Stan Douglas (Canadian, born October 11, 1960) is an installation photographer and artist associated with the Vancouver School. Douglas was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was educated at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
The photographer’s first solo show took place in 1981. Douglas’s early works were primarily focused on the beauty of obsolete media. The concept of lost time also frequently appears in his works. In particular, Douglas often investigates the idea of stillness or slowed-down time in many of his works. Throughout his career, Douglas has been influenced by the works of Samuel Beckett. Among Douglas’s most well-known works is Win, Place or Show, which explores the concept of urban renewal. The eternal loops that are featured in this piece evoke the same use of repetition favored by Beckett, while at the same time challenging the monotony of reality.
Douglas has exhibited his works around the world, including at the Venice Biennale, and multiple documenta exhibits. His works were also included in the 1995 Carnegie International, as well as the 1995 Whitney Biennial. In addition, the photographer’s works were exhibited in the 1997 Skulptur Projekte Münster. His works frequently feature themes related to the history of cinema, literature, and music. Douglas also often examines a variety of other themes, such as obsolete technologies. He also frequently examines how and why utopian movements have failed. In addition, Douglas works to identify the larger forces that frequently prevent the expansion of local movements.
Douglas uses photography with a different purpose than other members of the Vancouver School, by working not only with video and photography but also television and film. Douglas’s photography frequently addresses the history of the installation’s location. Examples of this tendency can be seen in the large-scale photographs that reflect behind-the-scenes takes of film sets, such as those that accompany Win, Place or Show. In 2007, Douglas received the first Hnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Award. The following year he received the Bell Award in Video Art. Douglas continues to live and work in Vancouver, Canada.
