Now on in the Rotunda at Metro Hall, the second showing of ‘Focus on Our Elders’, a photo documentary project by The 6ix Clicks.
Portraits of, and interviews with, 24 Toronto seniors from diverse backgrounds.
The exhibit is only on this week, 13 to 17 August, inclusive. The Rotunda is on the ground floor of Metro Hall and the building is open from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
For more information about these interviews: 6ix Clicks website
Graffiti Alley keeps drawing me back to see if there are any changes. What is new and what has disappeared. To see who is hanging out in the lane today and have a silent chuckle or two at the tourists.
below: Sunny days in Graffiti Alley
below: Let’s Eat Sandwiches Together Forever, by elicser, seems to have been refreshed recently.
below: He’s pointing to the sky because he’s giving us a detailed weather forecast.
below: The last time that I walked down Graffiti Alley, elicser was in the midst of painting this door.
below: Hello!
below: Montreal and Toronto and the writing in between.
below: A lovebot of a different sort. Almost unrecognizable except for that heart. Only lovebot has a heart like that.
below: A large carp painted by Nick Sweetman. A fish out of water.
below: Broken window
below: Pink roses and words of love and encouragement (and a little bit of flattery). The future is bright and do more of what makes you happy.
below: A new poser bunny at Portland Place
below: Toronto Blue Jays vs. stencils are wack
below: Walking past the praying mantis which is memorial to Jesse.
below: Rat and a spray paint can can’t keep the eyes in their heads.
below: Unfortunately, part of the uber5000 wintertime Toronto mural has been tagged over.
below: Honk! honk! An uber5000 yellow bunny offers a donut
below: Starbursts (or flowers, or just interesting shapes) in pink and yellow
below: The elephant isn’t in the room, it hasn’t made it down the stairs yet.
below: A collaboration between immortalwales and kyleghostkeeper. Both are tattoo artists and they both have instagram accounts if you are interested in seeing their work.
The summer of the heat continues into August. It’s still hot and humid. But it was also the long August weekend, Simcoe Day or something like that, so there was lots happening around the city.
I went searching for breezes and I walked on the shady side of the street as much as possible, often as the drops of sweat ran down my back. A few stops in air conditioned stores (indoor window shopping) and a cold drink break or two made the days bearable. It helped that, as usual, there was lots to see!
below: Be curious … and stay curious.
below: Jumping skate boarders at Dundas and Bathurst
below: Casimir Street mural on Dundas (near Bathurst)
below: Sitting by the pool
below: A shady spot for reading.
below: A front yard full of tall yellow flowers
below: Not everyone has a green thumb. A rose is still a rose even in death.
below: An even sadder window sits behind a metal fence. Plywood. Waiting for demolition.
below: Sitting in the painted window, Graffiti Alley. It looked like they were filming a music video. I’m not too sure what they thought of me (I didn’t think that I was disturbing them, long lens used).
below: A quiet spot for a cigarette.
below: Red hot.
below: An old mattress and head board lean against the side of a house. Great juxtaposition here as the mural is called ‘Lust’
below: Jelly window on Queen West – What is a modern doughnut? Especially one spelled the old fashioned way? The store was closed, so it’s still a mystery. Beautiful painting on the door.
below: Cycling in the jungle. I say ‘jungle’ because I see the lion and think “King of the jungle” but lions don’t live in the jungle so maybe I need to rethink that caption. Cyclist as prey? Bikes on safari?
below: Prince is now at Kensington Market. A purple Prince.
below: Graffiti in Kensington. Frowning while watching them fight. Little black figures with rifles. Are they angels that are shooting back or devils?
below: More violence. What happens when you pull this pin?
below: It’s wedding season which mean wedding photo season. Picture perfect.
below: Or maybe even wondering why? (I hope not!)
below: Honest graffiti
below: Blue wall in rectangles of glass.
below: Missing a black glove anyone? Tucked behind the wire.
below: Lots of wires.
below: Reflections and lots of stuff including the painted lady in the House of Energy, Augusta Avenue. Life.
below: Death. How many skulls in the window?
below: Lots of smiles
I’ll be smiling more once the temperatures cool. I think that it’s been hot long enough that I can complain about it – perhaps even long for winter? How Canadian of me! In the meantime, as long as there is shade I’ll keep walking (and sweating!).
below: Waiting for the green light.
The brains are back! Close to 50 brains decorated by different artists can be seen in about a dozen locations around this city throughout the summer.
This year they are 2-dimensional, not three. They are much flatter. Above, making an interesting companion to the fabulous pink dress is “Enigmatic Glitter” by Donald and Elaine Rafelman Creative Arts Studio at Baycrest. When we picture art together it lights a spark and evokes a glitter of hope.
below: At Nathan Phillips Square, from left to right: “Pop Art” by Mary Ann Grainger, “No Brainer #Repainthistory” by Andrea Bolley, “Neon Future” by Steve Aoki, “Get Me Out! by Hate Copy (aka Maria Qamar), “Mental Vacation ” by Birdo, and “My Mind is Swimming” by Gina Godfrey.
below: “Power in Growth” by Amy Jeffreys in the Distillery District. Persevere and grow. Every human is capable of harnessing strength from their weaknesses. In this piece, the tangled roots represent the inner struggles and complexity of one’s thoughts.
below: “Memory” by Colin Nun at Nathan Phillips Square. “This type-based piece represents disconnect, dead ends, and memories lost to brain disease. It is inspired by the loss of the artist’s grandfather to Alzheimer’s disease and was created as a tribute to his memory. Take a close look to find a hidden word in the piece. What do you see?”
below: “The Mind’s Eye” by Dave Bagley at Yonge and St. Clair. Concentric rings of birds, fish, and diamonds radiate from the center.
below: Close up of the above, clearly showing the two seahorses in the center as well as the repeating yellow fish and blue birds. According to the artist, “I believe all of humankind share an organic Wi-fi that connects everyone, all we need to do is turn on the switch… is yours on?”
below: “Puzzled” by Harm Huibers on Grist Mill Lane in the Distillery District. The design of the brain is complex and intricate; when it’s complete, it’s a beautiful puzzle. Diseases like Alzheimers take pieces out of the puzzle.
The project is sponsored by Yogen Fruz and Pinkberry and is in support of the Baycrest Foundation. Baycrest, a leader in research into brain health and aging, is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
You can find pictures of all of the 2018 brains online at the brainproject.ca as well as descriptions of the brains and the artists behind their creation.
What are words? How do we use them?
below: “Excuses injurieuses” 2007, by June Clark. One of her “Wine and Tea” pieces. It consists of the words Invective and Apology written over and over again starting from the top left corner and moving inwards toward the center. Instead of a spiral it is a pyramid shape. Perhaps it rises upwards, or perhaps it sinks down. It’s only 40cm x 40 cm so the words are tiny. I’d love to know how many words there are but I think that I’d be screaming profanities before I finished counting. What I can tell you is that the pair of words ‘invective apology’ is written 32 times on the outer square. If invective is a noun that means, expletive, or abusive language, what does ‘invective apology’ mean and is that the same as the french title, ‘Excuses injurieuses’?
June Clark was born in Harlem NY but moved to Toronto in 1968. At the moment, the AGO is featuring some of her work. For whatever reason, I was more attracted to the pieces with words.
below: More of Clark’s “Wine and Tea” series, 2007. Each one is a 40cm x 40 cm square and they are made with wine, tea and paper except for the one on the top left. It is “Poubelle Lune” and the circle is a rusted lid that fits in a circle that has been cut out of the canvas.
below: Close up of another of the eight squares, a collage of sorts, the silhouettes of two people (men?) in front of flags, one American and one ? Titled: “All Some Many”. If you look closely, you can see small words cut out of newspapers or magazines, some, all.
below: The next two photos are panels from “Formative Triptych” 1989/1990. The first one says “I always imagine that I never received anything as a child, but I do remember being disappointed that the chocolate Easter Bunny was hollow and then of course there was the red broom and dustpan set.”
below: The words say “I decided that I must become so famous and so recognizable so the they could never let me die in an emergency room.”
below: More collage and more words, this time it’s “Homecominghome”, words on paper towel. Words like proactive, dulled integrity, impotent, hostage, elation, victim, underwhelmed, illusion, and satisfied surface desires. These are only some, there were many more, each in their own little black frame. Paper towel, that stuff we use once and then throw away. Can we throw away the words? Or what is behind the words? Do we want to?
Actually there was a story about why paper towels were used – “…was made during a residency in New York City. I had been cleaning the space so it was empty aside from paper towels. It was a way of dealing with my emotions around how I felt living back in Harlem. Cutting out the words, I felt like I was captive but free – a sort of ransom situation, of calls for help and demands for responsibility. ” Quote taken from the words on the wall at the exhibit.
Words are fascinating.
June Clark’s work is on exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario until December 2018.
And while we’re on the subject of words and the AGO, there is a whole room of panels like the one below. This is “Jack and the Jack Paintings: Jack Goldstein and Ron Terada”
Goldstein was an artist who published his memoirs in 2003, just before he committed suicide. Terada has taken words from the book and made them into 14 panels, sorry, I mean test-based paintings. They are Goldstein’s words? Or are they now Terada’s words? Whose story are they telling?
below: A large painting by Jack Goldstein (lightning) and four of the panels by Ron Terada.
The Jack exhibit continues until 16 September.
More words!
below: You’re awesome!
below: Embrace peculiarity
below: Love will win 🙂
below: I love you!
below: A mural with a pink skate boarding raccoon with a hockey stick and a Blue Jays baseball cap. Also words of encouragement (or at least that’s how I’m going to interpret them today), Keep Pushin. It’s actually an ad for Kadence World, a store that is opening up on Ossington, a place where art, music, and skate boarding all converge.
below: And last, a final Buh Bye
People watching at Kensington Pedestrian Sunday
below: The Spontaneous Poet, poet 4 hire
below: #whatsvictorupto painting the word ‘together’ on the sidewalk.
