Archive for the ‘locations’ Category

wandering again

Posted: June 27, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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I wandered away again.

This time I went to Rochester New York where I discovered a lot of great murals!
You can find more on their own page.

 

mural of a woman, very realistic looking, lying on her side with her eyes closed. It covers two garage doors.

lovebot goes to Montreal, and so do I

Posted: June 16, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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MuralFest 2015 in Montreal – a few wonderful sunny days walking around Montreal.  Lots to see and do!  I spotted a few lovebots while I was there including this one:

a black lovebot sticker on a black pole with a bike parked against that pole and a pink and purple mural of faces behind in the background

More lovebot in Montreal pics on this site.

More Montreal (mostly street art and MuralFest) pics, also this site.

magical garden

Posted: June 12, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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The Magical Garden, by Broadview Community Youth Group and Wallnoise

sign on a painted fence in a park that says 'The Magical Garden by Broadview Community Youth Group'

in a park just north of the Danforth between Ferrier and Logan.

street art painting of a bright green and yellow mouse head

One wall features four murals created by members of the youth group.

mural of a marine life scene with mostly jellyfish, octopus and fish
On a fence in a park - a mural, or collage, abstract flowers made of circles and squares in many bright colours.

Close up of part of a mural, or collage, abstract flowers made of circles and squares in many bright colours.

Mural done by a youth group of birds in the branches of a large tree

Mural done by a youth group of many different kinds of animals

giraffe and two butterflies

 Local street artists have decorated the other fences in the park as well as a couple of garage doors in the lane adjacent to the park.

park fence with house behind, fence is painted with street art

in the foreground is a garage with two pieces of street art, a little green monster on a red background, and half a butterfly

Graffiti street art mural on the side of a garage, a pair of wolves howling at the sunset on the left, and a large light blue dog head on the right

mural of a butterfly on the corner of a garage, one half of the butterfly is on the front of the garage and the other half of the graffiti butterfly is on the side of the garage

Fat round fish with big eyes and sharp teeth - looks a bit like a monster, swimming on a blue garage door in a lane.

Street art painting of a pink cat head on a fence with a cutout brown and black cat above it.

 

Hurricane Hazel under St. Phillips

Posted: June 12, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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More art under another bridge over the Humber Recreational Trail, this time as the trail passes under St. Phillips Road (near Weston Rd and the 401).

Painted by Gabriel Specter and Dan Bergeron, it represents the energy of a hurricane.  Sixty years ago Hurricane Hazel was responsible for flooding of the Humber River that killed people and destroyed many homes.

below:  A purple graphic representation of a cyclone beside swirling water is the backdrop for the red slinky-like spiraling energy of the hurricane.

Mural of swirling water and a tangled spiral shape in red representing a hurrican rising from the eye of the storm upwards to the underside of the road

This spiral crosses under the road and connects the two side murals.

Mural on a concrete support of a bridge over a trail. rocks on blue, with a tangled spiral shape in red representing a hurricane rising from the rocks (or ending at the rocks) and passing upwards to the under side of the road above.

part of a mural under a bridge - a tangled spiral shape in red representing a hurrican rising from the eye of the storm upwards to the underside of the road

Fourteen murals are planned along the route of the Pan Am Path, a trail that will connect Brampton to Pickering running south along the Humber River and then east along Lake Ontario.

signs along the HUmber Recreational trail indicating the name of the trail, the cycle path number that it is, the fact that it is also the Pan Am Path, and lastly a sign that says dogs must be on a leash.

an old Mimico bridge

Posted: June 8, 2015 in locations, public art
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This railway bridge is on Royal York Rd, south of Evans Ave. and close to the Mimico GO station.  The mural that is there was painted in 2005 and is now showing signs of age.  A lot of the paint is peeling badly.

A man checks his phone while walking past a mural under a bridge

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - a group of young people standing in front of some tall buildings as well as some head shapes with words on them.

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - a multiracial group of 5 young men also two fists coming together in the forground, one dark brown and one light brown. The word respect is written on one of the arms.

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - railway workers including a close up of a person's head - wearing a railway cap

part of an old mural where the paint is starting to peel - a railway locomotive with a workman beside it.
colourful street art on the side of a bridge

Project of Lamp Community Health Center,
funded by City of Toronto Graffiti Transformation Project,
with thanks to Mimico Residents Association, United Way, and Toronto Community Housing.

where the 401 passes over the Humber River

Posted: May 29, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Highway 401 passes over the Humber River just west of Weston Road. Beside the river is the Humber Recreational Trail that follows the river.  Just south of the 401 there is a break in the trail because of the train tracks so a short detour via Weston Road is needed if  you want to continue walking.  Otherwise, the trail runs south to Lake Ontario and north to the city limits at Steeles Ave.

Just north of the 401 is Pine Point park and that is where I went to access the bridge under the 401.   It is a big bridge with a lot of concrete surfaces.  In other words, it is a large canvas for street art.

The most eastern wall of concrete has been painted with a mural by Shalak, Smoky and Fiya as part of the the Pan Am Path.  The path is a “legacy” from the Pan Am games and will result in a trail the goes from Brampton to Pickering.   Most of this path will incorporate existing trails but new sections are also being built.   Anyhow, the mural consists of two women lying on a bed of flowers, one at each end of the bridge.  Both are holding a white mask.  In the middle is a heart and a pair of lovebirds on the branch of a tree.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, looking along the length of the wall with a woman's head lying on a bed of pink flowers in the foreground.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, a hand holding a white mask.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, an anatomical painting of a heart that looks #D, surrounded by a yellow circle

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, two green lovebirds on a tree branch, with a background of multicoloured diamond shapes arranged concentrically

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, a hand is holding a white mask.

part of a mural on a concrete wall under a bridge under the 401 in Toronto, looking along the south end of the wall with a woman's head lying on a bed of pink flowers in the foreground.

 Facing the above wall, and on the other side of the trail, is a wall that has recently been painted by a group of street artists.  A picture is better than my attempts at translation!

graffiti signatures, tags, on a wall beside a large red and black tag. Smoky, Shalak, Own, HEC, Ren, Mska, ctr, wey, wisper are some of the ones that I can read.

 The following photos are from that wall.

large grominator street art painting, along with a small lovebot

a little lovebot in the mouth of a large grominator, a close up of details of a larger painting.

street art picture of a poser bunny with an outstretched skinny arm pointing to the left. He's on a large intricate tag.

part of a mural under a bridge - lovebot, a giant light blue lovebot swirls on a wall

part of a mural under a bridge - a wacky white face with open mouth. One hand of the creature is holding a sign that says 69 and the other hand has one finger pointed upwards

part of a mural under a bridge - large mantishrimp creature with long antennae (tentacles?) emerging from behind a tag

part of a mural under a bridge - two paintings. On the right is a very realistic growling wild cat (bobcat) wearing a blue and white baseball cap. On the left is a large spray paint can with a picture of a seated person on it. A large red dragon is behind that person, although the head of the dragon is coming forward above the person's head

part of a mural under a bridge - a tag in oranges blues and purples

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, a very large rooster in profile with its tail feathers reaching to the top right of the picture

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, a human like figure, with South American influences, lying on its side, the word WASTOID written across its belt

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, a large toucan head with a pink beak and yellow and orange head plume

part of a mural under the 401 in Toronto, tag like painting with a white hand, an eye and a small pyramid

part of a mural under a bridge - a large multi coloured wolf head that is in the process of being painted. A woman is positioning a ladder so that she can paint the upper parts of the piece.

part of a mural under a bridge - a large multi coloured wolf head

There are at least four more walls in this underpass.  Running parallel to the trail (all the photos above) is a tunnel like part of the underpass to the west.  There is no trail or river in this section, just dirt and rocks.   There is some older graffiti on the walls here as well as the beginnings of newer paintings.  I think that the plan is to complete these walls too.  In the meantime, this is a sample of what’s there now.

graffiti painting - Lovecat and a Japanese girl in pink kimono hiding her face behind a blue fan. A cute little blue bunny is in the bottom right.

lovebot genie painting on a concrete wall.

mural painting on a wall, looks like a green zombie head coming out of the ground. photo taken from a low angle

street art - a memorial in greys, a man with a tear on his cheek is holding a skull

a yellow grominator street art painting, bulging veiny eyes and many crooked sharp teeth

 And lastly, along the river edge

street art on a concrete bridge support, reflected in the river beside it is a yellow lovebot as well as some large tag letters

#turbanup

Posted: May 17, 2015 in events, locations
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This afternoon at Yonge Dundas Square,
Turbanup, presented by the Sikh Youth Federation.

There were many people there helping to wrap

Passersby have stopped to watch a an is wrapping a red turban around a young woman's head.

and many colours of fabric to choose from.

People in turbans are at a table sorting and folding purple and pink and blue fabric that is available for making turbans with.

A young man having his head wrapped in a dark blue turban. His eyes are closed. Close up shot.

Two men sitting in chairs while having their heads wrapped in a turban, one purple and one orange.

A man is wrapping a light blue turban around a young woman's head.

A man in a bright yellow T shirt is sitting in a chair while another man wraps an orange turban around his head. To the right, an older man is waiting his turn to get a turban.

A man is grimacing while having a yellow turban wrapped around his head (and into his eyes) by an older Sikh man with a a dark red turban.

A black woman with long hair is having her head wrapped in a turquoise turban

Three men in their new turbans are standing together while a fourth man is taking their picture.

bolts of many different colours of cloth being folded by some people

legs, we walk on them

Posted: May 15, 2015 in locations, people, public art
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Figures and Models of Surfaces,
by Isabelle Wenzel,
on King St. West at John (by Metro Hall).
Part of CONTACT Photography Festival.

Six people walking on a sidewalk. They are walking past a row of large pictures of legs in various strange poses on bodies with no upper parts.

“I’ve got two legs from my hips to the ground
And when I move ’em they walk around
And when I lift ’em they climb the stairs
And when I shave ’em they ain’t got hairs.”

 “I’ve Got Two Legs” by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam

That’s the sort of thing that went through my head as I took these photos.

A man in brown pants and a brown and white striped shirt is holding a drink in his hand as he walks past two large pictures of legs.

a man's leg and black boot stick out from under a picture of a woman's leg with a yellow shoe, on a bright orange background. A man is sitting on a ledge behind the photo.

All photos are self-portraits of the photographer.
Legs as sculptural elements – colour, shape and composition.
Legs as objects – objectification of the legs is now complete.

people in front of 4 large photos of legs by Isabelle Wenzel. A couple are saying goodbye, two men in suits are walking together, a woman is looking at the pictures as she walks past and another woman is walking out of the photo on the right.

These legs were made for walking.  Not.
Just walk on by.
More silly thoughts as I watch people walk past the pictures.

Two young women are alking past a few large, larger than life photos of legs. The women have their arms up in the air.

below:  The blue tones of Metro Hall provide a backdrop.

A tall bluish colored glass building with a sidewalk in front. Along the sidewalk is a row of short young trees with new leaves. There is also a row of large photos of legs on the sidewalk between the building and the street.

Fun.  Great installation.

Edouard’s Toronto

Posted: May 15, 2015 in locations, public art
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Edouard
a CONTACT photography festival exhibit,
VIA Rail Concourse (i.e. where the trains depart from)

Edouard LeBouthillier documented his life in Toronto in the 1970’s and early 1980’s with Polaroid pictures.  On the back of the photos he noted dates and places.  He also took pictures of Toronto buildings and landmarks that were newly constructed or in the process of being torn down (e.g. the old Eatons store at Yonge & Dundas).

There are two exhibits of his work being shown at CONTACT this year.  The first, shown below, is on the east side of the VIA Rail Concourse of Union Station where a number of large prints are on display.  If you have trouble finding them, look for VIA platforms 12 and 13.

A second Edouard exhibit is at Art Metropole (1490 Dundas West) and it consists of some of the original polaroids that show his domestic life.

below:  At new City Hall.
In front of the tulip garden on the left and lying by the fountain on the right.

large photographic prints on display at Union Station

large photographic prints on display at Union Station

below: Edouard was at the CNE on the 17th of August 1977.

large photographic prints on display at Union Station

below: On the left is Ed’s Wacky Wirld store, 1977

large photographic prints on display at Union Station

under the Millwood Bridge

Posted: May 14, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Millwood Bridge
also known as the Leaside Bridge

I first visited this site late in March.  For one reason or another I didn’t get around to adding the photos that I took that day to this blog.  I was back yesterday on another grey day.  There are now leaves on the trees and the graffiti on the concrete has been painted over.

looking along the length of the bridge from just underneath it at one end. Sloping ground in the picture, as are concrete supports and the metal steel girders supporting the road above.

below:  The Don River flows under the bridge.  In the distance, top right, is the Don Valley Parkway.

steel girders under the Millwood bridge with the train tracks and Don River below. Lots of bolts holding this bridge together!

graffiti on the yellow girders under the bridge. The concrete supports at the end of the bridge are also visible and also covered with graffit.

yellow girder in the foreground, the cat walk and metal structure of the bridge in the background. Graffit on the girder including the word 'scarey' in white letters.

Catwalk under the Millwood bridge, looking down almost the whole length of it. A person is on the catwalk in the distance.

yellow metal girder covered with scribbles in black, red, and green.
There was also some graffiti and street art on the concrete supports at the north end of the bridge.  These have now been painted over.  The graffiti on the metal portions of the bridge remains.

below: Two of the paintings that are now gone.

Street art painting of an eagle attacking a snake.

graffiti tag that says Mozie in large letters, blue on the top and a dark burgundy colour on the bottom

Lovebot didn’t want to stick to the paint on the girder but he hung around long enough to get a picture.

lovebot sticker on a yellow metal girder under a bridge

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