Cornwall, Bill Jeffries and Greg Lang.
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Curt Lang, 1710 Commercial Drive as it was in 1972
OK. I’m biting on the bait.
While I’ve dug fairly deeply through the VPL’s online collection as well as other websites, it’s been a challenge to find Curt Lang’s photographs and, when I find them, I must admit that I’ve not been too impressed, aside from his “Cafe Men.” Regardless, I want to be excited by the news of another photographer, like Fred Herzog, who was devoted to documenting the streets of Vancouver.
From my research, apparently the Vancouver Public Library has some 12,000 of Lang’s photos in their special collections. Lang’s work is also held by the Vancouver Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada’s Museum of Contemporary Photography. So, there must be something to see, right?
While I’ve read that Lang has been billed as a street photographer, like our local legend Fred Herzog. At this point, I can’t tell if this is hype or if there is something more substantial to Lang’s body of work. Needless to say, as a passionate practicing street photographer in Vancouver and a big fan of Herzog’s legacy and the city he photographed, I’ll be sure to visit the Teck. We can only hope the 32 images on display will be enlightening of an earlier time in our city.
Thanks for the heads up!
Hi John,
Glad to see you’re interested in Curt. I encourage you to look at my book, “At the World’s Edge,” which has more about his life and many pursuits! Photography was one of his many passions.