Douglas Coupland show covers Anything and Everything
Gen X artist mines technology's omni-presence in 21st Century
Not happy that Birdman took home Oscar’s top prize?
Canadian artist and author Douglas Coupland thinks he knows why a movie about an aging actor was named best picture at Sunday’s 2015 Academy Awards. In a nutshell: blame our hyper-connected world.
“There is a real nostalgia for continuity … or biological time,” he said, pointing out that Boyhood, this year’s other main Oscar contender, was also about the passage of time.
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From the CBC Archies: Douglas Coupland on Girlfriend in a Coma
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Q | Douglas Coupland reflects on the first major survey of his work
Coupland, who himself is now 53, has made a career of tapping into the current trends and moods underlying our culture. The Order of Canada recipient first shot to fame by popularizing the term Generation X 24 years ago.
Today, Coupland is still mining the zeitgeist. He has a brand new book, The Age of Earthquakes, which he describes as a "guidebook for the modern condition." He is even planning a collaboration with technology behemoth Google, although he’s keeping those details under wraps.
"We can’t announce it until April," he said.
We’re actually in not a bad place ... You look back after 10, 15, 20 years and you know what, [you realize] this is actually pretty good.— Douglas Coupland
Walking through his current exhibit Everywhere is Anywhere is Anything is Everything at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, Coupland is clearly focused on a topic that seems more prevalent than ever: how people function in an increasingly hyper-connected, caffeinated world where there’s little time to adapt to change.
"I'm actually starting to forget my pre-internet brain," Coupland said. "It's not like I'm super productive, but I've missed those quiet spots and I think a lot of people maybe do."
“It’s not like technology’s going to take a holiday for a year or two and we can all just have a break,” Coupland said. “We’re just sort of locked into this roller coaster ride now.”
Talking to Coupland is a bit of a roller coaster too. In a wide-ranging interview, he touches on privacy, the environment, Facebook, China, Marshall McLuhan, the human brain, 9-11 and dead bees.
Yes, dead bees.
“Oh they’re sprinkled here and there,” Coupland said, pointing to one of his art installations, a dense cityscape littered with environmental woes. “There’s a little pile of them there, being lifted in by a crane.”
At first blush, Coupland’s work might sound pretty glum. But the quirky, colourful exhibits hint at an underlying optimism.
“Oh… we’re actually in not a bad place,” Coupland said. “You look back after 10, 15, 20 years and you know what, [you realize] this is actually pretty good.”
You can watch Wendy Mesley’s full interview with Douglas Coupland on The National on Friday night at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT).