Forbidden City

Posted: August 3, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Mural of the Forbidden City

A while ago I posted pictures of a large mural of The Great Wall of China in an alley off Dundas St. West.   A new mural has been painted on the other side of this alley,  a mural depicting the Forbidden City which is now in the center of Beijing China.  The Forbidden City was an imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties (about 1420 to 1912).   One could only enter the complex with the permission of the Emperor, hence the name Forbidden.

mural of the forbidden city in Beijing, painted on a wall in Toronto, showing a statue of a lion outside a building

A pair of Chinese Guardian Lions, one at each end, stand over the Forbidden City.

mural of the forbidden city in Beijing, painted on a wall in Toronto, showing a statue of a lion outside a building

The mural was painted by Blinc Studio artists,
Allan Bender, John Nobrega, Jesse McCuaig and Elaine Teguibon

painting of one of the red buildings in the Forbidden City in Beijing China, part of a mural in an alley in Chinatown

window of a Chinese restaurant with a young man sitting at a table by the window. On the exterior wall surrounding that window is a painting of a large Chinese lion statue that is part of a larger mural

Neighbourhood watch good guys

Posted: July 31, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Watching over some of Toronto’s streets are a number of ‘good guys’ from TV series, video games,  and movies.  These first appeared a little over a year ago.  In fact, they were mentioned in most of the Toronto media last summer.  Although I had heard of them before, I only recently noticed a few of them.

below: just south of Dupont Street, Steven Seagal

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a man looking over the top of his sunglasses has been added to the sign.

There are now more than 75 (or even 90?) pictures glued on to existing Neighbourhood Watch signs.
They are the work of Andrew Lamb, a pseudonym.

below: In Kensington, Wesley Snipes as Blade

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a black man wearing sunglasses and with a machine gun on his back

below: Xena the warrior princess watches over Vermont Ave.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A woman. Xena the warrior princess character.

 below: On Roxton Road, Agents Mulder and Scully from the TV series, the X Files.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A man and a woman, agents Mulder and Scully from the TV series X Files

below:  A faded picture of a group of Transformers on Palmerston Blvd.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A faded picture of a large group of transformers, the superheros from the old TV series.

below: Super Grover from Sesame Street on Wright Ave (near Roncesvalles)

altered Neighbourhood Watch sign, Grover from Sesame Street in a superhero costume flying through the sky

below: Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh, good guys from the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies, watch over Atkins Avenue.

Neighbourhood watch sign by Atkins Ave.., picture of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover has been pasted on it, two actors from Lethal Weapons movies.

below: Samus Aran from the Nintendo video game Metroid

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a superhero dressed head to toe in pink (or is it faded rad?) and holding a large weapon has been added to the sign

below: Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ movies

Neighbourhood watch sign with picture of Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in 'Aliens, carrying a child and a very big gun

below: The Thunderbirds from the 1960s British TV series watch over the north end of Borden Street.  They were part of International Rescue, an international life saving organization and their story was told using electronic marionettes and scale models.

blog_neighbourhood_watch_space_animation

 

below: Grace Jones and Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘Conan the Destroyer’

Neighbourhood watch sign with Grace Jones and Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie 'Conan the Destroyer'
This is only a small sample of the heroes that adorn our streets.  Maybe you have seen some of the others – Batman, Nancy Drew, the Hulk, Robocop, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Yoda, and even Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable.   As I researched these signs I found them online so if you haven’t seen them on the streets, here is the link to the website that has photos of them all.

Picturing the Americas

Posted: July 30, 2015 in galleries
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Landscape paintings depicting scenes from the top of North America to the tip of South America
are on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario until Sept 2015.   The collection centers on just over 100 works that were painted between the early 1800s and the eary 1900s.

7 or 8 people in an art gallery looking at paintings that are hanging on the walls

below:  part of a painting, ‘Montmorency Falls’ by Guido Carmignani (Parma Italy 1838-1909)
oil on canvas,  1869

close up of part of a painting - Montmorency Falls by Guido Carmignani 1869, Italian hunters at the base of the falls (even though they are in Quebec) in summer time.

below: Fall Plowing, by Grant Wood (b. and d. Iowa USA),  1931, oil on canvas

painting on a wall in an art gallery of fields being harvested by Grant Wood

 

A man is looking at a wall of paintings. The wall is painted red. It is in an art gallery

close up of part of a painting including part of the intricately carved frame. THree men getting into a boat at the edge of a river

 below: part of “The Sidewheeler, the ‘City of St. Paul’ on the Mississippi River, Dubuque Iowa”
by Alfred Thompson Bricher (American), oil on canvas,  1872

close up of part of an oil painting showing an old paddle wheel steam boat on a river

Toronto selfies and other poses

Posted: July 28, 2015 in locations, people
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Overheard at Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday:
“There must be 10,000 photographs being taken here as we speak”.
I suspect that he was right!

A view of the 3D Toronto sign from the southeast corner of Nathan Phillips Square showing the lights on the arches above the water as well as the Panamania pink and yellow covering on the lights and sound system for the stage.

I think that there is something intriguing about what people will do when there is a camera in front of them, how some people are comfortable while others are not.    The photos that I took by the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips square on Saturday were of people taking selfies or posing for pictures.  None of them were posing for me, but for their friends or families.

A young couple sits in one of the O's in Toronto while another person takes their picture with a smartphone.

There is also something intriguing about how people behave when they have a camera in their hand.

A toddler sits on her father's shoulders. He is holding onto one of her arms. She is looking at a pink smartphone being held up by a selfie stick almost to her level.

A young blonde woman is posing inside the O of the Toronto sign.

A couple takes a selfie beside water. He has long hair, a beard and is wearing sunglasses.

Two Asian women sit on a concrete wall beside water. They are probably mother and daughter. They are posing for a photograph.

A middle aged man and woman are looking at a selfie that they have just taken on a cellphone.

Three sets of photos taken beside water. Two boys are sitting crossed legged right at the edge. A young woman is posing with her hands in the air and her fingers in peace sign. A south Asian couple are looking at a picture that they have taken on a smartphone.

A family of four, mother, father and two sons, are taking a selfie.

Many people are standing in front of the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips square. There are also many people standing around the pool.

A young woman with long black hair and an Aeropostale T-Shirt stands beside the water with her arms raised to shoulder level.
three South Asian women are standing beside the Toronto sign. A few other people are in the picture because they are sitting on the base of the sign.

A young man has climbed up the side of the N in the Toronto sign as is sitting on top of it.

A couple poses beside the water in Nathan Phillips Square.

A group of Pan Am games volunteers in their orange T shirts pose in front of the 3D Toronto sign.

A young woman gestures towards the Toronto sign (which is not in the photograph).

A woman with long brown hair and wearing a red T shirt poses beside the water. The 3D Toronto sign is in the background on the other side of the pool.

Two women check a picture on a smartphone. They have just taken a selfie.

Six people, a man and five women, are talking a selfie with a phone on a selfie stick. Two of the women have small Canadian flags. Another woman has her arm up in the air.

#share3DTO  #hostcity2015

kissing in traffic

Posted: July 26, 2015 in events, locations, people
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The intersection of Yonge and Dundas as a location for a few wedding pictures!

A quick google search shows that it’s not the first time a couple has chosen this location to shoot a few wedding pictures but it’s the first time that I have encountered it!   Yesterday afternoon….

The bridegroom in his black suit dips the bride in her white wedding dress in the middle of a pedestrian crossing across Yonge St. at Dundas in TOronto.
A bride and groom are standing on the corner of Yonge and Dundas streets in Toronto. They are talking to a woman in a white dress who is organizing the wedding photo shoot.

A bride is standing in the middle of an intersection in downtown Toronto, wearing a long white wedding dress, she has her arm up and is beckoning to the groom.

Streetfest on the Beach, 2015

Posted: July 25, 2015 in events, people
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The annual Streetfest on the Beach,
on Queen St. East between Woodbine and Beech,
23rd, 24th, and 25th July

A young Asian boy is on his mother's shoulders. He is looking back. He is wearing a greyhat with a red band, as well as a tie.

A crowd is on Queen St in Toronto as they have come to listen to live music as part of streetfest at the beach, intersection with Glen Manor Road

looking east, Friday evening

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Three brass players performing outside. Two men on saxophones and a woman playing a trumpet

A couple sitting a bench laughing. They were taking a selfie when they noticed 4 photographers taking their picture. She is embarrassed and is covering her face, he is laughing.

young black man, drummer, laughing as he plays the drums

Isaiah Gibbons, drummer, Saishubi

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a group of older people dancing to the music on the street at a street music festival

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three musicians performing outside. Two women singers and one male singer

the Arsenals

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young man in dreadlocks and a yellow Tshirt waiting to perform at a music festival

A black woman with shoulder length curly hair and a bright pink top is singing into a microphone. A woman in green is watching her

Mae, singer in Grace, Toronto’s all female funk & soul band

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A woman's back is to the camera as she watches live music outside. Her black hair is tied in a short ponytail, she is wearing a white hat and a white sundress. She has a large tattoo on one shoulder blade.

two young boys sitting on the sidewalk watching a drummer play in a band in a street music festival performance

A young boy looks longinly at his sister who is drinking coconut water from a coconut with a straw. He is trying to reach his own straw

man playing the guitar outdoors at a street music festival

Paul James band

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A man is squatting on the sidewalk with two girls on his knee. Both girls have balloons. They are part of a crowd watching a band perform in a street music festival

saxophone player playing in front of many microphones at an outdoor music festival

saxophone, Blue Room

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lead singer for Blue Room, grey hair and beard, Hawaiian shirt, black hat, singing at streetfest at the beach

Brian Neller, lead singer, Blue Room

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A man has his arm around a woman's back and her hand is on his shoulder as they watch a musical performance outside along with a number of other people

Dr. Draw playing his violin in front of a crowd, outdoor street music festival

Dr. Draw

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Dr. Draw and his backup guitar player, streetfest at the beach,

keyboard player in Conor Gains band playing at Streetfest at the Beach, Queen St. in Toronto in July, summer evening

Conor Gains Band

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A man is buying food from a food truck

 

Water’s Edge

Posted: July 25, 2015 in galleries, locations
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Water’s Edge
A Pan-American photography exhibit
produced by No.9: Contemporary Art & the Environment.

Two venues are involved, Union Station and Pearson Airport.  The photos below represent a sample of the photos on show at Union Station.

 

below: Bridge Glacier, British Columbia 2012, by James Balog, part of his study of vanishing glaciers.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below: Two black and white photographs by Sebastiao Salgado,
part of a photographic project titled ‘Genesis’.
One aim of ‘Genesis’ was to examine “the fragile beauty and grandeur of nature”.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below:  ‘The Anavilhanas’ taken in Amazonas Brazil, 2009 by Sebastiao Salgado.
Located on the Rio Negro, the Anivilhanas Archipelago is the world’s largest fresh water archipelago.  It is an unique ecosystem with over 400 river islands spread over 90 km.  The Rio Negro is 27 km at its widest point. During the rainy season (November to April) many of these islands are underwater.

large black and white photograph, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below: ‘Sarnia’ by Gustavo Jononovich, taken in Sarnia, from his “Free Shipping” series.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below: ‘Georgian Bay #1, Four Winds’, Point-au-Baril, Ontario  2009, by Edward Burtynsky.
This picture is part of his Water Series, a series that looks at changing water systems around the world as well as the relationship that we have with these water systems.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

The exhibit ends on the 15th of August.

#myhomewaters

Underpass park

Posted: July 21, 2015 in locations, public art
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Lower River Street passes through it; Eastern Avenue passes over it.
And now the support pillars on the eastern side of the park have been painted by various street artists.

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - young man on skateboard jump in the park with many of the pillars in the photo including a large greyish blue clown face

photo of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - close up of a multocoloured clown face with a scary expression

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - an elicser painting of a person in a red hoodie holding a basketball. Eyes closed, thining, hood pulled up over head

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - guys on bikes in the park with many of the pillars in the photo including a large greyish blue clown face and an orange woman's face.

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - looking from one corner of the park diagonally through the park. A creature with a white skull-like face with pinkish red mushrooms in the foreground, other pillars in the background

 

large orage woman's face by fiya painted on a concrete support that is helping to hold up a road.
picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - bottom part of a pillar with a painting of a big red set of lips, a red heart with an arrow through is as well as yellow symbols from playing card - hearts, diamond, spage and club. Signed Enjoy denial.

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - in the foreground is a pillar with a birdo bird on it. Many other supports in the background along with a young man on a skateboard

head of a colourful birdo bird with other street art in the background

 

part of a street art painting showing two people standing on the suway holding onto the handles from the ceiling. Both are shown as muscle layer as outer layer of body, i.e. no skin. A man and a woman.

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - lage eyes on one creature, a red creature with open mouth and long purple tonge, by spud, in the foreground. Other pillars in the background, as well as one young man with a skateboard

South American themed figure with head dress painted on a pillar, with other painted pillars in the background.

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park -

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - large blue face of a man wearing sunglasses, in profile, in the foreground. A pillar with a tall skinny person painted on it in the background.

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - painting of a large purple woman's face with her eyes closed

photograph of a number of pillars and supports holding up Eastern Ave as it passes over Lower River St. Pillars have been painted by street artists including a fish by birdo and lips by Enjoy Denial. Underpass park. Toronto

 

on two sides of a concrete pillar there are paintings of people. One has two nose to nose with both arms raised to the top of the pillar such that it looks like they are holding up the upper horizontal part of the concrete support. On the other side of the pillar is a man with bent head who looks like he is carrying the weight of the road above on his shoulders. There are also some figures painted on the horizontal part of the support.

street art painting of a white face, weird eyes and an open mouth

Two overpasses come together to form one, view from below, there is an urban park under the overpass on the right, with the concrete supports holding up the road covered with paintings by street artists.

You’ll find more photos of the park in the post below too

people overhead

Posted: July 20, 2015 in public art
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In Underpass park, some of the concrete supports holding up Eastern Ave have been painted by various street artists.  The pillars that are closest to Lower River Street feature people of all races, genders, ages, and colours entangled together.

A man and two kids walk their bikes past Underpass Park on Lower River St. in Toronto. A road is above them. Concrete supports that hold up that road have been decorated with paintings by various street artists. Closest to the street, the pillars are people with their arms raised so it looks like they are holding up the road. The horizontal part of the supprts are covered with pictures of people flying outward from the center.

Details of some of the people:

part of a street art painting, a black man with a yellow baseball hat, an older Chinese man with a small beard, as well as other arms and legs tangled up together

street artist painting of a woman with long black hair emerging from a bed of flowers.

blog_underopass_park_people_purple_pants

street artist painting on a concrete underpass support, a white man is reading a read book with the titile Like. A brown man's face is also in the picture.

street artist painting of a woman with long yellow hair emerging from a bed of flowers.

a street artist painting of a woman in a blue and white striped shirt flying with her arms outstretched. Two pairs of feet as well as a pair of hands belonging to other people are also in the picture.

Ratha yatra

Posted: July 20, 2015 in general Toronto
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The 43rd Annual Festival of India started with a parade down Yonge Street from Bloor to Queens Quay on Saturday afternoon.

The parade is similar to an annual procession that has occurred for centuries in the city of Puri, India as part of a Hindu festival associated with the god Jagannath.  Here in Toronto, as in Puri,  three chariots constructed to look like temples are pulled through the streets in a procession from one temple to another.    Each chariot carries a richly decorated representation of a god, first is  Jagannatha (another name for Krishna or God) and then his brother Baladeva and his sister Subhadra.   The chariots are pulled by people and the procession symbolizes the pulling of the Lord into our hearts.

In Puri, this Ratha-Yatra procession continues to attract over a million people every year.
In Toronto, the numbers aren’t quite that high!

parade going down Yonge St. using just the southbound lanes. A policeman on bike keeps the traffic out of the way. A float is being pulled by people walking in the parade. Part of the Festival of India in Toronto.

float in a parade for the Festival of India, or the Chariot Festival, a Hindu celebration, in downtown Toronto

 

below: Many people used ropes to pull the floats down Yonge Street.

people are using a long thick rope to pull a float down a city street for a parade.

below: Other people danced, walked, sang and chanted Hare Krishna mantras.

Some women in saris and men in traditional Indian clothes, dance and walk in a parade down Yonge St. as part of the Festival of India
Some women in saris and men in traditional Indian clothes, dance and walk in a parade down Yonge St. as part of the Festival of India

The back of a T shirt that a man is wearing. It has all the words of the hare Krishna mantra on it.

 The festivities continued on Centre Island for the remainder of the weekend.

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