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June 16, 2006
Perspectives on a paradise
Cornelia Hahn Oberlander's landscape designs captured in photos.
MONIKA ULLMANN
The rain was pelting down on the sloping glass roof of the Elliott
Louis Gallery, a jazz trio was laying down a sophisticated beat
and there was the excited murmur of a large crowd.
June 8 marked the launch of an international touring exhibition
of the landscape designs of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, as seen through
the lens of German photographer Etta Gerdes. Not only was it the
opening of the show, but also the fifth anniversary of the gallery.
And for once, our ambition to be a world-class city rang true.
Gallery director Ted Lederer paid tribute to his distinguished guests
and to the equally distinguished history of the gallery itself,
which was designed by Arthur Erickson as part of the Waterfall Building
project.
Oberlander has worked on public projects with practically all the
big names in architecture – Erickson, Moshe Safdie and Renzo
Piano, among others – in both the United States and Canada.
She was one of the first women to break into a male-dominated field
and one of the first students to graduate from the Harvard Graduate
School of Design. Since then, she has had a stellar career, shaping
landscape into what Gerdes described as "small paradises."
The photographer captured these in serene images of deceptive simplicity,
rendered in immaculate cibachrome prints in editions of five. Displayed
in simple, blond wood frames, these images draw the viewer in. One
wants to stay in these enchanted spaces.
Highly respected as a pioneer in sustainable, innovative landscape
design, Oberlander's most prominent projects include the Canadian
Chancery in Washington, D.C., the New York Times Building now under
construction in New York and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
Closer to home, another of her recent projects is the biblical garden
at King David High School.
Separated by more than two generations, Oberlander and Gerdes nonetheless
clicked in the timeless realm where art and nature intersect. About
working with Gerdes, Oberlander said, "I had to learn to see
my work differently – it was a very interesting experience."
The young photographer, who makes her home in Dortmund, Germany,
where she studied photography at the local Fachhochschule (Technical
University), said that she would like to come back to Vancouver
to stay for a longer period of time. "I love it here,"
she commented, "and I was lucky – when I took the photographs,
it didn't rain once."
The show is running concurrently with other major architectural
events, notably the World Urban Forum, which is headed by Oberlander's
husband, Peter. The exhibition will be in Vancouver until June 22,
before travelling to Yellowknife and then back to Germany and possibly
Switzerland.
During a short address, Oberlander gave credit to the genius of
Erickson and Safdie and talked about her own discipline. "A
landscape can only be contextualized if you understand the buildings,"
she observed.
Vancouverites have been lucky to benefit from her understanding
for years – and this exhibition makes that clear.
Monika Ullmann is a Vancouver freelance writer and editor.
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