a fresh coat

Posted: March 31, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Repainting a wall in Graffiti Alley

begiinning to paint, starting with the red - new graffiti tag art in the alley, red with yellow polka dots on blue background

painting new graffiti, blue and yellow next, new graffiti tag art in the alley, red with yellow polka dots on blue background

new graffiti tag art in the alley, red with yellow polka dots on blue background

new graffiti tag art in the alley, red with yellow polka dots on blue background
new graffiti tag art in the alley, red with yellow polka dots on blue background
close up of a door and doorstep that is incorporated into new graffiti tag art in the alley, red with yellow polka dots on blue background

another Kensington alley

Posted: March 30, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Borden Street becomes an alley south of College Street.  It runs along the east side of Kensington Community School, then makes a turn and runs part way along the south side of the school.  All of the garage doors have been painted with pictures and murals.

below:  The most northerly garage door has a sign that indicates that the murals were a gift to the children of Kensington Community School from the Kensington Market Action Committee.  They were painted by a number of different artists.

A large green and black beetle (or a similar insect) painted on a garage door along with words

longer view of part of an alley showing the street art covered garage doors.

Street art piece of a tag in the middle and a face on either top corner.

Graffiti on a garage door. A face is in the top right corner and she is looking down towards the ground. Stylized.

Graffiti painting of a hand holding a can of spray paint.

Garage door with a very large round fat yellow mother hen with two little chicks following behind her.

Graffiti painting on a garage door of the words "Hi Def" in rounded fat letters with colours in pinks greens and black squares.

A mural on a garage door, a wispy picture of a man, an owl and a pair of eyes

close up of a man

north end of an alley with garage doors on the right, white chain link fence on the left. The garage doors are covered with street art and graffiti.

North end of the alley, looking towards College Street.

 

below:  Hey and Hello, by J. Stanton

 A mural on a garage door, all yellow and black, stylized figures a fish, a bone, a wedge of cheese with a face, two cherries made into little figures with eyes, mouth and legs, a large sandwich with a face on the bun as well as arms and legs, also a lemon with eyes, arms and legs. personified food,,

below: A painting by lexr in 2012, Hey Markusiel.
The sign on the gate refers to the Yinka Dene Alliance, a coalition of six First Nations groups from northern British Columbia who organized to stop the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline being built through their territory.

Wooden garage door with a painting of a boy with a baseball cap on his head and a breathing mask around his neck and nose.

below: Street art piece by Cam Novak

Purple and blue abstract street art on a garage door.

below: Max and the Wild Things by ACS Murals (Annex Creative Services Murals)

Mural on a garage door of Max and the Wild Things, characters from the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" . They are swinging from tree branches.

Close up of a Mural on a garage door of Max and the Wild Things, characters from the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" . Two of the wild things are are swinging from tree branches.

below: Another ACS mural

mural on a garage door in an alley of a marine scene. A large grey and white shark is swimming along with a yellow and black angel fish. There is a pink starfish and some coral as well.

Graffiti tag on a garage door in an alley, green tag on blue and orange background. The tag, or word, says "sighto" or something like that.

Blue graffiti tag on pale orange background on a laneway garage door. The word 'Suniti' is written in small letters in the top left corner.

below: The next four pictures are from a mural that covers a couple of garages.  From left to right.

colourful graffiti of two bulls

multicoloured street art on a garage door of a boy reaching forward, his hand is foreshortened and is clasest to the viewer.

street art painting on a garage door in a laneway, a woman with open mouth under a row of eyes

colourful graffiti painting of a man's face surrounded by a lot of abstract shapes

The Place

Posted: March 28, 2015 in locations, old buildings
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The Place, believe it or not, is here,
where Howard Park Ave and Lynd Ave meet Dundas West.

The new next to the old… the old square top, two storey brick stores built in rows that are still common in Toronto even though many are being replaced.

 

A row of two storey brick stores on Dundas West. A convenience store, a laundromat, a cafe, and a boarded up store. On the exterior walls of the convenience store are the words "Believe it or not, this is the place"

 

Garrison Creek mural

Posted: March 27, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Quickly, before the leaves grow back and obscure the mural!

The Garrison Creek mural is on King St. West at Sudbury Ave.,
close to the railway overpass. 

A mural is painted on a retaining wall at the bottom of a small hill that separates some row houses and the street. Many small trees are in front of the mural but it is winter time so there are no leaves on the trees. The mural is a stylized creek that flows through hills with some animals standing beside it - fox, frog, turtle and beaver.

On the north side of King St. West

 

Part of a mural showing a fox standing beside a creek. A bare tree is in front of the mural

Part of a mural showing a large green turtle swimming in a creek. A tree with no leaves is in front of the mural

Part of a mural showing a large green frog sitting beside a creek. A tree with no leaves is in front of the mural

signature, or label, on the garrison creek mural

Cecil Harbourfront Community Centre, 
a Graffiti Transformation Project,
painted in 2004

a stroll inside Honest Eds

Posted: March 26, 2015 in history, landmarks
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Honest Ed’s

 In 1948 Edwin Mirvish opened his ‘Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House’ on the southwest corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets.  Honest Ed’s was not only one of the first department stores in the city but also one of the first to offer discount prices on its merchandise.

below: Honest Ed’s, from across the intersection of Bloor and Bathurst streets.

Looking across an intersection of Bloor and Bathurst streets towards Honest Eds store with its big orange, yellow and black signs on grey cladding. Running around the store, about the level of the top of the first storey, are signs (red lettering on white background) that read "Only the Floors are crooked" , "There's no place like this place, any place", "Come in and Get Lost" and lastly, "A Bargain Centre like this happens only once in a lifetime"

photo taken 25 March 2015

 

below: The same intersection in 1948 when Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House opened.  As you can see, the exterior was covered with signs with humorous sayings from the beginning.

historical black and white photo of Honest Eds store at Bloor and Bathurst.

photo from Honest Eds store via a 2013 article in The Grid TO

Along with the discount merchandise, Ed Mirvish filled his store with pictures and posters, especially movie posters.   The stairwell walls are covered.

movie posters as well as other kinds of posters in a stairwell at Honest Eds, including a large red poster with a picture of 'Honest Ed Mirvish'.
reflections in a round mirror in a staircase at Honest Eds store showing the stairs, railing and various pictures and posters hanging on the walls

A stairwell at Honest Eds store with a large black and red sign that reads "Honest Ed's an Idiot, his prices are cents-less"
You can buy almost anything at Honest Ed’s!  Clothes, shoes, toys, household items, groceries, hardware, prescriptions, souvenirs, … and so on.

Interior photograph of Honest Eds store with its eclectic mix of merchandise. Big No Smoking sign on the wall, some old movie posters on the wall too.

aisle in a discount bargain store. White wooden shelves and bins, lots of red signs, cashier sign as well. Honest Eds interior, ground floor, kitchen ware,

There are hundreds of pictures of actors and other famous (and no so famous!) people.

kitchen wares for sale laid out on white table like shelves. Large pillar in the middle of the store with a sign warning you that you are on camera. Seven pictures of movie stars adorn the pillar. Lots of merchandise for sale in the background.

Jeans for sale, on tables in Honest Eds store. Large black and white posters on the wall along with a colour full length portrait of a woman in a long dress.

All of the signs in the store are hand painted.  In March 2014, Honest Ed’s had a sale of all their signs and the profits ($17,000) from this sale were donated to Victim Services Toronto.
Another sign sale is scheduled for 11 April 2015 starting at 8 a.m.  If you want to buy a sign, arrive early and expect to wait as it is a very popular event.

Sandals for sale at Honest Eds, on white shelves. There is a mirror behind and in the reflection is most of the shoe department of the store.

bins of panties for sale, a wall display and long horizontal mirror in the background. Beside the bin in the foreground is a white pillar on which there is a black and white picture of a man from the shoulders up.

Signs in a store window. One says "Honet Ed can't cook but his customers never get a raw deal" and the other is a page showing all the special prices available at the store. It is printed like a newspaper page and there is a lot of information on it.

A bin full of brightly coloured kids running shoes in greens, blues, reds, etc

In October 2013, the property was sold to a developer but as you can see from the sign in the photo below, the store is still open.  It will remain open until the end of 2016.  It’s been open for 67 years and will remain open for another 21 months.
The southeast corner of Markham and Bloor. The corner of Honest Eds store with its red framed windows and loud garish signs.

birdo on Borden

Posted: March 25, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Birdo street art on the side wall  of Amato Pizza,
corner of Borden and College Streets.

birdo street art on a rust coloured brick wall. Two animal like creatures in greens, blues and rusts. They are larger than life size, taking up most of the side of the building, up to the second storey level.

birdo street art, close up of multicoloured creature over a doorway. Belly and legs are visible in the photo

birdo street art on a rust coloured wall. Yellow stylized bir with wing, claw and head in the picture

alley bunnies

Posted: March 23, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Back to Graffiti Alley for the first time this spring…  well, for the first time since the snow melted since I’m not sure you can call it spring yet!

Here are a few poser and abm crew bunnies that I saw.

large greenish brown poser bunny in Graffiti Alley on pinkish purple background. Bight yellow, pink and blue tag to the right and a door covered with small tags to the left

three black and white poser bunnies on red background with black and white tag in front in Graffiti Alley. They are beside a doorway on which a man has been painted - red hair, white T-shirt and blue pants. Stylized, shrugging his shoulders and holdin his hands at waist level.
light brown poser bunny in Graffiti Alley - about 30 cm wide and 75 cm high on a wall that is perpendicular to the alley, Graffiti Alley is in the background. Signed ambcrew 2014
black, grey and white poser bunny in Graffiti Alley on a wall that is perpendicular to the alley. Graffiti Alley is in the background.

small black and white poser bunny in Graffiti Alley on a wall beside a metal exterior staircase

eyes in the alley

Posted: March 23, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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I went back to Graffiti Alley the other day.
When I was just east of Niagara Street I noticed these eyes looking at me.

One very realistic eye in a partial circle, in a boarded up window above head level so it looks like it's looking down at you.

A small blue Stickman sneaks into the photo too!

 

A wall with a door in the middle of it. There is a street art piece of three heads. Two very stylized men and a more realistic looking woman. Bright colours.

Three faces painted on a garage door by Jon Todd.

Close up of a stylized and slightly abstacted man's face on a wall in an alley

close up of a street piece that is very red, with one whitish grey eye. Some faint swirly white lines demark the face, or at least the upper quadrant that is visible in the picture

A sticker on a pole with green in the background. The sticker is of a man's head. He has a beard and big brown moustache and he is wearing a red toque with a label on it that says 'checo'

slightly abstacted painting of a face in white orange, yellow and brown, in 3/4 profile

Some stickers or slaps on the side of an air conditioner. One is of a frog head with its tongue out and eyes closed. The other is of a green man's face, also with his tongue out.

A garage covered with a large abstract and very colourful painting, swirls and geometric shapes, along with at least three or four eyes. Signed @jchiale

by Jimmy Chiale

Close up, and a side angle shot, of colourful graffiti on a door, door frame and wall. Bright colours, geometric shapes such as white circle around brown, pink zig zags.

…and a mouth too!

Graffiti painting of a bright red pair of lips slightly parted to see shiney white teeth. On a garage door, in an alley.

 Links for more information

Jon Todd

Jimmy Chiale

Obsolescence

Posted: March 22, 2015 in galleries
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Obsolescence, by Shelagh Keeley, 2014
at The Power Plant, Harbourfront Centre

A man is looking at a large art piece on a wall. A collage called Obsolescence by Shelagh Keeley,

The piece covers a wall that is 25 x 40 feet in a room that is only 10 feet wide.

close up of part of a large collage art piece on a wall

The large collage includes photographs taken inside an abandoned textile factory in Monchengladbach Germany.

close up of part of a large collage art piece on a wall. One of the pictures is of a typewriter

A dictionary definition: “Obsolescence: being in the process of passing out of use or usefulness; becoming obsolete.“

close up of part of a large collage art piece on a wall

One of the inspirations for this piece was Marshall McLuhan’s 1970 “Notes on Obsolescence” which opens with the lines:  “When print or the motor car is referred to as “obsolete” many people assume that it is therefore doomed to speedy extinction. A casual glance at the historical record indicates the contrary. Gutenberg did not discourage handwriting. There is a great deal more handwriting done even in the age of the typewriter than was ever done before printing”.

And it ends with: “Obsolescence is a very large and mysterious subject that has had very little attention in relation to its importance.” The present paper may … thus help awareness of the role of obsolescence in sparking creativity and the invention of new order.”

A woman is looking at a large art piece on a wall. A collage called Obsolescence by Shelagh Keeley,

Like all art, it is subjective.   Like good art, it has the potential to make you want to linger in front of it and even to reflect and think.

The upper part of a collage by Shelagh Keeley at The Power Plant gallery. This is the top part of the piece which is 25 feet high.

This piece is scheduled to remain at The Power Plant until 17 May 2015.

Sanko wall

Posted: March 20, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Mural on the wall of the Sanko Trading Company
(a Japanese Canadian business, since 1968),
corner of Claremont and Queen St. West,

Looking across a city intersection to a store on the corner that has a large mural painted on the side of it. Many Japanese motifs, many colours too.
There are many Japanese motifs in the mural including sushi.

sushi street art, part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs.

A robot is at the door.

Street art, part of Japanese-Canadian mural, of a robot looking down at the door.

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. left part of the mural

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. Arched bridge over a stream with a fish jumping out of the water, Japanese maple tree beside the water, street art, large mural

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. A girls face. Her hair is pink and blue and she has big green eyes.

blog_sanko_awning

looking up the side of a two storey building to the underside of the overhang above. part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs.

Painted by Ken Galloway, Timothy Fukakusa, Mitsuo Kimura, Takashi Iwasaki, Darcy Obokata, and Shogo Okada in the winter of 2013-2014

More on the Japantown Mural

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