Photographer David Cooper, Vancouver punk legend Art Bergmann named to Order of Canada
The longtime lenser of the local stage scene and the singer-songwriter were part of a New Year’s announcement of 61 new appointments
David Cooper’s gravity-defying shot of Shay Kuebler/Radical System Art’s Telemetry; the photographer at right.
LONGTIME VANCOUVER arts photographer David Cooper and Vancouver music-scene legend Art Bergmann have been named Members of the Order of Canada as part of a New Year’s round of 61 appointments by Governor-General Julie Payette.
Cooper is well-known for lensing the local arts scene for the past four decades, his subjects ranging from Arts Club Theatre Company stage shows to contemporary dancers. He was praised for “his innovative contributions to Canadian performance photography and his dedicated mentorship of emerging artists.”
Nationally, Cooper has also shot for the Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival, and Canadian Stage, as well as for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.
The photographer has been part of the local arts scene’s pandemic “pivot”, shooting several dance films, including Company 605’s Brimming at this year’s Dancing on the Edge.
Vancouver punk pioneer Art Bergmann.
Canadian punk pioneer Art Bergmann was also named to the Order, “for his indelible contribution to the Canadian punk scene, and for his thought-provoking discourse on social, gender and racial inequalities.”
Bergmann was lead singer and songwriter for the visionary first-wave-punk band Young Canadians, whose late-’70s single "Hawaii" was one of the songs that defined a Vancouver era. He went on to a solo career in the ‘90s, creating records like the seminal Sexual Roulette, which meditated on everything from drugs to depression. Bergmann now resides in rural Rocky View County, Alberta, where he is still making music.
The Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to community, and service to the nation. In November, Payette named several other Vancouver cultural leaders to the Order, including star choreographer Crystal Pite.
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