Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971

Abbott and Cordova, 7 August 1971 embodies Stan Douglas’s career-long investigation of the history of Vancouver. Douglas chose to commemorate the 1971 Gastown riot, during which a peaceful “smoke-in” against the city’s use of undercover agents and in favor of the legalization of marijuana erupted into a conflict with the police, fueled by anger over the neighborhood’s gentrification. The photograph is the product of exacting historical reconstruction involving an elaborate life-size stage set, lighting, and paid actors. To ensure historical accuracy, he also conducted extensive research, collected archival photographs, and interviewed witnesses and participants. The final image is actually a composite of fifty images digitally stitched together. It first appeared near the site as a monumental billboard image. Abbott and Cordova, 7 August 1971 is a powerful example of photography as history painting and also exemplifies photography’s new and complex creative processes in the last thirty years.