INVENTOR OF UFO H20 W. Van art defies labels ASK WEST VANCOUVER resident John Martin Gilbert what he does for a living and even he sometimes has trouble describing his work. “It’s tough,’’ admits the design- er of Expo’s popular UFO H20 attraction. ‘‘First. and foremost I’m a designer — but before that I'm an idea man.”* But what the 60-year-old Gilbert does is innovative, humorous and unusual. Using a variety of materials — some may say junk — he often takes everyday worries and anx- ieties and transforms them into objects of smiles and laughter. One of Gilbert's creations, aptly dubbed Nervous, centres around the apprehension we all feel while waiting in a doctor's office. A man, armed with a butterfly net, attempts to catch the elusive in- sects as they escape from an open door in his stomach. But not all of Gilbert’s creations stem from psychological quirks. A recent, Jarger work explores sports, notably the upcoming 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary. In the untitled piece, one of Gilbert’s larger works, the creator examines various personnel par- ticipating in the games. A timekeeper, red-faced from the cold wind, stands ready to start an unknown race. But the official doesn’t have a stop-watch, he is a stop-watch — or at least his body is. Such is Gilbert’s look at the Olympics. **I just pick a symbol and incor- porate that into the body,’’ he ex- plains. For the working stop-watch that makes up the timekeeper’s body, Gilbert used a chrome tire cover commonly found adorning the rear doors of vans. “I have a large variety of things people throw away,” he says of his working materials, One man’s junk appears to be Gilbert’s treasure. ‘I take type- ive! West Vancouy By STEPHEN BARRINGTON Contributing Weiter writers apart and so on,’” says Gilbert, whose father was an in- ventor, He recounts how his search for often unusual construction maiteri- als can earn him strange looks from unknowing vendors. Needing something round to use in con- structing a globe, Gilbert went toa local store seeking the perfect ot ject. After the bewildered sales clerk pointed out a number of potential- ly suitable round objects, Gilbert returned to the cash desk with everything she had suggested. ‘‘She kind of looked at me as if I were an oddball,’’ he remembers with a laugh. “I spend a great deal of time running around looking for mate- tials,’’ Gilbert says. But all the running around pays off for Gilbert, some of whose works are featured at Expo, the Calgary Olympics information centre and soon at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “*T pet paid very well when | do work,’’ he says. What kind of a mind creates these unusual views of the world around us? ‘‘To describe the cre- ative process is not easy,”’ explains Gilbert, a graduate of the Los Angeles Arts Centre school. “The things spring so naturally out of me that they are difficult for me to describe.”’ He unabashedly admits that he has had ‘nothing but fun’’ since he started building his creations in 1970. _ “1 don't know what my future is,’’ he says. ‘‘There was life be- fore Expo — | hope there is life after Expo.”” “a, WEST VANCOUVER artist/ de- signer/ inventor sits with a cze- ation, The Hypochondriac. The North Shore resident is well-known on the Expo site for creating the popular UFO H20 children’s play area. 25 - Friday, October 3, 1986 - North Shore News What’s going on in the community? PAGE 26 Music in Motion Norman Foote Major Conrad Flapps lan Johnstone ALL AGES $4.50 — Single Show Sundays $12.00 Series Pass 2:00 p.m. VTC/CBO & N. V. Rec Centre TARMSSENTE'S SENT ieee re