The Naked Boy and The Family find new home on Granville Island
After a couple of decades in Surrey, the Naked Boy is heading back to Vancouver. And so is his family.
Their new home is Granville Island, albeit the exact location hasn’t been nailed down just yet.
Generations of Vancouverites will remember the Naked Boy from an iconic/infamous Jack Harman sculpture that stood in front of the old Pacific Press Building at Sixth and Granville from 1966 to 1997.
The Family also depicted a father and mother, with a babe in her arms. But most people remember it because the son wasn’t clothed, which was controversial back then.
When the Pacific Press building was sold in 1997 the statue was installed at the then-Pacific Press printing plant in Surrey. Since 2015 it has been in storage.
Last November, The Vancouver Sun and Province announced the statue needed a new home. David McCann thought Granville Island was perfect.
“Just on a whim I thought I’d write and (offer) to put them in the garden at the Creekhouse,” said McCann, who manages Creekhouse Industries, which has several buildings on the Island. “I bumped into (Sun and Province editor) Harold Munro at a charity event and he loved the idea of having it on Granville Island, which is one of the most amazing people places in the world.”
“We are so grateful to find such a marvellous new home for The Family, and for the tremendous support shown by the Granville Island community,” said Munro. “Granville Island is an iconic destination for Lower Mainland residents and tourists, drawing millions of visitors every year to the eclectic mix of shops, restaurants and artisans.”
The statue was originally supposed to be moved in March, but it was delayed because of the COVID-19 breakout. Finally on Thursday morning the three-piece artwork was lifted onto two flatbed trucks by a forklift and driven to the old Emily Carr building on Granville Island.
“We’ll refurbish them there and then finalize the plans for the location and the design on
Granville Island,” said McCann. “Hopefully they’ll be installed on July 31, 2021, which is Jack Harman’s birthday. And mine as well!”
It was pretty tricky to move the huge statues.
“The father of the group stands 12 feet, six inches high and weighs 1,700 pounds,” said a Vancouver Sun story the day they were unveiled on July 7, 1966. “The mother, holding a baby, is 11 feet, six inches and weighs 1,600 pounds; the teenage son is nine feet tall and weighs 600 pounds.”
McCann originally hoped to hoist the statues with a crane on the back of the Coastal Pacific Ventures truck that transported them. But they were lying like mummies in a relatively narrow storage space.
So he went next door to
Lordco, and forklift operator Carol Bott volunteered to help. “It was definitely a little bit more challenging than my regular moves every day,” laughed Bott.
After placing a wooden pallet under the father, Bott dragged the statue out with the forklift. The pallet was then centred under the statue, and Bott lifted the entire kit and caboodle onto the flatbed. Then she repeated the process with the mother and son.
Munro notes that Granville Island is near the statue’s original location at Sixth and Granville. And he thinks it’ll probably be as popular as ever. “It’s exciting that soon Island visitors will be able to stop and pose for photos with The Family,” he said.