I’m a big fan of Svend-Erik Eriksen’s photography of Vancouver in the ’70s. Last week I called him up and asked how he got started.
Photo: Svend-Erik Eriksen
Erik, is an animator by trade, but his interest in photography goes back to the 1950s when he was a kid in Namu, BC. His parents had immigrated from Denmark and sponsored a Hungarian refugee family who lived with them for a year. “Mr. Frank had a dark room and when I saw pictures emerging in the developer tray, I was just gob smacked. I thought this was incredible.” When Erik was about 12 he moved to the Lower Mainland and saved up and bought a Nikon camera.
Vancouver School of Art:
In 1969, Erik was a first-year student focusing on photography, painting and animation at the Vancouver School of Art. “In those days animation was very laborious and required a lot of technical skill, the technical end of photography came naturally,” he says.
After he graduated, an animation project he was working on needed backgrounds of city streets. Erik got up one early Sunday morning in July 1973 and walked from Main to Columbia taking photos.
“I walked all the way down to Woodwards turned and walked all the way back taking photos every ten feet or so,” he says. The NFB film was never aired and the negatives languished in Erik’s drawer for the next couple of decades until he found that someone was doing an analysis of the deterioration of Hastings Street and was looking for photos.
“I had to dig for them. They were all scratched up and full of dust and mildew because they were never meant to be art, they were meant to be utilitarian.”
Unfinished Business:
Erik scanned the negatives, cleaned them up and started stitching them together. When Bill Jeffries, curator at Presentation House in North Vancouver heard about them he asked if he could include them in his upcoming group show: Unfinished Business: Vancouver Street Photographers 1955 to 1985.
Unfortunately, I missed the show in 2003, but I do have the book and it’s filled with some of my favourite photographers: Michael de Courcy, Greg Girard, Curt Lang, Jeff Wall, Paul Wong, Bruce Stewart, Tony Westman and Henri Robideau. Erik’s beautiful panoramas are prominently placed between Fred Herzog and Ian Wallace.
I asked Erik if he thought of himself as a street photographer.
“No, not really, I consider myself a very eclectic photographer. I work mostly by intuition, I walk around and I take pictures. I don’t actually analyze it too much. It’s very organic, I don’t try and make art.”
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24 comments on “The Photography of Svend-Erik Eriksen”
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of readers. Very interesting indeed. I did not know of Mr. Eriksen’s work. He is too modest. he should publish a book of selected photos.
Dr. William Ellis
Dept. of Liberal Arts
SFU
I couldn’t agree more! Thanks for stopping by
Back in the day the NFB had a production office in Vancouver, where my sister Mary Annderson worked and knew Svend well… Ive been on facebook with Svend Erik for years, and Ive sent her his photos as he has used them on line recently but this story has made her day !! Thanks Eve!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know and for passing the blog along to Mary.
It is a treat to see these B&W photos by Svend-Erik. When I started my career as a bus driver in 1969, I drove through this area. Before I started my evening shift I often had dinner at the Only Seafoods or the Green Door on the back lane, and visited Woodward’s Food Floor bakery for a snack later. The giant Wosk’s neon sign featured period appliances over the canopy. The Pierre Paris shoe store interior was a trip back in time. Woolworth’s three downtown stores were large, and adjacent to Woodward’s, Eaton’s on Hastings and The Bay on Granville. They had busy Luncheonettes. The first time I saw “Gone With the Wind” was at the Pantages as shown here while named City Nights Theatre.
I visited the 2003 Street Photographers show and was surprised to see how many people had documented the City. “Unfinished Business” is a wonderful time capsule of Vancouver fifty years ago.
Hi Angus! I recently donated a menu from Woodward’s “Luncheonette” to the Vancouver Archives which was probably from the early 1960’s. It’s interesting how some words come and go — one of them is “Luncheonette”. I worked at the Woolworth’s near 14th and Granville in the late 60’s as the stock boy. Unfortunately, it did not have a “luncheonette”. I doubt that the word “stock boy” is used much either now.
I don’t recall the Woolworth luncheonettes (I love that word!) but I worked at Woodward’s Oakridge in the 70s in the electronics department, which was housed in a separate building at the far end of the mall from the main store. Which made it a bit of a hike to get back there and back within a 20 minute coffee break. But right next door was an S.S. Kresge’s, which had the most wonderful long luncheonette, where we always went at coffee break.
It was a great place, staffed by career waitresses with names like Marg (hard G), Ruth Ann, and Bette. The counter was a yellow Formica, with chrome edgings, and about 20 round red, chromed stools. And two big milkshake makers.
How I wished I had photographed it.
Those luncheonettes were of a certain time and won’t be seen again.
Hi Daryl
It’s Harry Chow. I grew up at Powell and Main until 1961 and my dad was part owner on Wing Lung, a Chinese store on Pender Street. I remember my mother taking me to the White! Lunch on Hastings and one on Granville!
Thank you for posting these! I love looking at the old Hastings st photos, brings back good memories. I notice there weren’t as many people then
Wow! I am not a FB friend of Svend but I have seen many of his posts and occasionally corresponded with him. I simply had no idea he had done this level of documentation of the city. Perhaps he is too modest.
I moved here in 1979 and did some documentation of the city but I feel it was far too little, looking back on it and particularly considering how much has been swept away since Expo.
If anything, I have learned from that and I do what I can to document places and things which I have heard are on their way out (Salamagundi West, Tosi & Co.) plus some of the more ephemeral things, like murals and graffiti…
Love the memories that this post rekindles. Pretty sure there was a Woolworths just North of Hudsons Bay downtown. Lunch counter in the basement that my grandmother took me to.
The Wosks on E Hastings was in the same block as the Grand Union Hotel. I worked at CPT 44 W Pender from 1974 till 1995 CP moved to POCO when displaced by EXPO. I spent much of my early adult life between CP Woodwards, The Lotus Hotel, The Grand Union, The Only , Lubicks Cafe (bacon and eggs 75 cents) Marco Polo on pay days.
People with cameras and the equipment to develop and print film were pretty rare at that time. It’s totally great to have Erik’s record of those days, and a bonus that he’s so unpretentious about his art.
Wow Eve its great to see so many comments and thanks to all for their personal remembrances. What a handle Angus McIntyre! I grew up in upper Shaughnessy and remember going to Woolworths lunch counter at Oakridge. Woodwards then also had their own cafe downstairs where id have the shrimp on toasted bread sandwich still my fav. The Pantages. Sad not one of their buildings survive. I think. I must note any Expo comments are in a negative manner though not explicit. The Neon City we could have become but ended up Mall of America instead. Thanks JimmyPattison. NOT!
Great pictures . I worked at Fred Ashers on Hastings across from Murray Goldman the opposition in the clothing business. In 1970 started driving bus . Busy street then Woodwards 1.49 day was a zoo
Thank you for posting these pictures . It reminds me of the days when Vancouver was a vibrant working mans town .I was not aware of Erik’s wonderful photos , until now . Our family lived at Peveril and 26 th . The Beebe family built houses in the 40s and early 50s , and owned a local Garage door and gate business as well for over 30 years . Many Pictures that I am still going through .
Hi Eve. Thanks for publishing this information. Great photos. I would love to get a compiled book of those pictures (like ‘Unfinished Business’) you mentioned. Any suggestions?
Yes, absolutely I do. Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History is coming out this fall. It’s a big full-colour book packed full of archival photos, then and nows and ephmera. And, if you preorder before August 31, you’ll get 15% off and a signed copy https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/V/Vancouver-Exposed
Svend is great! We met at least once, and I have followed him ever since. I didn’t know about the animation background though. Thanks for the post!
Pierre Paris still in business on First Avenue, near Boundary Road
Well, isn’t that awesome!
What a great shot of the old Pantages Theatre. Would love to see some more street level stuff of that vintage of the theatre and the Regent Hotel next door.
Thanks Ron. Actually I do have some great photos coming out in my new book Vancouver Exposed this fall!
Looking forward Eve!
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