It’s a mess!

Posted: January 27, 2024 in construction, intersections
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Queen Street is now closed to all traffic from just east of Bay Street to Yonge Street and again between Yonge and Victoria Streets…. for about four and a half years (any bets on 5 years? or more?).  The new Ontario Line subway is being built here.  There will be 4 stops along Queen –  Moss Park which is between Sherbourne and Parliament, then Yonge, Osgoode, and finally a stop at Spadina & Queen before the line heads south to King Street and then the Exhibition.

Because of the existing infrastructure in the area there wasn’t much room for construction, hence the takeover of the street. 501 Queen streetcars and buses are diverting along Richmond and Adelaide streets.

It all makes for a complicated mess for pedestrians.

below: The first warning sign of changes ahead, a little orange sign that says that the sidewalk on the north side of Queen Street is closed between Victoria and Yonge.

street scene, Queen St. East in front of Metropolitan United Church,looking west towards Victoria Street.

below: Queen and Victoria, looking west towards the construction

Queen Street East at Victoria. Street to the west towards Yonge street is closed, green and metal fence blocking traffic and pedestrians, construction site for new Ontario Line subway

below: Looking south on Victoria from Queen

looking south on Victoria Street, west side,from Queen, winter, some snow on ground, green fence blocking off Queen street for construction of ontario line subway

below: Ontario Line hoardings.

two people walking on sidewalk on Queen Street between Victoria and Yonge, fabric hoardings advertising construction of the Ontario line subway on their right

looking through metal construction fence, workmen on a construction site talking to each other

below: Northeast corner of Yonge & Queen

below: Looking east from Yonge

below: Westward view past concrete barriers and wobbly green and metal fencing

below: Crossing Queen Street

below: From the Eaton Centre looking east past Yonge Street.

below: Entrance to the Queen subway station

hoardings create a path across Queen street to provide access to Queen street subway station

below: A break in the construction zone for pedestrians.

hoardings create a path across Queen street to provide access to Eaton Centre

below: Barricade across the sidewalk on the south side, by the Eaton Centre

below: Queen Street is closed in front of Old City Hall

tower of old city hall with road construction in front of it

Along the Riverbank

Posted: January 25, 2024 in general Toronto
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There is a new mural (2022) in Toronto by Nick Sweetman featuring animals and plant life commonly found along Ontario’s rivers, especially the Don River that flows nearby.  It adorns a wall/fence that runs the length of a new park, Riverside Square, which is southeast of Queen and the Don Valley Parkway.

below: The east end of the mural

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: A blue-fronted dancer damselfly (A very long name for a very small creature!)

below: Mink, toad, and a water insect called a water strider.

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Catfish

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: A raccoon eyes the fish swimming past

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: A happy dog among friends, a raccoon and a cotton tail rabbit. If you look closely, there is a bridge in the background by the fox – Torontonians might recognize this bridge as one of the many that cross the Don River.

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Red fox, coyote

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: In the middle

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Egret diving for fish

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: White-tailed Deer

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: North American beaver

below: Painted turtle

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Northern Leopard Frog

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

Tensoe2 and Moises (Luvs) also contributed to ‘Along the Riverbank’

This post also appears in Eyes on the Streets

a blustery winter day

Posted: January 23, 2024 in locations, public art, reflections, waterfront
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Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

below: A Porter flight approaches the island airport

porter airplane coming in for landing over Lake Ontario, with small dock in foreground

below: The Empire Sandy moored at the waterfront, with the Toronto fire boat in the distance.

the Empire Sandy, a three masted sailing ship moored at a dock at Toronto Harbour, in winter, foggy grey day

ice and reflections on the water, with ropes from a boat with snow and ice on them

“Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily

And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it’s rather safe to say

That it seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today”

as sung by Winnie the Pooh

windows on a boat with snow on them, ropes,

below: A kraken is taking over the boat!

picture of an octopus painted on the side of a red and black boat that is tied up at the shore

below: A large photograph, on the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is  “These Times 2019” by Anique Jordan which has been on display since the CONTACT Photography Festival last spring.

large black and white photo displayed on exterior wall of art gallery, person lying down with back to the camera

below: “Kuumba”, Photography by Stephen Tayo is on display outside at Harbourfront

large photograph displayed outside, two Black men, one has his arm around the other

harbourfront parking pavilion and entrance building with two large photographs by Nigerian Stephen Tayo featuring black men, and black hair

large photo of two Black women with their hair in curved shapes made from braids, displayed outside in winter, Queens Quay, Ontario Square

below:  Also at Harbourfront, orange ties blowing in the wind.  These are remains, and a reminder, of Orange Shirt Day on 30th September.

2 rows of orange ties hanging from tress, winter, snow covered ground, in a park

CN Tower between two condos

below:  Looking east on Harbour Street, parallel to the Gardiner Expressway, toward York Street and the wedged shaped building that has been squeezed into the space.

wedged shaped building at York and Gardiner Expressway

below: Waterfront ReConnect: Pixel Story is a “temporary creative intervention” located under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe.  Crowd-sourced stories and memories of the waterfront each on a little blue square.  Making constructive use of a space that has been neglected for so long; adding colour and interest to what was grey and slightly foreboding.

under the Gardiner, pillars painted blue and purple

blue squares arranged in a grid as part of a public art installation. some squares have simple white pictures and some squares have words written in white

“Railways arrived on Toronto’s waterfront in the 1850s. To accommodate, a southward extension of the shoreline via infill was required. The ground where we stand now is close to the original shoreline of the lake.”

construction beside the Gardiner expressway, raised road, winter,

below:  On the north side of the Gardiner – still a little darkness lurking there.

under a Gardiner expressway ramp

below: City of Toronto sign says Tree Protection Zone.  I don’t think that I believe it.

City of Toronto tree protection zone sign on a fence around a construction supply site. no trees there, under the Gardiner Expressway

walking beside a Gardiner Expressway ramp, near York street, north side

concrete bent pillar under the gardiner painted blue with the work york, for york street,

glass structure south of the Gardiner on York

looking into entrance of 12 York, reflections in the glass

below: At this point I had had enough of the cold; it was time to check out a warmer route!  So underground I went, down into the PATH system.   The lobby of ICE at 12 York has this large circular skylight over the escalator.

skylight in roof over escalator to PATH system in ICE condos

 below: And then there is this long black, white, and chrome tunnel that connects the ICE condo and the PATH system.   The walls on both sides are reflective and it’s a bit disorientating.  Is this supposed to represent walking through a block of ice, or black ice?

tunnel from Ice Condos at 12 York to the PATH system, black and white and reflective surfaces

below: PATH, the underground rabbit warren of tunnels that connect downtown buildings to each other.  Usually I get lost down here.

on a white wall, PATH sign,

below: I found myself in a grocery store

view of shelves in grocery store

below: And I discovered that the PATH sometimes goes high, not low.  I found myself on the upper level of the Scotiabank Arena.

a man walks through the PATH system on the upper level of scotiabank arena, interior

below: There is a great view of Legends Row from up here – that’s the statues of all the Maple Leaf Captains from the past.

looking out window of scotiabank arena and seeing legends row, the line up of statues of former Maple Leafs captains

below: And inside, a collage of Leaf players hangs on the wall.

collage of Maple Leafs hockey players, framed picture on wall

below: There’s even a portrait of Justin Bieber, behind glass, wearing a Maple Leaf jersey with a Captains C on the shoulder.

framed picture of Justin Bieber in a Maple LEafs jersey, blue, with a C,

below: This is also good vantage point for all of Maple Leaf Square

Maple leaf square view towards union station with royal york hotel in background, snowy, grey day,

below: Including a close up view of the rusty metal things…  Actually it’s “Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light” (1998) by John McEwen.

rusty metal conical shapes, art, maple leaf square, metal has star shaped holes and are lit from inside

At Scotiabank Arena, the PATH splits into two possibilities.  One route is through Union Station and the other is up the escalator towards the new GO Bus Terminal.

below: Four  (or five?) John Tavares’s to give directions to the new GO Bus Terminal.  Happy to oblige!

Picture of Maple Leafs captain John Tavares in quadruplicate, in uniform and helmet, photo on the wall behind a sign giving directions to the new GO bus station

below: There is now a pedestrian bridge over Bay Street that connects the Scotiabank Arena and Union Station Bus Terminal to the new CIBC SQUARE building. This is the view looking south on Bay

view south on Bay street from pedestrian bridge south of railway tracks that joins union station to cibc square

man using phone to take picture out a window from pedestrian bridge, another person watching him as he walks past

below: Along the north wall of the bridge is a work by Nicolas Baier called “Mycelium”.  It is a network of LED lights and it is visible from outside as well.

elevated enclosed walkway over street, with one wall made of glass with artwotk of LED lights running through it

reflection in mirrored glass with a network of L E D lights running through it

below: At CIBC Square there is a new rooftop garden/park that has a tall  skinny metallic tree, along with some real trees. There is no access to it yet but it will probably  be a more welcoming in a few months.

rooftop park, closed for winter and construction, cibc square

At this point I retraced my steps back through Scotiabank and then walked through Union Station where I learned that a small space has been set aside for a temporary roller skating rink.  Free rentals. Free entry.

two women roller skating, one has fallen and the other is helping her up

below: He still stands outside Union Station with the flock of birds flying around while the sun reflects off the gold tinted Royal Bank Building.

sculpture outside union station, man with birds flying around him in partial sphere shape, gold coloured rbc building behind him

below: Steamy Yonge Street on a cold day

Yonge street looking north at king on a cold winter day, steam coming from manhole, steam and fog above the street too

below: Development notice outside 69 Yonge Street.

blue and white city of toronto development notice outside door of 60 yonge street, orange and black traffic construction cones in front of the building

below: C’est tout. Fini. Time to go home.

a man stands on the platform at king subay station, talking on his phone

 

portraits in black and white

Posted: January 19, 2024 in galleries
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If you are interested in photography, especially taking pictures of people, then I highly recommend seeing the current exhibit of Arthur Newman’s black and white photos at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  Newman was an American photographer born in New York City in 1918.  He is known for his work with portraits, especially with ‘environmental portraits’.  These are images that are much more than head shots as they include context that provides further information about the subject.  Often the location or the accessories used in the shot were more dominant than the person being photographed.

Keep in mind that these are pictures of framed photographs hung in a room with low light, i.e. they are much better in real life.

below left: Michel Tapie, art critic and curator
below right: Georges Mathieu, French painter

black and white portrait by Arnold Newman, 2 portraits, on right is Georges Mathieu a French Painter and on left is

below top: from left to right – Phillip Glass 1981 composer, artist Roy Lichtenstein 1975, and Annie & Josef Albers 1976 (also artists)
below bottom: (all painters) from left to right – Edward Hopper 1960, Richard Artschwager 1987, and Lily Michaels 1959.  The image that is only partially shown is of Martha Graham, dancer and choreographer taken in 1961.

on wall at art gallery of ontario, black and white portrait by Arnold Newman, 6 photos

below: Israeli artist Moshe Kupferman, taken 1982

black and white portrait by Arnold Newman, of artist Moshe Kupferman

below left: Abstract image in home of Yechiel and Haviva Shemi, 1982
below right: Allen Ginsberg, poet, 1985

at art gallery of ontario, exhibit of black and white portraits by arnold newman, photo of poet alan ginsberg kneeling on a bed

below: Jean Arp, sculptor, 1949

at art gallery of ontario, exhibit of black and white portraits by arnold newman of french sculptor jean arp

below left: Jean Cocteau, 1960, writer and visual artist
below right: Yaacov Agam, sculptor, 1966

at art gallery of ontario, exhibit of black and white portraits by arnold newman, 2 photos

below left: Julio La Parc, artist, 1967
below right: Lee Krasner, artist 1973

at art gallery of ontario, exhibit of black and white portraits by arnold newman, 2 photos

below: John Hay Whitney, taken 1947.  Whitney was chairman of the board at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York City.

portrait of John Hay Whitney taken by Arnold Newman

below: Priscilla Colt and Thomas C. Colt Jr., 1950, museum directors, Portland Art Museum, Oregon.

portrait taken inside an art gallery, beside a scultprue of a standing figure, a couple, photo taken by arnold newman

black and white photo by Arnold Newman of a man holding a picture frame around his head

Unfortunately this show ends this weekend, on the 21st of January.  I didn’t realize that it was ending so soon so I am glad that I caught it when I did.

from Harbord to Dundas via Kensington

Posted: January 18, 2024 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art, locations, reflections, stores
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…. or thereabouts.

It started with a stop that was earlier than planned.    I was on my way to meet a friend in Kensington but that morning my walk started closer to Harbord because the 510 car wasn’t going anywhere.  An incident on a streetcar involving the police means the whole route gets backed up.

streetcars stopped on Spadina, police car with lights flashing stopped beside the one in front

below: This building on the west side of Spadina (372/374 Spadina) has languished for a few years.  It falls within the Harbord Village HCD (Historic Community District) and there may have been a change of ownership.

large old houses on Spadina near harbord

below:   I tried researching the present status of the property but I came up empty. There is a building permit in the window but there are no signs of work being done.

old large brick house with front porch, building permit in window

below: My fellow TTC travellers and I walked the curve in Spadina.

people walking on the sidewalk, walking past large old brick houses

below: At the south end of the curve is Lord Lansdowne School which was built in 1960/1961 to replace an older school nearby and to accommodate the post-war population growth in the city.  The main part of the school is a nine-sided circular building with 18 tapered steel pylons radiating outward like flying buttresses.  The roof consists of folded concrete plates,

part of exterior of lord lansdowne school

below: A big chunk of anorthosite sits in the schoolyard.   Some of the rocks brought back from the moon are anorthosites.  But this isn’t a moon rock!  This type of rock isn’t found in many places in North America but there is some to the north of the city in the Canadian Shield region.  It is composed predominantly of feldspar.  It is an igneous rock which means that it was formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock (such as lava).

large grey rock in a schoolyard with a plaque on it describing the rock

Plaque: “This basic igneous rock was found at a depth f 12 feet during the course of excavation for this school.  The composition is a very rare type and is  assumed to have been carried here from Caribou Lake north of Parry Sound by a glacier during the Great Ice Age approximately 12,000 years ago. “

below: Every Child Matters on the schoolyard fence

orange ties on fence to spell words every child matters

below: Also on the fence, parent and child walking hand in hand past the playground.

painted cutouts on a chainlink fence around lord lansdowne school, a mother and child holding hands

below: Intersection of Spadina and College, looking south.

intersection of college and spadina, looking south on spadina

below: A small disc mounted on a concrete pole – a tribute to Saul Gwartzman by Rocky Zenyck.  Gwartzmans Art Supply store is still on Spadina Ave.

circular brass piece, mounted on utility pole, a face in the middle of it, with words marked on it

Engraved in around the face on the disc, “We remember. Saul Gwartzman. Born on Spadina Avenue above the store where he supported artists in Toronto for decades, 1936-2019”

below: Walking on Spadina, south of College.

spadina, south of college, west side of the street, Smoke and Variety store, El Macombo tavern, people on sidewalk winter time, no leaves on trees,

below: Canadian souvenirs are unavailable at the moment!

store front on spadina, closed, with canada flags on door,
stores and buildings on the east side of Spadina, old brick buildings,

below: Dragons on the wall, Oxford Street.

dragon mural on red brick building

below: One of the Kensington poles with a globe at the top.  Another site in limbo – the hoardings are still around the lot on the southwest corner of  Baldwin and Spadina.  I wrote about them in Dec 2020 (post: a long time lingering) and they were old then.

Spadina Ave, pole for entrance to Kensington, with globe on the top

There were not many other people walking around Kensington that morning, we were a bit early for that.  Even without people, it is a neighbourhood that is full of colours and full of life.  Parts of it are run down and grubby but that rarely stops a photographer!  The next photos are a random sample of what we saw that day.

below: Looking west on Baldwin.  The king is on the wall.

looking west on Baldwin, yellow wall with painting of man with crown on head, on the side of one of the buildings

below: Kids for sale!

items in the window of a kensington cheese store, an old picture of queen elizabeth with words eat more queso, a piece of wood shaped like a goat with words kids for sale

below: Mice in the cheese store window.  There’s Mickey Mouse and the little brown mouse, Jerry, from another cartoon series as well as some not so famous rodents.

items in a cheese store window, toy mice, mickey mouse, flags of Greece, Serbia, and Singapore

below: Uncle Vintage at the other end.  The mural on the right is “When Math Meets Art”

looking down an alley in kensington, view of Uncle Vintage clothing at the end, murals on both sides of the alley

below: From a different angle. It was painted by Sasha Q (aka Oleksandra Stepanenko)

mural in blues and greys with title Math Meets Art on old brick building in Kensington

 

below: Mural of a blue crab by Nick Sweetman,

blue crab mural by nick sweetman

below: Look Mom Paint!

large words painted on the side of a building that say look mom paint

below: Three old black and white photos of Kensington scenes in the window of the Peruvian food store,

three old black and white photos of Kensington area in the window of a Peruvian store,

below: A bright and cheerful red daisy keeping an eye on things.

street art in a small corner on Baldwin Ave in kensington

below: “And then the streets became my notepad – GOD”

written in large black letters on a pinkish salmon coloured brick wall, and then the streets became my notepad, god

below: More hoardings and the consequent graffiti covering them.

below: It’s difficult to see, but some of the words written on the hoardings are “It’s hard but ur strong”.

below: Mark has left his mark.

a man with a walker walks past a white wall with a large purple painting of the name Mark in capital letters

below: The backside of Moonbean Coffee as seen from the alley behind.  Little faces in Paradise.

graffiti and street art on upper back part of moonbean coffee as seen from the alley behind

below: Yummy!  Mini Boston Cream Bombs on display in the window.

boston cream bomb donuts in the window of a donut store

below: Not so yummy?!

looking in the window of a fruit and vegetable store, large green squash and a pile of oranges beside the window

below: Pigeon fanciers, this one’s for you. It seems there were some takers.  Sorry, but I didn’t follow up with the research on this one so I am not sure what happens if you call!

poster on a wall with a street art face painted on it, poster is looking for pigeon fanciers to interview

below: Union Jack either faded to pink, or in trans colours?

hand painted union jack on a fence but the red has faded to pink

below: Super Serve on Dundas, across the street from People Hair Salon.

below:  It looks like Rowell Soder mural although he rarely paints the eyes – the mushroom top should give you a hint as to what this store sells.

below: I like yellow rubber duckies but I doubt that I would wear this many at once!

below: You grow girl!

below: She leans left.

below: Little yellow bald guys as well as some words written on a wall; they are Leonard Cohen lyrics.

“From Leonard Cohen Book of Mercy, …I heard my soul singing behind a leaf, plucked the leaf, but then I heard it singing behind a veil. I tore the veil, but then I heard it singing behind a wall. I broke the wall, and I heard my soul singing against me. I built up the wall, mended the curtain, but I could not put back the leaf. I held it in my hand and I heard my soul singing mightily against me. This is what it’s like to study without a friend.”

below: Mirror, mirror, on the wall..  A Sigil is a sign in magic or witchcraft or similar.

below: Mannequins in feathers….

below: … and mannequins in hats

a Kensington laneway

rusty white metal gate at the end of a walk in front of a blue house painted with white gingerbread trim

below: The mural on the left features a white egg with a large open mouth.  The text above it says, “Feed Eggs”.   Any ideas?

alley in Kensington, looking towards turquoise building, Courage my Love vintage clothing store

below: It’s Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley

mural in alley, Dastardly and his dog muttley, cartoon characters

below: A mandolin player by SashaQ and a Phillip Saunders portrait in blue.

murals in a kensington alley, in the front is a mandolin olayer, then a portrait in blue.

 

below: Leftovers from both Halloween and Christmas

outside a house in Kensington, both halloween and christmas decorations, snowman

below: An eclectic collection of posters and notices cover a restaurant window… pictures of food as well as posters for  young Asian musicians.

signs and posters in the window of a chinese restaurant on spadina

below: Fight Your Demons

written on a wall in black paint, fight your demons

below: South on Spadina

spadina, looking south,

below: Spadina and Dundas

With many thanks to Merle for walking with me on that grey day!  We enjoyed wandering around the street and alleys and discovering what Kensington has to offer.  It was fun to have someone helping to find all the little bits and pieces that often get overlooked.   Here we found a party, or at least the remains of one.   All those little coloured blobs are actually shiny words that say “party”.   I hope that it was a good party!

woman wearing pink hat taking a picture with her phone of confetti on the sidewalk that is bits of shiny paper spelling the word party

Merle has a blog too where she meets and interviews interesting seniors (or seniors who are doing interesting things), Super Bubbies!  I forgot to ask her how old one needs to be a Bubbie and am I old enough?!!!  If you are interested in the photos that she took on this walk or you’re curious as to what makes aa Super Bubbie, check out Super Bubbies!  I find it fascinating how different people can walk the same route and come away with quite a different recollection of the walk.

Keep exploring!  Keep being super!

Kensington graffiti – January 2024 edition

Posted: January 16, 2024 in graffiti and street art
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Yes, another Kensington post … to make it three in a row.

below:  A group with all eyes on their phones and perhaps all connected to the cloud.  But it’s a dark angry cloud, even a nuclear mushroom cloud, but nobody notices.

small paper graffiti stencil of a group of people in 3d glasses, all looking at their phones

below: On a Kensington pole, Visual Noise, Urban Ninja Squadron‘s T-bonez dressed as the farmer’s wife standing beside a very sturdy looking Sailor Dude Farmer from Ty Pro. A luchadore from Bruho waits below, ready for a fight….  “Bruho raced to fight the fascists.”

stickers on a pole in kensington

below: T bonez, this time with Bruho in a psychadelic pink and purple haze on a mushroom.

urban ninja squadron t bonez coloured picture, with a little catchoo

below: Catchoo’s little blue disc says save me but perhaps that’s what Tweety Bird should be saying – does he realize that the tiger is right behind him?! That’s no ordinary puddy cat! Paste-up by tweet_streetart (aka Tweet).

square catchoo face in pale blue and white on a pole with another slap of a tiger chasing tweety bird

below: Running ninjas , The Chosen Few

urban ninja squadron visual noise sticker, running while holding hands with bird

below: … and then he takes to the air.

t bonez graffiti slap, holding onto red helicopter whirlie blades

below: Another 33wallflower33 piece this time it involves kids and a horse.  I don’t want to know what the worm is up to or what might be going through it’s head (assuming worms have brains?).

33 wallflower 33 paste up of two kids on horse back, along with a catchoo worm sticker with its tongue stuck out

below: This threesome has seen better days.  On the left, in the original the woman is serving up Doug Ford’s head in a frying pan (33wallflower33).

33wallflower 33 black and white paste up besie a catchoo worm sticker along with a tweety street art cat holding a teddy bear

below:  There’s that worm again!  T-Bonez is now standing beside a cute koala and the woman in the 33wallflower33 piece is stripping down to her panties.  No frying pans or horses here!

graffiti on a pole along with street signs

below: “Death is just the beginning” Don’t you wonder what it’s the beginning of?

two text graffitis, small, on wall, one is written on brown tile and says death is only the beginning and the other is a white sticker written in blue

below: Sentient cookie (aka Cecil Tian) man with heavily tattooed arm, smoking…  with the poor fellow below crying his eyes out, almost literally.

below: Rubber Ducky

sticker, little yellow rubber ducky

below: There is another Sentient Cookie sticker at the top.  The red in the middle is the creation of Fernando Chamarelli

below: Markus

below: Stay hydrated!

sticker, black and white, man is drinking from an oil or gas container

below: Golden crown on blue painted metal, Rocky Zenyk.

metal, crown, on utility pole

below:  Hands holding a solid structure, home, from which nature, flowers and leaves, flourish.

engraved and coloured brass rectangle street art, beside part of a black and white mural

below: Grey metal this time, and words say” Forsan Miseros” across the top, above what appears to be a man praying.  He is surrounded by flames, beseeching the gods.  The full text is “Forsan miseros meliora sequetur” and it is Latin; the internet translates it as “For those in misery, perhaps better things will follow”.  Latin scholars may disagree.

below: completely covered

back of a traffic sign on dundas, completely covered with stickers

below: Little green paint roller army man running into battle, somewhere on the streets.  More political is the “Free Palestine” sticker above it (from them from whom?).

three stickers on a pole, a green army man with a paint roller in his hand, a free palestine sticker, and another

below: Hello my new friend

written on red on top of a black and white graffiti painting, the words, hello my new friend

Previous two Kensington street art posts:
1. blues, and more in a Kensington lane
2. Is everyone nice?

 

blues, and more, in a Kensington lane

Posted: January 13, 2024 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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My previous blog post was about graffiti on a wall on St. Andrew Street  (Is everyone nice?) which is in the Kensington neighbourhood.  Also in Kensington are quite a few alleys and laneways, and in most of them you can find graffiti and/or murals.  This post is a short tour down one of these alleys.

below: The garage door with the UBER 5000 painting of dogs playing cards marks the entrance to the alley.  Lucky the little yellow birdie points the way.

part of an uber 5000 mural of dogs playing cards, with a little yellow birdie in the top left corner, entrance to alley, other graffiti and street art can be seen including a large piece by Rowell Soller

part of an uber 5000 mural of dogs playing cards, with a little yellow birdie in the top left corner, entrance to alley, other graffiti and street art can be seen

below: The first blue is a man with the start of a beard and mustache by Phillip Saunders

portrait of a blue man with a mustache by Philip saunders, on a wood fence

below: A poser bunny

poser bunny street art on a wood fence

below: A long term resident now is this woman with the purple lips and Jamaican flag.

portrait of a Black woman, purple lips, Jamaican flag under her

below:  One eyed red daisy painted large by Life©️(aka Life in the streets)

large text street art painting in yellow and green

street art mural of a large purple fish with billowy tail, swimming,

murals on garages at the end of the lane with other murals on the buildings on the side of the alley too

below: Some of the pieces are mismatched but she’s still intact.

portrait of a woman in blue painted on a wood fence

below: Another blue face keeping an eye on the alley

a bike leaning against a wall in an alley, a street art mural of a woman in blue paint in the background

below: Cats on garages, both by Mankaur Arts (aka Manpreet Kaur) because the world won’t save itself…. but maybe we can score a goal or two in the meantime.

murals on garages, one of the right is cats playing hockey and on the left is a cat with text saying

an old mattress leaning against a fence in an alley, murals on some of the garages,

below:  Another shade of blue, a bit more teal this time.

painting of a teal coloured man on a wood fence in a Kensington alley

below: Center part of a mural by Rowell Soller.

 

mural by Rowell Soder in an alley, part of a face, mouth and nose, surrounded by red, yellow, and white shapes

graffiti stickers, faces

graffiti stickers, faces plus my name is marene

is everyone nice?

Posted: January 11, 2024 in graffiti and street art
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graffiti in Kensington

There are two very different pairs can be seen on opposites sides of an old window on St. Andrew Street.

graffiti on a blackened window of an empty store in kensington, three pieces of graffiti on it, including a df606 david bowie in the center of an old rotary phone

below: On one side,  City Kitty is asking,  “Canada, Why is everyone so nice?” while sitting beside a D7606 David Bowie in the center of a rotary phone.  Is he waiting for a call?  Can you hear me Major Tom?

NYC based artist City Kitty cat reading a book about Canada and saying Canada why are you so nice beside a second pasteup of a rotary phone with David Bowie's face in the middle of it

below: On the other side two men, white on black, by Adeyemi Adegbesan (Yung Yemi), masked? or blinded?  in chains? or in armour?

black and white street art by Adeyemi Adegbesan of two Black males with elaborate jewellery and chains joining them, also a collar that looks like a metal jaguar or tiger roaring,

below: Close up of a kitty of a not so gentle nature.

black and white street art by Adeyemi Adegbesan of two Black males with elaborate jewellery and chains joining them, also a collar that looks like a metal jaguar or tiger roaring,

Sarindar Dhaliwal’s Oscar, Frida, and many flowers

Posted: January 7, 2024 in galleries
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For more than 40 years, Sarindar Dhaliwal has been creating works of art.  She was born in Punjab India but grew up in Southall London England.  The family moved again when Sarindar was 15, this time to rural Ontario.  Her work is colourful – vibrant and full of life.  Many of her pieces are being exhibited at the Art Galley of Ontario at the moment.  This is a sampling of them.

below: “Oscar and the Two Fridas”, 1991.  Oscar Wilde and Frida Kahlo are two artists that Dhaliwal admires.

 

painting by Sarindar Dhaliwal on the wall at the Art Gallery of Ontario, featuring a picture of Oscar Wilde in black and white in the middle, and two coloured portraits of Frida Kahlo in opposite corners, vase of flowers as well

Two women looking at painting by Sarindar Dhaliwal on the wall at the Art Gallery of Ontario

below: The garden outside, and the window through which you can view it…  An interesting way to present perspective.

painting by Sarindar Dhaliwal, garden, window in a pinkish adobe wall looking out onto the garden, metal bars in the window

below: A part of “At Badminton” another mixed-media collage-like work on paper; here woman in traditional saris are playing badminton.

part of a mixed media collage, pictures of women as seen out a window, plus a line of flowers, the work is "At Badminton"

below: “When I Grow Up I Want to be a Namer of Paint Colors”.  If you look closely, the names don’t always match the colour.  There are pinks called ‘powdered baby lemon’ and ‘chalky eggshell’ while some reds are “imperial indigo” and “periwinkle”.  A work of imagination – ‘vanilla twilight’!  A work that ignores the rules and norms.

I want to be the namer of colours by Sarindar Dhaliwal, a chart in grid shape of various shades of pink, red, and orange, that she has given names to

below: “Indian Billboard” 2000.

mixed media collage artwork by Sarindar Dhaliwal, lots of billboards and a tiger,

From the words on the wall, “The idea for this work came from a trip Dhaliwal took to Bangalore India in 1996. Here she saw a feminist billboard in India for the first time. The hand-painted sign openly critiqued the dowry system used in arranged marriages and featured the slogan “Is Your Husband Worth the Money You Paid For Him?”.
“In this work, she recreates the same text a well as advertisements ranging from the refrigerators to beedies (a type of Indian cigarette). Images of tigers, paint swatches, and her ubiquitous flowers are peppered throughout. In some of the billboards, Dhaliwal depicts Hindi script. Unable to read Hindi herself, she wrote the letters backwards. When this was pointed out to her, she decided to write one of the English language billboards in reverse as well.”

below: Closer view of some of the billboards.

close up of a piece of art, a tiger,

A couple at the AGO, woman is seated, man standing behind her. They are watching a video on a screen mounted on the wall

below:  Dhaliwal’s work consists of more than these mixed-media ‘collages’.  There is video as you can see.  There are also large panels that tell a story.  This one in English and a second in .  The story starts with a sick child whose mother and aunt took her from village to village, “the embroidered cuffs of their baggy pants encrusted with…”.

a story written in red letters on a black wall, goes around a corner

below: These are some of the women whose photographs were incorporated into a work called “Hey, Hey Paula”.  What do they have in common?  They were all featured in the Sunday edition of the ‘New York Times’; they were the brides-to-be in the Engagement Announcements section between 1989 and 1992.

Grid of photos of young women, all red tones,

below: There were many women!  The wall most easily seen in the photo is a grid of 9 x 27 photos, with no duplicated that I can find.  That makes 263 women represented on that wall… and that’s only part of the whole.

man in white shirt standing in the middle of an art piece of pictures on two sides of a corner, and a red phone in the middle Hey Hey Paula by Sarindar Dhaliwal

below: If you pick up the receiver on the red phone you can listen to a recording of the 1963 hit song ‘Hey Paula’ recorded by Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson under the name of Paul and Paula.

an art piece of pictures on two sides of a corner, and a red phone in the middle Hey Hey Paula by Sarindar Dhaliwal

some people standing in front of, and looking at, an art piece of pictures on two sides of a corner, and a red phone in the middle Hey Hey Paula by Sarindar Dhaliwal

“…that [art] is a world that can belong to you and in it, you can make your imagination come alive.”
is a quote by Dhaliwal in an interview by the CBC.

This exhibit continues until mid-July 2024

the word about town

Posted: January 4, 2024 in general Toronto
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Many thanks to Sarah Serata who emailed me a few days ago with some photos that she had taken while out walking around the city.  The photos were of some of the graffiti signs that have been appeared in the past couple of years.  She wanted to know if I knew the name of the artist(s) responsible for the signs.  But unfortunately I don’t know the answer.  Instead, I have added a few of my own photos from the past few months and put them all together in this post.  If you can enlighten us as to who has posted these signs, please let us know!

below: Sweet Marie Variety on the corner of Queen and Sumach has been in decline for years.  Now it is also “Too Little” and “Too Late”.

text on posters, graffiti, on boarded up windows

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below:“Wish you were here”, Regent Park buildings before they were demolished.

painted sign posted outside old brick regent Park building before it was demolished

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: “Text”.  Words have always been a part of graffiti.  You see them hastily scrawled in marker or paint, or carefully stenciled on walls, signs, fences, or sidewalks.  Sometimes the text is silly or profane; often it is a protest.  But not usually do you just see the word ‘text’ like this sign that is mounted on the exterior of the old Consumers Gas Office building on Eastern Ave.

text on posters, graffiti, on empty buildings

below: “Gameover” was seen on the same building as the above.

text on posters, graffiti, on empty buildings

below: … and so was “Nice” which is a little fancier, and dare I say, nicer?

green sign with white letters that says nice on brick wall on old industrial building

below: Another “Nice” in blue and white.  All of these signs have obviously been painted/printed elsewhere.  You can’t call them paste-ups because they are more permanent than paper.  This one looks to be nailed to the plywood below it.

text on posters, graffiti, on empty buildings

photo credit: Peter Mickelson

below:  The circle within a square motif seen above also appears here – “Brawn” in the grass beside Eastern Avenue.  There was once a similar sign that said “Think” posted nearby.

sign saying brawn on a wood stake in the grass beside Eastern Ave

below: “Untitled” on  River Street.  Does untitled = unowned (as in holding a title on a piece of property)?

text on posters, graffiti, on boarded up windows

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below:“True to Form” – the next few are of a similar style and are probably by the same artist(?)

text on posters, graffiti, on empty buildings

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: “Blood in the Water”

text on posters, graffiti, on empty buildings

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: The downside of hanging your signs on abandoned buildings is that the weeds and shrubs grow freely there and your message gets lost.

printed sign obscured by many green leaves

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: Money is no …?  I like that fact that a sign about money is printed in gold on a green background.

printed sign, gold letters on green that say money is no, but then last word is hidden behind green leaves

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: Previously posted – located on the same row of boarded up houses on Broadview where Moises and Nick Sweetman painted a large mural with a raccoon, pigeon, and others (see Changes at Broadview and Eastern)

front door steps of empty house that has been boarded up, with sign on it that says so far so good

below: Around the time that Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, this sign appeared on the old foundry building near the Distillery District.  True, it’s a symbol not a word but the word “Ukraine” was also posted on the same building (and in the same blue and yellow).  I have a photo of it somewhere!

below: The one thing that all of the above signs have in common is that they are in the east end.   So far, I have only found one exception and that is this sign that was hung by the north side of the railway tracks on Front Street (near Bathurst).

Mounted on the fence separating the railway tracks from Front Street, is a long vertical brown sign with the words if you don't want to. GO train passing behind, condo development in the background

below: A final note – as I was putting together this post, I remembered this wall. A few years ago (2014?) if you were on Queen St. East near Church street you could see this wall on the north side beyond a parking lot (now a condo).

the word think written large in block capital letters, white on red, on a brick building in downtown Toronto, no longer there,

If you are interested in words written on walls, try “Positive words are never wrong!

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