an alley near Yonge and Sheppard

Posted: November 5, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Just over a year ago, I found two murals in a lane near Yonge and Sheppard, one by Rowell Soller and the other the work of @rowdyradrat aka Ian Gabriel.

below: “Make me smile” is still written here.  Street art by rowdyradrat

street art by rowdyradrat of Japanese woman in fluid kimono, 20 cents, scary pink smiley face

below: Rowell Soller’s painting of a man’s profile is now joined by Spooky Boo, a striped ghost-like figure by Jieun June Kim.

street art by Rowell Soller of black man's face in profile with calligraphy in white and blue as hair. Beside it is pink and yellow striped ghost figure called spooky boo by June Kim

below: Two animal stickers, a cat and a tiger (or is it two tigers?), both by Jieun June Kim.

2 street art sticker slaps on a metal pole. both are images by June Kim. A cat and a tiger

Since then, other street art has appeared in the same alley.

below: another piece by Jieun June Kim

street art mural of a pink and purple striped tiger by June Kim, beside a tree with a blue bird in it (also painted)

below: A little blue bird by KJ Bit (who helped organize the painting of many of the murals back in June of this year).

mural of a blue bird

below: Straight lines on blue, geometric and abstract, painted by Erica James aka Nixo

geometric straight lines abstract mural in blues with black and yellow lines by nixostreetart

below: Construction in the background

an alley behind Yonge street just north of Sheppard, construction of condos, with cranes, in the bacground, murals and street art on the back of some of the buildings

below: A tricolour jaguar, in yellows, blues, and reds, by Nick Sweetman

mural of a realistic looking leopard head and face in yellow, blue and red tones, in a lane

below: A little sparrow with a rusty coloured cap, by luvs

street art mural by luvs of a sparrow with a rusty coloured cap on its head

below: Another luvs painting – the woman on the left – beside a snail and a blue dog with a very long pink tongue by cruz

street art painting of a woman's profile by luvs beside a

small red angry bird painting on a box in a lane

laneway with murals, an orange snake by muisca, blobs by Andre Kan, and a sparrow by luvs

below: A snake among the plants in purples and oranges, by Planta Muisca

mural with an orange snake wrapped around a purple pole as well as orange and purple plants

below: On the right, colourful blobs and splashes in motion painted by Andre Kan

back of buildings in an alley, a mural of coloured blobs on the back one building, a small green tent, a picture of a sparrow on the other building, condos in the background

below: frog and snail

street art mural of a large lumpy green frog and an orange snail

below: …. and last, another frog.  This one was painted by Eugene Lee

car parked by a wall with a painting of an olive green coloured frog jumping from a lily pad

El Mocambo Lane

Posted: November 2, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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The El Mocambo, a Spadina landmark since 1948 has had a makeover

new sign for El Mocambo Tavern on Spadina, palm tree with LED flashing lights in the leaves and neon lights spelling the name of the tavern on the trunk of the tree

… including a new sign to go with its renovations.  It has just re-opened after being closed since 2014.

The alley behind the tavern has been spruced up a bit too – 24 new murals have been painted over the past few weeks all within the theme of “Grit”

street art on the back of the El Mocambo tavern

street art black and white indigenous girl in first nations clothing, black and white stencil

below: Elicser Elliott’s painting of the back of a building, with a masked and hooded horseman to the left.

mural by elicser on back of building in alley

below: Road runner and coyote, still together

upper levels of apartments and businesses on College street as seen from alley behind, some street art, a painting of the road runner, and elicser mural, lots of stairs,

below: Doorway painted by Adore

street art on recessed doorway by adore, text tag throw up of adore plus winged green man

below: Circular calligraphy by kreecha

street art by kreecha circles of ornate calligraphy, white in the center, then a red ring, then a pink ring, surrounded by white on black

below: A Poser street scene

mural in El Mocambo Lane by poser, houses on a street with his tag below

below: Devilish art

street art in El Mocambo Lane, grit laneway, blue text tag with little orange devil diving into it. devil wearing only a white diaper

street art murals in el mocambo lane

below: An older man sits on a bench watching the pigeons, a painting by Steam.

murals and street art in el mocambo lane, man on a bench with pigeons,

part of a mural of a realistic older man with balding grey hair, sitting on a bench with his cap in one of his hands

below: Archer in the city with a loaded paint brush, part of a mural by Keitha Keeshig Tobias

female archer with arrow as a paint brush dripping with pink paint, street art in a toronto lane

upper part of a mural, city at night with tall buildings and lit windows, pink blob

below: Oh oh!  Little pink guy seems to have broken through…. painting by Skero

cat mural in el mocambo lane, cat wearing green coat, pink flowers and some white smiling bunnies too

pink smiling flowers and a white smiling rabbit in a mural

street art painting of a grey woman

stuff in alley, a mop, circular mirror, wood pallet

This project had the support of the city’s StreetARToronto program, the Chinatown BIA, as well as local businesses including El Mocambo and Gwartzman’s Art Supplies. It was led by Amos Danniels (a.k.a. ‘SIGHT’) as its co-curator and project manager along with Project Coordinator Nishina Loft.

humanity and a kraken

Posted: October 31, 2021 in locations, public art
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The results of a walk on what was probably the last warm evening of the year….

people walking on Queens Quay at night

below: In Sir John A. Macdonald Plaza (that’s the space in front of Union Station by Front Street) is an art installation by Masai Ujiri, “Humanity Movement”.  There are 35 words that represent what humanity means to Ujiri – words such as compassion, love, selfless, collective that are repeated as they cover the eight foot high installation.  A light in the center makes the words appear on the sidewalk and on the structures (and people) around it.

Humanity movement art installation in Sir John A Macdonald Plaza in front of Union Station, by Masai Ujiri. metal cylinder with words cut out, a light shines through from the middle and the words show as lights on the sidewalk

well lit Sir John A Macdonald Plaza in front of Union Station, at night, with lit clock, sculpture and an art installation by Masai Ujiri

below: Inside the Great Hall at Union Station is an image titled “House of Baby” that is the result of a collaboration between Camille Turner and Camal Pirbhal.  It is a image of people in the Great Hall that includes portraits of 18 Indigenous and Black people who were enslaved by the Baby family.

a few people standing in front of an image called house of baby, a collage of people who were enslaved by the Baby family all gathered in Union Station

Francois Baby (1768 Detroit – 1852 Windsor Ont) and his brother James (1763 Detroit – 1833 Toronto) were politicians, businessmen and land owners.  Francois stayed in what was then the Western District of Upper Canada (around Windsor).   His biography is long and I’m not going to go into details here but he did have slaves.  James moved to York in 1815 and was part of the establishment – between 1792 and 1830 he held more than 115 appointments or commissions of varying degrees of importance.

In 1793 John Graves Simcoe, then Lieutenant Governor, tried to abolish slavery in Upper Canada but many of the ruling class, including James Baby, were slave owners and outright abolishment failed.  Instead there was a compromise made (how Canadian!) and restrictions were put on slave ownership such that by 1833 there were none left.  A much more complete history of slavery in Upper Canada can be found in an article at Upper Canada History.

close up of part of an image called house of baby, a collage of people who were enslaved by the Baby family all gathered in Union Station

below: On the York Street side of Union Station

York street side of Union station

below: On the PATH system at 25 York Street there is a mural that is 25 metres long (or 100 feet long); it is “Entire City Project” by Michael Awad, 2009.  It is a warped panorama of commuters outside Union Station.

part of a mural by Michael Awad of people moving together, most walking, one man with a bicycle

below: The lights hanging from the ceiling are another art piece.  “Pixel Matrix”, is a large cube of 30,000 individually controllable LED lights on strings, with constantly changing lighting effects.  It was a collaboration between Michael Awad and David Rokeby

 

interior of 25 York street with 2 art installations, the hanging glass and lights, and a long mural by Michael Awad

detail of Michael Awad Entire City Project mural of people walking in commute

lights shining through exterior glass walls, blue lights on a staircase

below: Making a kraken.  One tentacle can be seen in the foreground.

below: The kraken’s eye is a video that plays on a screen bulging from the container that can barely hold its contents.  Will the kraken escape?  Is Queens Quay safe?

making a Kraken art installation out of a metal container

below: Lights in motion

a man riding a bike at night with blue LED lights all over it. his helmet has lights too

below:  The art installations at 10 York Street look much different at night!

art installation in the lobby of a condo building on York street

below: Lights over the harbour, Queens Quay

bridge over harbour on Queens Quay, at night, with lights and reflections of light in the water

a couple, at night, standing outside on one of the wave decks on Queens Quay

the back of a large boat, at night, one light on the boat, ladder, blue ropes

entrance and exit to a parking structure at night

2 small plastic orange pylons sit on a ledge in a broken window with a green staircase behind inside the building

two men walking in lit passageway, inside, blue wall on left, carrying photo equipment and tripod

intersections – St. Clair and Danforth

Posted: October 30, 2021 in intersections, locations, old buildings
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Toronto’s old industrial buildings are disappearing.   So when I saw the tall brick chimneys near St. Clair and the Danforth I had to stop and take a closer look.

brick chimney with CLM painted on it, beside other industrial buildings

CLM stands for Canadian Line Materials, also known as CLM industries.  It was a division of McGraw-Edison Ltd and they manufactured electrical equipment.   One of their contracts was with the Canadian Government to build air raid sirens.  CLM was sold in 1985 and no longer exists.

below: Back in behind, part of the parking lot has been given over to the Scarborough Community Garden.

Scarborough Community Garden, raised boxes for growing vegetables, lots of produce, in parking lot of industrial building, church across the street with solar panels in the shape of a cross

below: In the above photo you can see the solar panels on the roof of the Scarborough Church of God that is across the street from the old CLM buildings.  Construction of the church began in 1958 and it was dedicated in March 1960 as the Scarborough Junction United Church.  The blue sign indicates that this is also the home of the Scarborough Grace Harvest Church (Korean).

A frame brick building with brown roof, Scarborough Church of God. Solar panels on the roof in the shape of a cross

below: Side windows on the church

coloured and textured windows of a church

below: A reminder of how diverse Toronto is – Workers rights in many languages

poster on utility pole advertising workers action centre, and new employee rights, in many languages

below: “Known as best psychic and spiritual healer in Toronto”

poster advertising Indian psychic

below: Arsenio’s Kitchen has chicken and rice for $5.99

metal barrels beneath two signs. one advertising chicken and rice for 5 dollars and 99 cents. The other sign says space for lease in a strip mall plaza

below: Fuel stop – gas for the car and a roti for you

Gulf service station at Kennedy and St. Clair. Gas at 1.43 a litre, also butter chicken roti fast food with roti of the week sign

Just to the west, Kennedy Road crosses both St. Clair and Danforth and forms a small triangle.  Immediately south of the Danforth, Kennedy goes over the railway tracks.

below: The view east from Kennedy, looking towards Scarborough GO station.

railway tracks, looking east from Kennedy Road towards Scarborough GO station

below: The view west from the bridge

houses on Raleigh and Glasgow Avenuesview west from Kennedy Road bridge over railway tracks near Danforth,

below: A bit of country in the city.

backyard in Scarborough with a barn shaped shed and a small coop for chickens or pigeons

below: An elephant hiding in the bushes.  Any idea of what flag that might be? Trinidad and Tobago?

graffiti painting of an elephant head on a wood fence, behind some bushes, behind a brick house with a black and red flag

below: Anime-like on a bridge railing.

black and white drawing pasteup graffiti on a black metal railing of a bridge

below: Standing on the platform at Scarborough GO station and looking east.  Here the tracks split – the GO train line to Kennedy and Agincourt stations (and beyond) splits to the left and heads northward.  The other tracks are the main CNR line as well as eastward GO line to Eglinton GO station

looking east from Scarbourgh GO station, tracks,

As I walked, it soon became apparent that there were a lot of commercial buildings now sitting empty. It’s becoming a bit repetitive but once again I found myself in an area that is about to undergo some profound changes.

below: An empty building waiting for demolition.

blue and white city of toronto development notice on an empty auto parts store

Scarborough Junction redevelopment plans involve a 26 acre plot of land adjacent to Scarborough GO station – what has become known as the Scarborough Junction Masterplan.

below: Drawing of the Masterplan. It covers a large chunk of the triangle created by the CNR tracks, Kennedy Road to the west, and St. Clair to the north. It will create about 6620 residential units in 17 buildings with the tallest tower being 48 storeys high. The CLM building is on this site (blocks C & G?). (image source: Urban Toronto).

drawing of plan for Scarborough Junction Masterplan redevelopment at Kennedy and St. Clair, from Urban Toronto,

below: View from the Scarborough GO station.   At the moment, most of the land along the northwest side of the tracks is unused.

behind a broken chainlink fence is a parking lot of an abandoned business, overgrown,

white house, now a commecrial business on St. Clair Ave with a blue and white development notice in front

below: Outdoor seating arrangement

old car seat sitting outside of Sultan Auto Service, closed garage doors

cars parked in front of empty abandoned auto store, with blank black electric sign

exterior of Spee and Dee Auto Service with garage doors covered with photos of cars in the interior of the garage

three piles of old tires blocking the driveway entrance to a light industrial site

below: Truck for sale

a white pick up truck parked behind a black sign with an arrow pointing left

older brick house turned into a business, beside Carmen and Frank's Collision centre

graffiti on the side of a one storey brick building

white car parked in front of white building, Cordi Signs, one light blue door and no windows

below: On the southwest corner of Kennedy and St. Clair is a small plaza from the 1960s.

sign at the corner of Kennedy and St. Clair, stip mall plaza, sign is for Wimpys Diner, Greek Cuisine and East West Pest control

old Canadian flag in the back window of a pick up truck

below: Another empty building behind a fence – Some clothes in cases all that remains of what was once a thrift store (and probably something else before that). There is a weathered sign suggesting a condo development but I haven’t been able to find anything about it (or I missed something).

side of empty building with condo sales advert, also four display cases with clothes that are no longer held up properly

small plaza from the 1960s with Yaffa restaurant, now emppty, Roti Lady restaurant, and another empty store front. Chainlink fence around part of it

empty Yaffa Restaurant and old thrift shop. brick building with a sign that says Fresh coffee,

billboard by fenced in lot, for sale, gas station site available, Kennedy Road street sign

below: One corner that is in no danger of being redeveloped is the northwest corner of St. Clair and Kennedy. This is Pinehills Cemetery.

adornments by a tombstone in Pnehills cemetery, red flowers, a small metal bike old fashioned style, a cross, and a photo of a man, and a small white candle holder lantern

It’s heart warming to see that people care enough about those who have passed away that they find ways to celebrate that person in creative ways.  Insert jokes here about how we’ll all be dead before the Maple Leafs win a Stanley Cup.

objects left by a tombstone, Maple Leafs sign, and their bear mascot figurine about 8 inches high, pink flowers, and a small white cross with words on it

flat ground level memorial in a cemetery with three cigarettes and 2 small Canadian flags

blues – looking at the blues

Posted: October 26, 2021 in galleries
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Two exhibits at the Art Gallery of Ontario feature the colour blue.  One is “Blue View” consisting of paintings created by Canadian artist Matthew Wong between 2017 and 2019.  The other is an exhibit of Picasso paintings at the beginning of the 20th century especially his “blue period” 1901-1904.

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Matthew Wong (1984-2019)

two women in an art gallery looking at paintings by Matthew Wong

below: “Starry Night”

starry Night, a painting by Matthew Wong

a small painting by Matthew Wong of an open doorway into a bathroom from a darkened bedroom

women looking at blue paintings by Matthew Wong

Matthew Wong paintings at the Art Gallery of Ontario

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Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

below: Nudes painted before the Blue Period… and when Picasso was only 19 or 20 years old.

man looking at Picasso paintings at the AGO

In 1901 Picasso was given access to Saint-Lazare prison-hospital in Paris where he painted many of the inmates, especially the women who were there as a result of their participation in the sex trade.  They were impoverished and forgotten women living in deplorable conditions, often with young children.  Picasso painted them in shades of blue and green and in his paintings sex work, motherhood and syphilis become intertwined.  They can be compared to images of the Virgin Mary with an infant Jesus, a secularized Madonna.

below: “Mother and Child by Fountain”

Picasso's painting Mother and Child by a Fountain, on wall at Art Gallery of Ontario

below: “Woman and Child by the Sea”, 1902

painting by Picasso

below: “The Soup”, 1902

young woman looking at Picasso painting, The Soup

below: “The Blue Room”, 1901

two women with grey hair looking at Picasso painting from his blue period, woman getting a bath in small tub in middle of her room

below: “The Frugal Repast”.  Not in blue but still with the theme of the working poor.  This was an etching that Picasso first made in 1904.  Later, in 1913, he printed 250 copies of it.

older couple looking at picture by Picasso, in greys and browns,

two women looking at pictures at AGO

With thanks to Alice and Arlene for spending a couple of hours looking at paintings with me.

“Picasso, painting the blue period” continues until 16 Jan 2022.

Matthew Wong paintings are on display until 18 April 2022

St. Patricks pop-up

Posted: October 22, 2021 in galleries, locations
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Toronto street sign for St. Patricks Square, in background is CP24 car that looks like it has crashed through the wall of a building

The building at St. Patricks Market on Queen Street West is empty but the exterior walls are now a pop-up outdoor gallery.  It is part of Art On Queen West.  Some of the artwork that is on display:

below: “I See You” By Peru143

image on display at outdoor pop-up gallery, St. Patricks market, by Peru 143, stylized text says Toronto

below: “Bouquet” by Curtia Wright

image by Curtia Wright, woman with purple skin and pink hair, head and shoulders portrait

below: “The Queen” (representing Queen West) by Andrew Patterson

image by Andrew Patterson, white line drawing on blue, purple, and orange background, a human-like figure with crown on head and objects in upraised arms

below: “Pies, para que los quiero si tengo alas para volar?” Or in English: “Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” by Alejandra Paton

image of Frieda Kahlo

below: “The Reimagining of the Steps” by Jenelle Lewis

an illustration by Janelle Lewis of many people on circles of stairs and steps

below: “Untitled” by Jenelle Lewis

illustration by Janelle Lewis, a woman getting onto the back of a blue and purple tiger with black stripes

below: “Pizza Night” by Jieun June Kim

stylized marine scene, pink and yellow striped octopus, fish, starfish,

 

more than a pile of skulls

Posted: October 14, 2021 in locations, public art
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There are two public art exhibits now on display at Harbourfront’s Ontario Square.  The first is “Built on Genocide” by by Jay Soule aka CHIPPEWAR which is part of this year’s Luminato Festival ….  “In the mid-19th century, an estimated 30 to 60 million buffalo roamed the prairies, by the late 1880s, fewer than 300 remained. As the buffalo were slaughtered and the prairie ecosystem decimated, Indigenous peoples were robbed of their foods, lands, and cultures. The buffalo genocide became a genocide of the people” (quote source: Luminato website)

below: The centerpiece is a pile of Buffalo skulls.

a large pile of buffalo skulls, art installation, with glass and steel condos rising behind,

below: Surrounding the skulls are posters that highlight and criticize government policies towards First Nations including (Prime Minister) Sir John A. Macdonald and his “Magic Eraser”, i.e. the Indian Act of 1876.

people looking at large posters, part of art installation, built on genocide

below: The poster on the left references the adoption of First Nations children by non-Native families often referred to as the Sixties Scoop because it reached its peak (most adoptions) in the 1960s.  The plight of Indigenous women is the subject of the other poster – the disproportionate number of whom have been murdered or went missing.

2 posters, adoption of mass destruction, and I am a mother sister auntie grandmother, protest signs on indigenous rights and past Canadian history of abuses

a man on a bike and a woman with a large backpack standing in front of posters by Jay Soule on display outside at Harbourfront, Indigenous Rights, history of abuse, protest,

There is also a display of large photographs by Meryl McMaster.

below: What Will I Say to the Sky and the Earth II.

large photograph by Meryl McMaster on display at Canada Square at Harbourfont - woman standing in the snow

below: On the Edge of This Immensity

woman holding a small boat on her shoulders, lake in the background, large photograph by Meryl McMaster on display at Canada Square at Harbourfont

below: As Immense as the Sky

woman with back to camera on a rock ledge overlooking a green landscape large photograph by Meryl McMaster on display at Canada Square at Harbourfont

Me As Happening

Posted: October 13, 2021 in galleries
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an exhibit by Miriam Cahn
at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

large painting on a wall in a gallery by awindow with sunlight coming in and making patterns with shadows and light on the floor and on the wall

Miriam Cahn (b.1949) is a Swiss artist.

a number of paintings by Mirian Cahn on an art gallery wall

Most of the paintings are of faces or bodies and many of the pieces are sexually explicit, or brutally dark, or both.

a painting by Miriam Cahn, a naked man is punching a woman in the face,

two paintings of faces on a gallery wall

a number of paintings by Mirian Cahn on an art gallery wall

three people talking in a gallery with two large paintings of full frontal naked women on one of the walls

The exhibit continues until 2 Jan 2022.  More information can be found at the Power Plant website

Future Perfect

Posted: October 12, 2021 in locations, public art
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on King Street West

a line of 7 large photographs as part of a display by Metro Hall on King Street

On display by Metro Hall on King Street West are a dozen large images created by Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs.  This installation is part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

a woman stops to take a picture of a large photo on display on King Street West while a man and his black dog keep walking past the photos

The pair took photographs in the Maldives.  The fragile environment of these small islands (in the Indian Ocean) is exacerbated by the fact that they are barely above sea level.   There are more than 1000 islands that make up the Maldives and 80% are no higher than a meter above sea level.  Most are uninhabited.

people in front of a display of large photos

Onorato and Krebs have manipulated some of the prints with various methods and in doing to “they create quasi-abstract images that inventively describe their perceptions of place. Fusing reality and imagination, their suite of images are powerful fictions that confront undeniable facts. ” (quote source: Scotiabank Contact website).

three large photographs, part of Future Perfect, an installation by Nico Krebs and Taiyo Onorato,

a woman in a mask walks past photo exhibit Future Perfect by Nico Krebs and Taiyo Onorato

Hands, Florests, and Minds

Posted: October 8, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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old provincial department of lands, forests, and mines symbol crest altered to read hands, florests, and minds and pasted onto a wall

The crest has been altered to read “Department of Hands, Florests, and Minds”. It comes from an old map that has been used to create a street art installation on the back alley side of the Broadview Hotel at Broadview and Queen Street East. The artist is monicaonthemoon aka Monica Wickeler.

wheatpaste street art installation bymonicaonthemoon on the back of the broadview hotel, 6 large figures black and white photos printed on pieces of old map of the Don River Valley

Most of the people were printed on the maps such that the Don River was somewhere on the body.  The photos of the people are interesting but so is the history that the maps tell us.  The map dates from before the creation of the Port Lands at the mouth of the river.  If you look at the body on the right, you can probably find the intersection of Queen Street and King Street just before they cross the river (look for the word ‘Don’).  There are no streets south of King Street at the time.  Front Street ends at Church.  I suspect that all the red dots on the map mean swampy wetlands.

detail of map on legs of people in photos printed on maps

below: This woman stands more to the west.  Roncesvalles on one leg and Dufferin on the other.

pasteup people

close to life sized people photos in black and white printed on old maps of Don River, 4 people on the back of the Broadview Hotel

below: The woman on the right has one foot in Ashbridge’s Bay.

printed on old maps of Toronto and Don River, art installation

The wall is part of the recent Women Paint Riverside project that was the subject of my last blog post – Water is Life.

black and white paper people

legend from an old map of soil layers used as part of a paste up street art installation

 

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