urban mud hero

Posted: May 26, 2015 in events, people
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Mud Hero – Urban Toronto
Ontario Place, 23 May 2015

6km course with more than 20 obstacles,
with lots of water and mud!

A row of muddy legs with very brown socks and filthy shoes, after the Mud Hero race

Ontario Place cinesphere, the dome, with an obstacle course being run in front of it

At Ontario Place, looking towards the meeting area for the Mud Hero race - where the race starts and finishes. Some competitors are just heading out and some muddy runners are just coming back in.

A team dressed in bright pink tops await their turn to start the race at the course start line.

Two young women pose for the photo, being taken by a man whose back is to the viewer in this photo, before they start a race

A man with his back to the camera watches team mates jump through, and off the side of, old wooden boats that were once part of a tourist attraction at Ontario Place

Two young women, mud hero participants, pose for the camera

runners in a race around Ontario Place go through the old "loading zone" area. Toronto skyline and CN tower in the background.

Two runners are holding hands as they cross a very tippy and wobbly floating bridge, many runners are behind them, waiting their turn to cross

runners on the beach with the Mississauga skyline in the distance

A couple is helping each other over the top of a wood A-frame climbing frame as they come over the top and change positions to go down the other side

crossing over the top of a green wood climbing frame.

A race organizer in a bright orange jacket stands on a platform between two large tanks filled with muddy water as racers wade through the chest high water

a group of people are wading through deep muddy cold water and they don't look happy about it

wading through deep muddy cold water

A young man stands on top of a car with his arms upraised in triumph as he proceeds through an obstacle course

A group of people running over some wrecked cars as part of an obstacle race. They are muddy.

A couple holds hands while running across the roof of some wrecked cars

runners at Ontario Place, with part of the dome and white metal structures in the photo, only 2 runner, one coming down a blue ramp and one in the immediate foreground. The man in the foreground is running to the right and is almost out of the picture

Competitors climb over the top of a very large and very tall rope climbing frame

people climbing over the top of a rope climbing frame

A muddy man balancing on a metal beam as he makes his way past some large green punching bags

People balancing on metal beams as they walk through many punching bags, as part of an obstacle race

The front of a Tshirt on a competitor at the end of the Mud Hero race, along with the medal earned for completing the course

A very muddy couple walks past the shower area after the Mud Hero race in Toronto, many people are trying to get the mud off themselves using hoses and cold water

A woman covered in mud poses for a photograph while a couple of people give her strange looks.

a person is holding a muddy pink running shoe, close up shot of the hand and the shoe

lovebot, grominator and those in between

Posted: May 24, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Lovebot and Grominator seem to have developed a friendship.
They have begun appearing in public together.

A graffiti painting on a white garage door, a yellow lovebot with red heart and a red face grominator with blue eyes and blue mouth and teeth
Lovebot seems to have had an influence on Grominator.

A grominator figure wheatpaste, black drawing on white, including body, arms and stubby little legs. He has 3 lovebot hearts, 2 1/2 are red

on Queen St. West near Dufferin

But they can still be found on their own, all over town.

A wheatpaste lovebot of hearts playing card way up high on a wall

a yellow grominator graffiti painting, yellow with black and white bulging eyes

on Brock Ave., near Dundas West

 

A large lovebot on a brick wall on Dundas West. Included is a circuit drawing (electrical) around him.

at 1505 Dundas West

 

a very large lovebot painted on a wall. He is close to two storeys tall.

on Brock Ave., near Dundas West

A large lovebot on a concrete support under a bridge by a river

on the Humber River

 

A No parking sign on a very red wall. Sign says "authorized parking only" and someone has put 2 lovebot stickers on it.

 We’ll keep an eye open for other lovebot and grominator sightings!

life as the shadow of vida

Posted: May 22, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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There is a gorgeous new mural on both side of a small lane on the west side of the Lula Lounge, Dundas Street West.  Painting by Fiya, Shalak Atack, Essencia, Smoky, Sweetman, and Sapiens.

part of a large mural - a South American woman with long braided black hair with a baby wearing a Peruvian hat on her back

part of a large mural - the head and neck of two colourful birds by the street artist fiya

part of a large mural - a man wearing a bowler hat and a striped jacket, seen from the shoulders up.

part of a large colurful mural, a large fish with a yellow and orange body and blue and green face, on a wooden fence
Part of a large colourful mural - seen through a fish eye camera lens. The word Vida is written in capital letters and under it is written Life, also in capital letters but Life is made to look like the shadow of Vida.

Part of a large colourful mural, A woman's head, she has long dark hair that is braided at the back.

part of a large mural - close up of a tiger's face
part of a large colourful mural - a tiger in the middle, eyes iamongst green leaves on the right
Part of a large colourful mural - a large wrinkly man's face with round bulging eyes

part of a large colourful mural - a hand is reaching towards a birdhouse on a stand

street scene on Dundas West, sidewalk and store fronts, with mural in the alley just showing betweenthe Lula lounge with its orange, blue and white tiled front and a store with the sign Argentina on it.

 at the end of the alley

a garage door covered with a street art piece signed by smoky, a mural in the lane beside the garage is also visible

graffiti on a door of a large grotesque man's face with open mouth and what looks like blue ribbons coming out of his mouth, the blue ribbons continue on the concrete of the lane behind the door, and go towards the garbage bins beside the door.

#losclandestinos

ivory, stone, and bone

Posted: May 22, 2015 in galleries
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Animals, people, and figures from his Inuit culture and tradition
carved and sculpted from bones, ivory and stones,

the work of Manasie Akapaliapik, Art Gallery of Ontario, until June 2015

part of a sculpture by Manasie Akpaliapik made of bone, ivory and stone, a man's face

part of a sculpture by Manasie Akpaliapik made of bone, ivory and stone, a person's face

part of a sculpture by Manasie Akpaliapik made of bone, ivory and stone, the head of a walrus
part of a sculpture by Manasie Akpaliapik made of bone, ivory and stone, a man like creature with a man's face but with walrus tusks

Lansdowne billboards

Posted: May 21, 2015 in public art
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Flat Death and Contemporary Floral Arrangements,
by Sarah Cwynar,
large photographs on billboards on Lansdowne Avenue,
Part of CONTACT Photography Festival.

below: ‘Flat Death’ at Lansdowne and Dundas West.
Black and white photos of books on four billboards.

billboards above a used car lot, 3 billboards with large black and white photos of books.

Two billboards side by side each with a large photo of old books in black and white

bikes parked in a bike stand in the foreground, a used car lot in the background. Above the car lot is a billboard with a black and white photo of old books. A Lansdowne TTC bus is on the right hand side.

 below:  ‘Contemporary Floral Arrangements’ on the corner of Lansdowne and College

The foundation for ‘Contemporary Floral Arrangements’ are 1960’s photographs of floral arrangements.  Small objects such as key chains, plastic bits, buttons, spools of thread, etc are then placed on the photos, matching colour and tone.

An building with a 'car wash' sign on it but the windows are covered with a sign for "engima' cond development. On the roof of the building is a billboard with a large photo of a flower arrangement.

The idea that this is an ad made of things that no one wants may be interesting in theory but in practice it’s just a pretty picture.  Because of the location of the billboard, the details of the picture can’t be seen.

At an intersection, An building with a 'car wash' sign on it but the windows are covered with a sign for "engima' cond development. On the roof of the building is a billboard with a large photo of a flower arrangement.

100 Workers

Posted: May 20, 2015 in memorials
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100 Workers,
aka WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) Simcoe Park Workers Monument,
a monument commemorating the workers of Ontario who died in the workplace,
by John Scott and Stewart H. Pollock.

Located downtown on Front Street between Simcoe and John.

low brown granite wall with large brass lettering on the front that says "100 workers". Along the top of the wall are plaques with names of people who died in the workplace between 1901 and 1999. The name, year and cause of death is given on each plaque.

Along the top of the wall are plaques with names of people who died in the workplace between 1901 and 1999. The name, year and cause of death is given on each plaque. View looking down the top of the wall.

Each plaque on along the top of the wall commemorates one person, one from each year between 1901 and 1999.   Deaths are from mining accidents, industrial accidents, train crashes, silicosis, asbestosis, and the like.   At the end, there is one blank plaque to represent future accidents.

A black and brass plaque commemoration Marko Pejic who died in 1983

A statue of a workman chiseling out the words on a granite wall.

view from the east of the 100 Workers memorial showing one of the half walls with the words" Remembering our past. Building a safe future." A lifesize statue of a workman chiseling words into the wall is on the right side of the photo.

Sunday sun and water

Posted: May 18, 2015 in waterfront
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Sunday of the long May weekend,
along the waterfront,
sun, water, and people

A man is sitting by the lake, his back to one of the posts supporting the chain links that separate the walkway from the water.

Two people are lying on the deck of a large boat that is moored at the waterfront, in the background is the Rees wave deck, a wavy sidewalk, on which a lot of people are walking

View of HTO beach with its yellow umbrellas with the Toronto skyline in the background.

people lying in the sand or sitting on chairs, reading, talking, and enjoying the sunny afternoon under large yellow beach umbrellas.

sitting under yellow beach umbrellas beside Lake Ontario

A couple is lying on their backs on a concrete bench beside lake Ontario. Their legs are bent and feet are on the bench, feet towards the lake, head towards the camera. You can see the backs of their heads.

part of the Toronto waterfront, looking towards the city with high rise condos and the CN Tower. some boats are moored , a man is standing beside the water reading a book.

The tall shil 'Caledonia' is moored in the foreground. Behind and to the left are red fire boats, to the right is a walkway beside the lake on which people are walking and cycling.

A child looks askance at thing made of green balloons.

A man on stilts and wearing a black tux and tophat along with a red cumberbund and rose in his lapel is entertaining a group of people

People on the waterfront boardwalk taking pictures of two swans and two ducks that are in the lake

#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

spring blossoms in Mount Pleasant

Posted: May 16, 2015 in nature
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This week all the flowering trees and shrubs have come to life.  Also, a number of times I have looked out the subway window as the train passed Mount Pleasant cemetery and noticed the blossoms on the trees there.  Past experience says that the pinks and whites of these trees may not last long.  So I took my camera and macro lens to Mount Pleasant cemetery and played.

There were lilacs and forsythia and many others that I don’t now the name of.

little pink buds on the end of a branch of a tree

clusters of white blossoms on a branch of a tree with a brownish marble tombstone in the background

close up of the flowers of a horse chestnut tree. Small white petals with pink and yellow markings, and large green seed pods.

close up a cluster of lilac buds, with one flower already open that is partially obscured by buds

bright pink flower on a blossoming tree

branches from a tree laden with pink blossoms in the foreground, a cemetery tombstone in the background

two white flowers in full bloom on a flowering tree

flowers partially open. One bud is still closed and it is pink, when the flowers open they are white as the petals are white with pink tinges on the edges.

pinkish purple little flowers on a branch along with some dried brown pods left over from autumn.

chestnut tree in bloom in a cemetery.

A branch of a forsythia bush with many little yellow flowers on it

close up of new growth, new leaves, on a branch of a flowering tree

below: Apparently this tree is called a Moose Maple.

new growth on a moose maple tree, little dangling green parts and new leaves that are a pinkish colour
new growth on a moose maple tree, little dangling green parts and new leaves that are a pinkish colour - a slightly out of focus ant is climbing on the stem of one of the leaves.

 

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.

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