Archive for the ‘public art’ Category

I went to Bessarion for you

Posted: March 8, 2017 in public art, transportation
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This looks like an ordinary entrance into a TTC subway station.  It is.
It’s Bessarion station on Line 4, the Sheppard Line.

escalator down into Bessarion station

The red arrow points to one of a series of little photographs of hands that run beside the escalator to street level.

I’d be willing to bet that none of you have been to Bessarion subway station.  If you’ve heard of the station it’s probably in the context of complaints that no one uses the station so why did the city spend so much money building it.   One of the reasons for the low volume of traffic is that there are no bus routes (besides Sheppard) that serve this station.  Apparently in 2014 an average of 2380 people used the station on weekdays.  If true, then 2379 plus me where there today (although the stats may have increased since then).    I took some pictures for you – you will now have an idea of what the station looks like without having to go there.

photos of peoples legs and feet in black and white on tiles on a yellow tiled subway station wall, over the metal turnstiles for entry into the station, artwork by Sylvie Belanger

below: An art installation called ‘Passing’ dominates the yellow walls of the station concourse level.  It consists of a band of black and white photographs of legs and feet taken by Sylvie Belanger.  The little pictures of hands that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog are also part of this installation.

photos of peoples legs and feet in black and white on tiles on a yellow tiled subway station wall, over and beside two Bell pay phones, artwork by Sylvie Belanger

below: The pictures of legs and feet run around the whole concourse level of the station.

below: Down the escalator to the lower level.

looking down the main escalator at Bessarion subway station, the upper level has yellow walls and the lower level (track level) can also be seen.

below: I was not alone!

pillar covered in red tiles and with a black and white photo of the back of three peoples head, a man with a turban and a woman in a head scarf and someone with curly hair.

below: The artwork at track level is a continuation of the photographs by Sylvie Belanger.  This time the pictures are of the backs of people’s heads and they are incorporated into the red pillars.

close up of black and white photo of the back of peoples heads, one child's face turns to the camera and is slightly out of focus, Passing by Sylvie Belanger at Bessarion subway station

below: The outer walls are bare concrete and there are very few ads or posters on the walls.

from the subway platform at Bessarion subway station looking toward the concrete wall at the edge of the tracks, signs for the station, and direction signs.

elicser people under the train tracks

Posted: February 25, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
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a long mural by elicser that leads from Monarch Park, through the railway underpass and to the community garden on the other side, pictures of people

If you walk south through Monarch Park this is the view that greets you as you approach the railway underpass.  Elicser has painted a large mural that extends from the park through to the Woodfield Community Rail Garden that is on the other side.  As you walk through the underpass this is what you see:

a green and white GO train passes over a tunnel that provides access between two neighbourhoods. The tunnel has been completely covered by a mural by elicser that shows people going about their everyday outdoor activities

part of a larger mural by elicser in Monarch Park - a cyclist is going fast as he goes downhill

part of a larger mural by elicser in Monarch Park - a large woman's head and many buildings

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - people walking outside

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - a girl is painting a large picture of a monarch butterfly on a wall

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - a couple sits on a bench, a cabin is behind them

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - a mother and father lead a group of noisy kids on a walk

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - young people walking, one with earbuds on and one making hand signs

mural by elicser in the tunnel that is a railway underpass - an older man on a motorized scooter, he looks sad, frowning.

a mural by elicser on a railway underpass by the woodfield community rail garden, pictures of people gardening

a mural by elicser on a railway underpass by the woodfield community rail garden that covers all the concrete of the opening. a VIA train passes overhead as a father and daughter stop to watch

It’s February so the community garden is still resting for the winter.  A shed with all four sides painted by Monica on the Moon provides some colour in the meantime.

a small wood shed sits in a community garden. Two sides can be seen, both painted with a mural by MOnica on the Moon. One side is a bright yellow and orange turtle in blue water and the other is a gold and brown bird with its wings open (owl? hawk?) on a bright blue sky background

The path continues…. a slight curve and you’re on Woodfield Road and on your way again.

path through a community garden continues past a large house and then towards a street

Flotsam and Jetsam and others

Posted: February 21, 2017 in people, public art, waterfront
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 Two empty chairs sitting in the sun.  This photo is only a half truth; it suggests that the beach was sunny but empty yesterday when I took the photo.    Sunny yes, empty no.

two empty muskoka chairs on the beach beside Lake Ontario on a sunny February day

Back in the winter of 2015, I discovered the first “Winter Stations” event on a day when the temperature was -20C.  There weren’t many people there that year!   In contrast, yesterday was a beautiful and unseasonably warm February Sunday.  Temperatures hit the double digits and lots of people come out to take advantage of the weather.  It was also the first weekend of the 2017 version of ‘Winter Stations’.  Although the installations officially opened today, all but one of them were completed and ready for the public yesterday.

below: One of the installations is “North” which was designed by studio PERCH in Montreal.   Yes, it’s Christmas trees hung upside down.  They are prickling to walk between.  This year there seems to be a recycling and reusing theme in a lot of the installations.   At least I hope these trees weren’t cut down specifically for this project.

on the beach, people in winter jackets stand around looking at an art installation that consists of evergreen trees, Christmas trees, hung upside down.

below: Another installation is “Collective Memory” designed by Mario Garcia (Barcelona Spain) and Andrea Govi (Milan Italy).   People are encouraged to leave messages in the bottles.

an art installation on the beach, people in winter clothes, two parallel walls about 10 feet high made of a layer of horizontally arranged empty plastic bottles with the opening facing in, people are writing on paper and then putting the messages in the bottles.

below: Paper is provided as are the bottles.  The walls are constructed of horizontal empty plastic water bottles with the openings all on the inside of the structure.

a boy is rolling up a piece of paper in inserting it in the opening of an empty plastic bottle.

below: The sun shining through the plastic bottles makes for some interesting effects.

sunlight shines through a wall of plastic bottles, some people walking in front of it. Collective Memory installation at Winter Stations 2017 on Toronto's waterfront.

below: Like most of the installations, “Collective Memory” encloses a lifeguard station.

an art installation on the beach, people in winter clothes, two parallel walls about 10 feet high made of a layer of horizontally arranged empty plastic bottles with the opening facing in, people are writing on paper and then putting the messages in the bottles. view form one end, the walls enclose a lifeguard station, 4 kids are on the lifeguard platform

below: The installation that wasn’t ready yet is “The Beacon” designed by Joao Araujo Sousa and Joanna Correia Silva (Porto Portugal).

a woman pokes her head inside a hole in a tall wood structure on the beach, other art installations are in the background, lots of people, some people sitting on chairs.

The installation in the background in the above photograph is “BuoyBuoyBuoy” designed by Dionisios Vriniotis, Rob Shostak, Dakota Wares-Tani, and Julie Forand (Toronto Canada).

below: One of many photo ops!

three kids stand on top of a lifeguard station that is enclosed by an art installation that is construction of many oval shapes joined together. Some are white, some are clear and some are reflective. A mother is taking a picture of the kids.

below: Notched ovals made of wood and clear plastic were used to build this installation.  The wood pieces were either painted white or covered with silvery reflective material.

close up photo of part of an artwork made of wooden oval shapes that are notched together.

kids climb up the center of an art installation called buoy buoy buoy, standing on the lifeguard station platform that is the middle of the artwork. Made of wooden oval shapes that are notched together.

below: More reflections, this time in “The Illusory” designed by a group from Humber College School of Media Studies & IT, School of Applied Technology.

a girl in a turquoise t-shirt is reflected many times in a wall of relfective material and several posts around the wall covered in the same material.

below:  Someone has already written on (scratched?) the surface.

three men are reflected in a shiny surface on an art installation. Someon has scratched the word LOVE into the surface

below: “The Illusory” in front, “Flotsam and “Jetsam” behind, and lots of people in between.

lots of people walking past and looking at two art installations on the beach as part of Winter Stations event

below: “Flotsam and Jetsam” was designed by a team from the University of Waterloo.  It consists of cubes made of wire cages.  The cages on the bottom are filled with empty plastic bottles of different colours and shapes.

people looking at an art installation on the beach made of wire cage cubes stacked on top of each other. The ones on the bottom are filled with empty plastic bottles of different colours and shapes. The upper cages are empty and they are joined together to look like the head of a creature.

two boys peer out from behind a wall of wire cages filled with empty plastic bottles. One of the cages is empty as looks like a window

sun shines through empty plastic bottles and looks like the bottles are lights

empty plastic bottles in a wire cage sits on the sand of the beach

a tower of plastic bottle filled wire cages stands in front of Lake Ontario

***

a father and daughter link fingers behind the mother's back, the women are in winter coats, father is in jeans and plaid long sleeved shirt

The Winter Stations will remain until the 27th of March.

feeling hungry?

Posted: January 16, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art, public art, stores
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You can almost find it by following your nose!

I’ve been in many alleys where the smell has been less than desirable but today I was taking pictures in an alley that smelled wonderful!  A small alley running south from Bloor Street beside the The Dirty Bird restaurant….or more accurately The Dirty Bird Chicken & Waffles.

And the pictures that I was taking there?
Well, they were of chicken and waffles and people eating of course!

from a mural by elicser along the exterior wall of the dirty bird chicken and waffle restaurant - a woman is sitting at a table in the restaurant

Elicser has painted a mural in the alley alongside the restaurant.

a man in a red baseball cap on backwards is drinking,

below: I love how the straw is placed!

from a mural by elicser along the exterior wall of the dirty bird chicken and waffle restaurant - a man is sitting at a table in the restaurant . he has a very large chicken and waffle sandwich in front of him as well as a pink milkshake. The red and white straw of the miclkshake is actually a venting pipe

from a mural by elicser along the exterior wall of the dirty bird chicken and waffle restaurant - a woman and a man are sitting at a table in the restaurant eating chicken and waffle sandwiches

from a mural by elicser along the exterior wall of the dirty bird chicken and waffle restaurant - a woman is sitting at a table in the restaurant with a very tall chicken and waffle sandwich in her hands

 

kids and soldiers

Posted: January 16, 2017 in memorials, public art
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Sculptures by Ken Lum.

I was walking up Bay Street yesterday when I stopped.  Out of the corner of my eye I had caught a glimpse of a sculpture that I had never seen before.  It is ‘Two Children of Toronto’ by Ken Lum, 2013.

Two children, a boy and a girl, sit opposite each other, some distance between them.

two children of toronto, a sculpture by Ken Lum, two children seated on pedestals, about 25 feet apart, along the side of a walkay, with a concrete building beside them. The children are looking towards each other

What you can’t see in the above picture is that there are words in bronze mounted on the wall.  The words say: “Across time and space, two children of Toronto meet”.  The two kids are looking towards each but not each other.

sculpture, Two Children of Toronto by Ken Lum in a downtownwalkway with a concrete bulding beside it, girl's face

below: Both children are wearing clothes from bygone days.

sculpture, Two Children of Toronto by Ken Lum in a downtownwalkway with a concrete bulding beside it, looking towards the girl, with Bay Street and Canadian Tire store behind

below: But the boy’s clothes are more Chinese looking.

sculpture, Two Children of Toronto by Ken Lum in a downtownwalkway with a concrete bulding beside it, a boy is seated on a concrete pedestal.

After my walk the other day, I started researching Ken Lum.  I discovered that he has another sculpture nearby, and fortuitously, it was one that I took some pictures of back in December.  It is “Peace Through Valour” located at the NW corner of City Hall property.  Winston Churchill is standing close by.

a sculpture called Peace Through valour by Ken Lum, outside on a snowy day. A square piece with a soldier standing guard at each corner. On top of the flat squsre is a model of a town in square blocks (no details on the buildings).

It commemorates the 93,000 Canadians who fought in the Italian campaign of WW2 and was dedicated in June 2016.   A Canadian soldier stands vigil at each corner of the memorial.  The top of the 7 foot x 7 foot square is a topographical map of Ortona, a town in Italy that was a scene of a battle at Christmas time in 1943.  Ortona is on the Adriatic coast and its streets were narrow which made it difficult for Allied forces to liberate the town from Nazi Germany.

two soldiers stand vigil at the corners of a memorial, sculptures,

Money for the sculpture was donated by the Italian-Canadian community.

two soldiers stand vigil at the corners of a memorial, sculptures,

as it once was, The Ward

Posted: December 19, 2016 in history, public art
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Tucked into a space between City Hall and the Court House, is a construction site.  Up until recently it was a parking lot.  Soon it will be a new Court House.  Like all construction sites in Toronto, it is surrounded by hoardings to separate it from the streets and sidewalks.
a yellow digger, not working at the moment, sits in a vacant lot, slightly snow covered, the back of Toronto City Hall is in the background.

On two sides of the lot, the hoardings have been covered with a mural that was commissioned by Infrastructure Ontario.  It is “Picturing the Ward”and it is an exhibit about the area that once existed here, The Ward.  It was an area where many immigrants first settled.  It was roughly in the rectangle formed by College St., Yonge St., Queen St., and University Ave.   In the 1830’s it was home to Blacks escaping slavery, it saw waves of Irish, Eastern European Jews, Italians, and Chinese to name a few.

On the west side (along Centre Avenue), there are old photos, newspaper clippings, and stories of individuals who once lived in the area.   The content was collected and curated by the Toronto Ward Museum, a new ‘museum without walls’  in the city.   PATCH (part of The STEPS Initiative) designed and installed the mural.  The stories are in both English and French.

below: A segment of the mural with a story titled “Hungering for Success”.   It is the story of Edward and Donna Pasquale nee Bernardo.  Both were born in Italy and both were brought to the Ward by their parents.  They met here and married in 1918.  Edward and his brother Pamphilo founded Pasquale Brothers store on Elm Street.   During WW2 Pamphilo spent three years imprisoned in an internment camp in Petawawa along with other Italian, German, and Japanese Canadians that the government considered enemies of the state.  Edward remained in Toronto running the store.

part of larger mural, small tree branch in front, tall office building behind, mural has old photos in blue tones as well as a lot of words about the history of the area

below: The newspaper story from ‘The Toronto Star’ of 3rd October 1907 describes the death of Mrs. Hazleton, a widow with two children, who was hit by a car at Yonge & Bloor.  The car was driven by Mr. F.E. Mutton.  Yes, back then the driver of the car was named in the newspaper.

old photos in blue tones on a mural, along with a picture of an old newspaper clipping describing an automobile accident at Yonge & Bloor in which someone died.

below: The middle section is a collage of cyanotypes (an old photographic process which results in blue pictures) produced by PA System (aka Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson) .  The images are of artifacts uncovered during the excavation of the area along with some heirlooms contributed by former Ward residents.  A couple of CBC people were braving the cold that day too!

part of mural on a snowy corner, photos in blue tones, a CBC cameraman and reporter are standing on the sidewalk in front of the mural

below: The south side of the hoardings are along Armoury Street.  This section is called, These Stories Are Not Unlike Your Stories. Old photographs of the area have been reproduced in shades of blue.  Orange ‘bubbles’ contain stories.  Most of the photographs are from the City of Toronto Archives although some come from private sources.

part of a larger mural in Toronto, blue photos, with words written in large capital letters, These Stories Are Not Unlike Your Stories

below: On one side, the pictures are printed in reverse and the accompanying words are in French.  The French stories are translations of the English ones.

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: The people who lived in The Ward were poor and their housing was sub-standard.  In 1911 a report by the city’s Department of Health described how bad the living conditions were for the people here.  Largely because of that report, demolition of the area started soon after to make space for office towers and government buildings.  I’m not sure how long parts of The Ward survived, but it was in the 1950’s that the original Chinatown along Elizabeth Street was demolished to make way for Nathan Phillips Square.

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: Some of the orange bubbles contain quotes from descendants of former residents of the area.  The bottom quote is: “My mom use to say, ‘We were all poor.  No one had anything.  It was normal.  Everyone was in the same position so we didn’t worry about it too much.'”  by Brian Banks, grandson of John & Mary Colestock, former residents.

 

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: There is still a lot of work to be done on the site!   The mural will be on view until at least October of next year. If you are interested in the details of the mural, more about the people featured, or the events described, then the best place to start looking is the section of the Toronto Ward Museum website that is devoted to this project.

two red diggers on top of a pile of dirt on a snow covered vacant lot, large multirise buildings in the background

radiating away from Roden

Posted: December 13, 2016 in alleys, graffiti and street art, public art, windows and walls
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The Roden in the title of this blog post refers to Roden Public School.  In their schoolyard they have this colourful mural, a fairly accurate map of the area with the school in the center.  The original school on this site was built in 1907-1908 as Ashdale School.  In 1910 it was renamed to honour Mr. E.P. Roden a long time school trustee.  The present school was built in 1969.

a mural on a conrete wall in a schoolyard that is a map of the area with the school in the center, colourful, about 8 feet high and twelve feet wide.

below: The school is just north of Gerrard St., between Coxwell and Greenwood, and south of the railway tracks.  I suspect that the 100 in the circle that marks the school has to do with the 100th anniversary of the school although I haven’t been able to find any information about the mural online.

close up of the center of a mural on a conrete wall in a schoolyard that is a map of the area with the school in the center, colourful, about 8 feet high and twelve feet wide.

All day Sunday, and well into the early hours of Monday morning, it snowed.  It’s been many months since I’ve walked on a snowy day.  It was a bit grey and there wasn’t a lot of contrast (as in light and shadow) in the scenery yesterday afternoon when I walked, but the novelty of white snow kept me interested (and warm!).   From Roden school I wandered westward.

below: Walking home after school.

A woman walks her two young children home from school, down a snowy lane, one on each hand. Their back is to the camera, houses, trees, hydro ples, a car on the street they are about to cross.

below: A cosy brown scarf and red hat, an avocado smile, celery arms are two doggie treat buttons on his tummy – a snowman living the easy life.  No standing around in the snow for him!

a little snowman stands on a chair outside. A red cap, celery for arms, avocado for mouth

below: This was my friend who accompanied me for part of my walk, meowing loudly most of the time.   I’m not sure what it was trying to tell me.  Maybe it was out enjoying the snow?  More likely it was looking for a warm place to snuggle.

close up photo of a black cat in an alley with some snow on the ground, garage doors and a large tree

below: Busy steps, quiet steps.

the back of two buildings, one has undeisturbed snow behind it and a sign over the door that says R Coin Laundry. The building beside it (and attached to it) is three storeys high. The upper two levels have a wood railing and balcony out the back. Snow on the ground but lots of foot steps in the snow.

below: Keeping an eye on the garage.  Eye spy!

An old single car garage with grey shingle material covering it. Yellowish beige garage door with a small brightly coloured street art piece on it that includes an eye

below: Bikes and deer in the alley.  A mother deers keeps watch over her fawn.

mural of many bikes, as well as some deer. Deer look life like, standing in the alley watching you. Graffiti animals, street art painting of deer on a cement block garage wall.

below:  On one hand, I want to say that  for those who want to look, there are many little surprises to be found in the lanes and alleys of this city.   But on the other hand, there are an incredible number of old cars parked in city backyards.  Some are neglected and clearly not roadworthy while others still have some life left in them.

looking through a hole in a blue fence, an old light blue car is parked in a backyard, covered with snow, the white of the house is behind the car.

below: Another car.

Close up of chainlink fence, rusty, but in focus. Out of focus behind it is an old blue car that is covered with snow. It is parked between two black vehicles.

below: Clowning around in a window.

A small figurine of a clown holding his hat above his head, blue jacket, red pants, black bowtie, small figurine in front of a plant with green and purple leaves.

below: I think it’s dub monkey, duh?

white stencil on a concrete wall that says dub monkey with the face of a monkey

below: Looking south to Gerrard Street.  Snow and slush, very Toronto in the winter.   The orange construction sign is also very Toronto, but in all seasons these days.

looking towards a street with two sem-detached houses, one is boarded up and the other isn't. A construction sign, a pedestrian on the sidewalk, a black dog.

below: Someone added some colour to the alley when they shouldn’t have.

a bright red shopping cart has been abandoned in front of a green garage door in a snowy alley

below: A mural by kairo, on a pink that packs a punch on a grey winter day.

mural of a woman's head by kairo. Background has been painted a dark pink, with white spots. WOman has long reddish brown hair.

below: More alley colour to brighten the day.

Back of a house in a lane. Gate covering bac is lopsidded, on an angle. The garage that faces the alley has a bright yellow door. Two storey semi detached houses, one brown and one reddish.

below: Someone loves their bike.  I find it a bit creepy that the picture is a skull.

a small painting that has been hung a fence. A white skull with the eyes drawn as the wheels of a bike. The words say I love my bike, with the word love being a small heart.

below: Wall art of another kind.  Shades of yellow.

Yellow wall with rust coloured upper part. Tags and graffiti have been painted over with different colours of yellow paint to produce a patchwork like effect.

below: Little ups and downs in the lane.   A large majestic winter tree stands over the lane.

looking down an alley, a two storey house, a large mature tree with no leaves, the brightening sky of the late afternoon as the cloud cover lifts enough to let a but of sunlight through. Snow in the alley, with tire tracks from a few cars that have driven over it.

below: A peacock mural.  Lahore Halal Meat store on the corner of Gerrard is a reminder that this part of Gerrard was/is referred to as Little India because of the large number of Indian (Southeast Asian) shops and restaurants.

building on the corner of two streets, two storeys, as seen from the back. Shops on the lower level and apartments upstairs. Large mural of a peacock on the side of the building, a large billboard on top of it. Lahore Halal Meat store on the corner.

below:  This photo is from the entrance to Lahore Halal Meat store in the above photo.   The material on the inside features brides and grooms within heart shapes and surrounded by white flowers.  Not what you’d expect in a meat shop!

An open door, glass paneled door, of a store, a red and white Open sign is at the bottom of the door, part of the exterior wall is blue tiles that are starting to fall off, the counter inside is covered with a blue and white material that is pictures of brides and grooms in heart shapes surrounded by flowers.

below: Textured concrete, broken bricks, and the remnants of a black stencil.

a wall. Upper part is brick. A swath has been painted white, but some bricks have broken off in front to reveal the brighter orangish red underneath. The bottom part of the wall is grey concrete that has been texturized with slanted lines.

below: Sunflowers reach for a sunny place.

looking down a lane. A mural on a wall is on the left. It is bright yellow sunflowers under a blue sky. Snow in the alley with car tracks from a few vehicles, trees, a house, osme garages,

below: A fork in the alley.  A jumble of lines.

snowy and icy alley, dooking downhill towards a fork in the road, garage doors on all sides, backs of houses in the background, alleys and lanes of east part of Toronto

a large sign advertising Kawartha Dairy ice cream, on a sidewalk on a sluchy winter day, large pink ice cream cone picture,

Craven Road, north of Gerrard

Posted: December 13, 2016 in locations, public art
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A few weeks ago I posted some pictures of the fence along Craven Road that has been decorated with artwork and old artifacts.  I was south of Gerrard Street when I took the photos.   I didn’t realize at the time that I missed another outdoor gallery on the other side of  Gerrard.  Today I took some pictures of those on display on the north side.   Here they are in no particular order:

below: Looking north up Craven Road along the fence.
That tropical sunset on the left looks very inviting!

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, looking down the length of most of the gallery, small pile of snow against the fence, painting in the foreground is warm Caribbean sun on beach with palm tree, Craven Road

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, an evergreen bough hangs over the top of the fence, above a painting of trees in a forest in winter, low sun, and long blue shadows.

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, Craven Road in Toronto, two paintings of black trees (no leaves) on red, and one grey tree on orange background,

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, a black tree on a blue background. Snow has been blown against the wood fence and some of it has stuck to the fence, Craven Road

below: Some of the paintings are small words in another language and another alphabet.  Can anyone translate for me?

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, four paintings. One black tree on light brown paper, and three small paintings with words in a different language with a different alphabet, Bengali perhaps

small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, Craven Road, trees on blue and green background
small amateur paintings displayed on a wood fence, with trees and houses in the background, snowy day, three paintings, one is a fish

By now I’m very curious about this street and this fence.  I found a long, detailed, and interesting history written by local historian Joanne Doucette that you can read here.

 

Craven Road fence

Posted: November 25, 2016 in locations, public art
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Just over a year ago, I posted some pictures of the art work hanging on a fence along Craven Road.
Some of it is still there, especially some cat pictures like this one:

painting of a beige and light brown cat, lying with its head up and tail wrapped around its body, painted on a wooden fence outside

below: Quite a few little planters have been mounted on the wall.  Because it’s now cold November, most of the plants have died.   These are two exceptions.

4 small wood boxes have been mounted on the side of fence, as planters, a couple still have purple flowers even though it's November and most of the trees have lost their leaves,

below: Some of the things that are now on the fence.   Because there are no houses on the west side of the street, the fence can serve as a gallery wall.

decorated wooden fence on Craven Road, a road with houses only on one side of the street, fence is decorated with a faded Canadian flag, a picture of Queen Elizabeth I, some wood planters, a painting of birch trees in autumn, old shoes, and a sign that says Craven road FEnce, 100 years, 1916 to 2016

below: A close up picture of the “Celebrating 100 years” sign as well as the picture of Queen Elizabeth I, engraved by Crispin van de Passe the Elder, after a drawing by Isaac Oliver.

closer view of the fence with its Celebrating 100 years, Craven Road fence, 1916 to 2016 sign as well as an engraving of Queen Elizabeth I. Planters with dead plants and painted pine cones on sticks, painted red, silver and gold.

below: Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Munroe beside many shoes in twos, knee pads and a walking cast.

a wooden fence with many things hanging on it - an Andy Warhol Marilyn Munroe print, a painting of autumn birch trees, and many old shoes

below: Mirror, mirror on the wall…  Bird pictures to the left and trees and sticks to the right.
Scattered among them are a few glow in the dark stars.

An oval mirror with an ornate wood frame is mounted on an outdoor fence, wood, three small framed pictures hang on both sides of it.

below: Artfully arrange artifacts… mask, hockey stick, dog pictures, toy helicopter….

all kin mounted artfully on a wood fence on Craven Road - hockey stick, football, picture of Charlie Chaplin, ds of things

below:  A woman with three wolves, a young boy and dragonflies listening to your heart.

old black and white photo of a boy, a small statuette of a woman and three wolves, dragonflies on a picture frame with a photo of the word love

below: A composition of found items.  A still life made of remnants of the past.

things on a fence as decoration, guitar, pictures, clock, boxes,

below: And lastly, a couple of pictures of some of the original paintings.

two painting on a fence. One is of a cat and the other is of white flowers

a painting of a line of white sheep on a snowy field, on a fence, outdoors, with houses and backyards beyond the fence, some trees too but they have lost their leaves because it is late autumn

go east, way east…..

Posted: November 11, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
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I had heard about a mural at Lawrence and Orton Park so this morning I thought I’d check it out.   I ventured out Lawrence Avenue to just east of Markham Road.  As I drove I was reminded of how big this city really is.

below: This is the community mural that started my adventure this morning.  It was painted in nine sections and then assembled on the wall.   It is the work of Ted Hamer, Rowell Soller and Skratch Wonder.

a mural on the side of a building that has the words Lawrence Orton in blue and orange. There is also a blue jay in flught, a fox and a squirrel and a robin standing in the grass.

below: As I left Orton Park, I saw this mural from a distance.  Of course I had to stop and take a picture.  I got some strange looks.  Tourists are probably not too common in this part of the city.

vertical mural on a multirise building (about 15 storeys tall perhaps).

below:  While I was looking for the best angle from which to take the above photo, I noticed some markings beside the road.

red painting on concrete wall barrier beside sidewalk on bridge over Highland Creek, in red, a girl's head and the words, What I love about the city is there are all kinds of cultures and faith groups. There is a lot of trees and sunshine.

below: As it turns out, these are from the summer of 2011.  Lawrence Avenue is 6 lanes wide and at this point it crosses Highland Creek and Morningside Park – a long bridge, a rather barren stretch of concrete and pavement.

red picture of a boy on a concrete barrier beside a sidewalk as it passes over a bridge. The word welcome is written beside him.

below:  Bridges were meant for going under, right?   Luckily there was an entrance to Morningside Park right there, and luckily I left my toboggan at home  🙂   Morningside Park is part of a network of parks that follow the Highland Creek.  It starts near Markham Road and the 401 and runs south to Kingston Road near Guildwood station.    A search for an answer to the question, “How many ravine parks does Toronto have?” has yielded no results yet.  I’ll keep looking.

paved path leading down a hill to a ravine park, apartment buildings in the distance. Sign beside path says no skiing or sleigh riding on the slope.

below:  The answer to another question, “Is there graffiti under the bridge?” was more easily found.

in a park under a bridge, grassy area, some trees on either side, 2 concrete support pillars with street art on the bottom of each.

below: The bottom of the pillars were painted back in 2010 and 2011.

street art on a concrete support pillar of a bridge, a man upside down, large head with top of head on the ground, feet up in the air. moustache, smiling mouth,

below: Hope takes flight over the city.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to see but the word hope is written on the city at the bottom of this small mural but it is behind the weeds.

small mural on the bottom of a concrete pillar, a bird takes flight over a city at sunrise. The word hope is written on the mural

below:   Personified Hope, from the picture above, wraps around to another side of the pillar as he/she moves upward.  Also seen here is one of the feet from the upside down man.

side of a concrete pillar with light blue line drawing of person looking upwards, abstracted.

below:   Another pillar has a painting by elicser.

street art by elicser in blue of a family. Man with red hat, woman and kids huddled together, fall park scenery in the background.

street art on the bottom of a concrete pillar, two black men. One is Mohammad Ali.

park with grass and autumn foilage trees, apartment building in the background, a large bridge passes over with four or five concrete pillars. SUnny blue sky day

street art painting on a pillar under a bridge of a young man in a blue hoodie and brown baseball cap

street art painting on a pillar under a bridge, wispy picture of a woman with long hair, hair swirls upwards to a satelite dish and a flying bird

bridge over a park and creek

geometric shapes abstract many colours street art

below: There were also a couple of paintings on the other side of the creek. There was water in the creek. Too much to cross safely.
Or at least, too much for me to cross safely!

graffiti on a pillar in the park with weeds and small shrubs growing around it.

It was a very quiet place to be this morning.  I saw a couple of people on the path, including Batman, but they were silent.

line drawing in black of Batman's head and shoulders, drawn on a paved path in a park

large chalk drawing of a man's face in black, white and pale purple, on a paved path in a park

One last photo, taken as I was driving home across Lawrence.  I guess it’s somewhat appropriate for the time.  Not sure why one would be sporting such a sticker in Ontario though.   C’est la vie.  To each their own.

red car with a sticker on the back that says Donald Trump 2016 Make America Great Again.

I saw many people at bus stops waiting for the 34 Lawrence bus and I wondered how long it took them to get to the subway.  Lawrence is 6 lanes wide and I tried to picture it with an LRT running down the center.   (but that’s a whole other blog post, perhaps another day).

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