Douglas Coupland goes condo

Posted: April 29, 2015 in locations, public art
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

On the southeast corner of Don Mills and Sheppard (across Sheppard Ave East from Fairview Mall) some striped poles have sprouted.  Running southwest, at a 45 degree angle from the streets, are 4 tall striped poles with pointy tops; they look like tall skinny cylinders.  They are part of Douglas Coupland’s latest public art installation in the city, ‘Four Seasons’.

below:  Looking southeast, the four poles representing the four seasons rise up in the public space between buildings.  Autumn, of which you can only see a little, is in the foreground, and is followed by summer, spring, and in the distance, winter.

Four tall striped poles designed by Douglas Coupland as a public art installation. The pole in the foreground, spring, can only be partially seen. The winter pole is in the distance.

If you have seen the Douglas Coupland exhibit either at MOCCA or at the ROM, you will realize that bright coloured stripes seem to be part of his trademark.  The first time that I saw these poles I thought of Douglas Coupland and I wasn’t surprised to find that he in fact was the artist who designed them.

below:  Also part of the art installation are three poles that stand next to the new condo development along Don Mills Road.

Looking across the street (Don Mills Rd) at a new condo development. Three tall striped poles are beside one of the buildings as part of an art installation. The building closest to the poles is low rise (2 or 3 storeys) but the building behind is a much taller structure.

below: The ‘winter’ pole is mostly white stripes.
It is the farthest from the intersection of Don Mills and Sheppard.

Very tall striped cylindrical pole with mostly white stripes with a few greys and only one or two pale colours. Looking up from the base of it towards the tip, two tall condos, one on either side, are in the photo too.

It was a damp grey day when I took the photo below.  The result is a grey photo of a grey intersection.  It is also an example of Toronto suburban planning, or the lack thereof.

Over looking a major city intersection, Don Mills Road and Sheppard Ave East. Lots of traffic. Some taller apartment buildings from the sixties and seventies are in the background. One of the tall cyllindrical poles of Douglas Coupland's art installation is in the foreground.

A brightly coloured striped cylindrical shaped pole in front of a tall condo building.

Summerhill faces

Posted: April 22, 2015 in graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

The last time I ventured into a Toronto ravine on my own the path was a icy so I didn’t go far.  Now the ravines are clear of snow and ice – just watch out for the mud!  I was under the railway bridge at Summerhill (just east of Yonge St) this past weekend and I encountered a number of people and faces.
graffiti painting of a scuba diver swimming under water, under a bridge

Graffiti faces on concrete pillars supporting a bridge - the smiley face is on a spray paint can, a large finger is on the trigger.

Graffiti faces on concrete pillars supporting a bridge - three supports in a row are visible. In the foreground is a simple drawing of a man's head in blacks and greys, the next pillar has a more elaborate man in blues

Graffiti faces on concrete pillars supporting a bridge - wild blue eyes and red lips with wavy skin, with the trees, creek and path through the ravine in the background.

Graffiti faces on concrete pillars supporting a bridge - looking up from below so there are a large number of supports visible. A line drawing of a man's head is on one of the pillars

Graffiti faces on concrete pillars supporting a bridge - A white head of a person with pointy ears and a scowl on its face, more graffiti is visible in the background.

Two large abstract faces on a cement pillar. The faces are white ovals, with a red outline. THe features are in black line drawings

Sticker on a teal coloured metal box. Sticker has triangle inside a circle. The triangle is made into a face, big open mouth with cigarette clenched between the teeth. Around the circle are the words 'Smok'em if ya got 'em. Verbs

Best Beach, and others, on Bay

Posted: April 21, 2015 in locations, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

The last block at the south end of Bay Street is closed to traffic at the moment because of the continuing, i.e. never ending, construction on Queens Quay.  In that block there are now three pieces of public art.  The most recent addition is a large photograph by Sarah Ann Johnson that covers a large portion of the west wall of the Westin Harbour Castle Conference Centre.

Very large photograph of a beach scene with sailboats out on the horizon and trees on both sides, superimposed with whimsical drawings of circles and swirls in blues, purples, greens, reds and yellows . It is mounted on the side of a two storey concrete building, the bunker like Westin Hotel and Conference Centre

‘Best Beach’ is a welcome addition to the bunker-like structure of the Westin Hotel.  It is part of this year’s CONTACT photography festival and it is scheduled to remain here until the end of December.  StreetARToronto and Partners in ART also played a role in bringing this project to life.

close up of the lake in a Very large photograph of a beach scene with sailboats out on the horizon and trees on both sides, superimposed with whimsical drawings of circles and swirls in blues, purples, greens, reds and yellows

UPDATED: There is now a youtube video on this installation, produced by the City of Toronto.

 Two small sculptures are also on this block, one on the SW corner of Harbour and Bay and the other on the NW corner of Queens Quay and Bay.  Both are difficult to take photos of!

First, ‘The Wave’ by Ivan Kostov

Public art on a corner called 'The Wave' by Ivan Kostov. curved pieces of coloured metal on top of a greenish pedestal.

Looking up from underneath a sculpture, Public art on a corner called 'The Wave' by Ivan Kostov. curved pieces of coloured metal on top of a greenish pedestal. A highrise condo building is behind.

Second, ‘Nautilius’ by Judith Schwarz

Looking upward from below at a public art installation called 'Nautilius' by Judith Scwarz which is a two dimensional cut out piece of metal of a snail-like spiral, mounted about ten to 12 feet off the ground on square sided metal poles.

Toronto has a habit of cluttering up its sidewalks and public art like this one tends to become just another part of the mess. There is no overall plan. Placement of public art might look great on paper but does anyone take into consideration all the other stuff? Stuff that doesn’t appear on architects’ drawings – the garbage bins, newspaper boxes, TTC signs, phone booths, no parking signs, hydro poles, and such things like that.

Public art installation called 'Nautilius' by Judith Scwarz which is a two dimensional cut out piece of metal of a snail-like spiral, mounted about ten to 12 feet off the ground on square sided metal poles. It is an a sidewalk amongst a lot of other things, TTC sign, condos, construction fences, a parked bike, construction signs etc.

And lastly, I couldn’t resist this little guy who’s stuck on a Bell payphone.

A sticker of a one eyed creature, black drawing on white, is on the blue part of a Bell payphone.

 

hanging around Union Station

Posted: April 20, 2015 in locations, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

If you have recently stood on the platform at Union subway station, northbound to Finch side, you will have seen the new artwork being installed there.   The platform is still under construction and not all the art panels have been installed but this is what it looked like this past weekend.

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform - a seated woman picture on the left. The panel on the right has not yet been installed, there is a space and the construction behind it is easily visible

There are 166 glass panels, each just over 2m high (7 feet) and when it’s finished it will cover the length of the subway platform, a length of 170m (about 500 feet).

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform

At the moment they are installed in such a way that they act as mirrors as well as pictures.

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform - several panels with pictures of people but it is highly reflective so you can see the people waiting on the platform as well

The piece is titled ‘zones of immersion’ and it is the work of Canadian stained glass artist Stuart Reid.  The people on these panels are based on drawings that Reid made as he rode on the TTC.

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform - a sitting woman and a standing woman. An exit sign is reflected in the glass

I’m not sure they will be so highly reflective once the installation is complete and the construction behind them finished.  But in the meantime, a little fun can be had!

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform several panels with pictures of people but it is highly reflective so you can see the people waiting on the platform as well

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform - two blue glass panels, one with a woman's face

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform - 3 men sitting on the subway, all facing the viewer

new art, pictures of people on the subway, on glass panels installed at Union Station platform, a woman's face in profile. You can see traces of the construction behind her.

Allan Garden hoardings

Posted: April 19, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

UPDATED: Construction here has finished and the hoardings have been removed.  These murals no longer exist.

A couple of years ago, the city started a project to replace the water mains that run under Gerrard Street. As part of that project, a section of Allan Gardens was dug up to provide access to the underground mains.   The site was barricaded by wood hoardings.  These hoardings have since been covered by a large mural titled  ‘Nindinawemaaganidok / All My Relations’.  Twenty one artists contributed to the painting of the mural.

The north side of the wall:

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens seen from back a bit, tees, construction equipment and a couple of people are also in the picture

Four themes appear in this mural,  Community, Water, Anishnawbe Teachings and History of the Land.  Animals such as buffalo, deer, wolves, turtles, and beaver are common motifs.

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens a deer with antlers stands by a pine tree.

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - animals, beaver, turtle, eagle, bird,

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - the sun shones on a person lying on the ground.

The east side of the wall:

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, pine tree on a rock by a lake, under a full moon lit night sky

below: Sky Woman

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, blue woman's face, she is loking at the viewer, her long hair blowing in the breeze, rocks below her

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens a leafless tree and a couple of smaller pines by a lake

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, a eagle in flight and a man. construction equipment can be seen bei=hind

South side (along Gerrard Street):

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, a young man's breath is stylized as blue ribbons streaming from his mouth

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a woman surrounded by circles (bubbles?) as she sits on the ground.

West side:

First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a row of 6 men's heads seen in profile, all looking to the right, their long hair blowing away from their faces.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a stylized eagle in bright colours in flight.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a couple walking hand in hand beside a circle divided into quarters, one is black and one is red and a head comes out of each quadrant.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens
If construction goes according to plan, the hoardings should come down by the end of May 2015.  As to whether or not this deadline will be met is anyone’s guess.

The artists: Tannis Nielsen, Phil Cote, Natasha Naveau, Rosary Spence, Gwen Lane, Angela Malley, Judy Rheume, Gary M. Johnston, Amanda Murray, Rebecca Baird, Cotee Harper, Graham Curry, Briana Stone, Lyndsey Lickers-Nyle Johnston, Isaac Weber, Honey Smith, Shelby Rain McDonald, Paula Gonzalez-Ossa, Kalmplex, Adrion Corey Charles, Ron Razor and Steven Henderson.

Link to more information (as well as a video) about this project

surrounded by the colours of Kensington

Posted: April 19, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

On a warm sunny Saturday in April.
People out and about in Kensington enjoying the day.

Two women are posing in front of a mural in a Kensington lane while a man takes a picture and another man watches.

In a dead end Kensington lane with a car parked at the end of the lane. There is street art on both sides of the alley. One man is leaning against the wall on one side, taking a photo of a man who is leaning against the other wall.

Reflections of people walking on the sidewalk, reflected in the side windows of a red vehicle.

A couple is posing for engagement photos. She is sitting on the hood of a red and white Mini Cooper. He is leaning against the front of the car. The car has big eyelashes over the front headlights. The car is parked on a street in Kensington.

A couple is sitting on the sidealk outside a row of boarded up houses. The houses are brick and are painted in bright yellow, orange and red.

A couple is sitting by a window inside a restaurant. The exterior wall of the building is covered in a mural of brightly coloured little monsters. A woman is standing outside by the window as she checks her phone.

Dufferin skeins

Posted: April 16, 2015 in graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

On Dufferin St., just north of Eglinton there is a bridge under the Beltline Pathway.
The old railway bridge crosses the road and metal culverts provide passageways for the sidewalks on both sides of the street.  It was painted  in November 2014.

One of the sidewalks is closed because of construction on the north side.
In fact, the area looks a bit messy at the moment.

looking north up Dufferin street towards an old railway bridge. 4 orange construction signs in the photo as well as a lot of traffic on the street.
This was a  project by STEPS (Sustainable Thinking and Expression on Public Spaces) in collaboration with artists Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson, local residents,  Friends of the York Beltline and local Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Josh Colle.

culvert passageway over a sidewalk that has been painted in stripes except that the sidewalk is closed - a sign, a pole barrier and 2 orange cones to prevent people from crossing under.

A Dufferin street TTC bus passes under an old railway bridge. The concrete support on the far side has been painted with a brightly coloured skein of wool on a yellow background. In the foreground is a culvert that is used as a bridge over a sidewalk. It has been painted in bright vertical stripes.

The mural was funded by the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto program with support from area businesses and associations.

Mural of a skein of wool in bright colours on the underpass of a bridge

Close up of part of the mural of a skein of brightly coloured, multicoloured, wool on a bridge underpass, also the yellow part of a culvert that provides a passageway (tunnel) for the sidewalk. Some houses are in the background.

Close up of the brightly coloured strands of wool in the mural under the beltline on Dufferin Street

Link to a video on the making of this mural.

Niagara Street peeps

Posted: April 8, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Street art and murals
close to the intersection of Niagara Street and Graffiti Alley.

below:  A mural on the side of a house on Niagara Street.
Some of the paint is starting to peel but otherwise it is in good shape.

The side of a brick house is covered with a mural showing a woman's upper body and she has yellow and green hair. Also, there is a woman on a bike with a Toronto scene behind her including the CN Tower and a TTC subway car below her. There are lots of flowers including red roses and white lilies in the picture. The mural is signed by Robert (Reber?) Rian Cruz.

Signature at the top right seems to be Robert Rian Cruz.  Other names are written on the bottom left: doz, nose, cora, anto, wizwon, flur, and markis

Mural painting of a large woman's face. She has yellow and green hair. There are white and pink lilies in the picture too.

Part of a street art painting of a woman on a bike with a Toronto scene behind her including the CN Tower and a TTC subway car below her.

below: Make It by Aaron Li-Hill
In Graffiti Alley but visible from Queen St. West at Niagara.

mural of a fencer with sword drawn and ready. The words are "Make it". It is slightly abstracted and painted to look like there is motion in the picture.

Wheatpaste and paper graffiti on a white concrete block wall. A pair of yip yaps beside a person with an owl head and one wing instead of an arm. The second arm is normal. Also in the picture is a heatpaste black and white picture of a woman riding a bicycle away from the viewer. She is wearing polka dot shorts. Someone has also painted yellow and black bee like creatures with faces (black masks) and brown hats.

Wheatpaste and paper graffiti on a white concrete block wall. A pair of yip yaps beside a person with an owl head and one wing instead of an arm. The second arm is normal.

Square wheatpaste graffiti of a man on a bicycle on a city street. Two large pineapples have been painted on the wall too, one above the bicycle man and one to the right. The pineapples are bright colours, one is orange and yellow and the other is blue and purple.

Close up of picture of woman riding away on a bicycle. An I love Toronto CN TOwer personification sticker is also in the picture

Cyril Lane

Posted: April 7, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , ,
2

Graffiti and street art murals seen in Cyril Lane recently.

large white skull with yellow teeth, and mouth partially open painted on a wall by a metal exterior staircase. The skull is talking black symbols all jumbled up in a blue speech bubble. There is a bike parked in front of the stairs. Perhaps the skull is about to eat the bike?

street art in a lane, view looking down the lane.

Mural of cartoon-like people

below: Rear entrance to Kaisar Guesthouse and Spic & Span Laundry

Graffiti and mural on the back of a coin laundry, spic and span laundry, and back entrance to Kaisar Guesthouse. Yellow and red tag with a picture of a guy wearing a red and white striped shirt.

below: Annie doesn’t look very pleased to be behind bars!

A white cat head, wearing a crown. Sad face on the cat. Large letters spelling "annie" written beside the cat. She is behind a locked metal bar gate.

below:  Lee Matasi, aka Avers, was an artist and skateboarder from Vancouver.
In 2005, just before his 24th birthday, he was murdered in downtown Vancouver.

Picture of an orange pop can being crushed by a white hand. There are drops of red liquid (blood?) coming out of the straw that is in the top of the can. The words "Lee Avers Matasi" are written in block letters above the picture.
pink and pale orange graffiti tag painted on a brick wall in a Toronto alley

pillow fight!

Posted: April 5, 2015 in events, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Pillow Fight
Nathan Phillips Square, Saturday of Easter weekend
Lots of pillows to dodge.
Lots of exuberant fun.
Pillow fights, now a spectator sport!

 

two young men hitting each other with pillows in a pillow fight.

One young men is sitting on the shoulders of another. He is swinging a pillow around in a pillow fight. Many others, who are not on shoulders, are trying to hit him with pillows

A boy is swinging a brown pillow at a woman in a pillow fight.

Two Asian women wearing pyjamas are hitting each other with pillows. Lots of hair flying around.

A young man in a batman shirt is being hit over the head with a red pillow in a large pillow fight.

people at a pillow fight

A group of young men having a pillow fight outdoors,

A young woman is sitting on the shoulders of a young man. She is laughing. She has a pillow in her hand. The crowd is behind her. A large man's face is on the very left of the photo.

A group of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. A woman wearing a t-shirt that says "Lets pretend this never happened" is ducking pillows and laughing.

A young woman is holding a pillow with a pillowcase that has pink, green and yellow geometric shapes on it. She is getting ready to hit someone with it in a pillow fight. She is laughing

A young man on the shoulders of another at a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips Square.

A groupd of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. Old city hall is in the background.

A happy couple taking a break from a pillow fight. He is laughing, she is saying ouch and putting her hand over her ear.

a couple taking photos from the upper level of Nathan Phillips square. Down in the square below them is a large pillow fight, and a lot of spectators and photographers

four young men laughing as they partake in a pillow fight.

Three young men are in the foreground, all are at a pillow fight. One man, wearing glasses, has his pillow held tightly over his head, one is looking away from the camera and the third looks like his head hurts as he puts his hand on his forehead.

CTV reporter ducking pillows as she gives commentary. Camera of cameraman is just in view on the right. Crowd at the pillow fight is behind her.

A boy in a blue jacket is in the foreground, he's hitting a woman in a black jacket. A group of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. Old city hall is in the background.

A young woman has her eyes closed and is smiling as the people around her are hitting each other with pillows.

A young red headed man is on the shoulders of another person in a pillow fight.

Lots of pillows being held up in the air.

crowds of people at Nathan Phillips square on a spring Saturday afternoon

Two young women and a young men at a pillow fight

A smiling man, crouched shoulders, clutching a pillow, walks past a crowd in a pillow fight.

A group of young people taking a selfie photo at a pillow fight.

Man with a spiderman pillow and woman with a pink pillow at a pillow fight

A group of young men enjoying a pillow fight as they swing their pillows at other people

Bald man wearing a ferrari jacket is smiling at the camera as he walks through a crowd having a pillow fight

pillow fight

Two young men having a pillow fight while a crowd stands around them in a circle and watches.

Young man in a black leather jacket has his eyes closed as he hits someone with a pillow in pillow fight.

Young men swinging pillows at each other and trying to hit each other, all in good fun.

A young woman wearing a maroon McMaster shirt is holding a very large stuffed yellow cartoon character bird (tweety bird?)who is wearing a blue denim hat. Posed for the camera. Smiling.

A little boy in a blue jacket with a determined and fierce look on his face in hitting someone in a pillow fight.

A man being hit in the face with a pillow

Three people in costumes are posing for a group selfie as a photographer walks past.

A young woman with black curly hair and glasses is smiling as she takes part in a big pillow fight.

Young people having a pillow fight and laughing.

Man with a beard and a moustache, wearing a white fuzzy jacket with a pale purple artifical flower pinned to it. He's smiling and holding a pillow over his head.

A young man's glasses are falling off because he's just been hit with a pillow.

Two women in a pillow fight, lots of long hair blowing and being thrown around.

Man wearing a yellow top with hood that says on the front "Random yellow fruit". He's yelling and is holding a pillow over his head.

Young woman with long light brown hair is smirking at the camera and showing off her pillow - it is a body pillow with a picture of a male movie star on it and he's dressed in purple tux and black bow tie.

A young man is swinging a pillow while someone on the left is taking his photo.

Young woman with a pillow in a mickey mouse pillow case

Boy wearing a fuzzy brown hat and a camo print fleece bathrobe over a grey T-shirt

A young man being overwhelmed a bit by a large number of pillows being aimed his way.

 

Older Entries
Newer Entries