as I walk Toronto

more streets and trails….

Posted: December 2, 2024 in history, locations, nature
Tags: Bond Park, churches, CNR, Don Mills Trail, graffiti, housing, industrial, path, railway, residential, Scarsdale Road

A circular walk to explore the Don Mills trail south of York Mills Road… but how to get there…. We decided to start by walking south on Scarsdale Road to Bond Avenue.

Scarsdale is a nondescript street in North York with a few churches, private schools, some light industry, offices, and all in all, a lot of lowrise late 20th century architecture.

below: Don Mills Baptist Church looking very un-church like.

below: Unmarked

below: Once at Bond, the buildings are mostly residential.

below: There is a walk-through to the neighbourhood behind

below: The old railway bridge over Bond is now part of the Don Mills Trail. Originally it took 6 years to build (1912 to 1918) the bridge – using six 2-foot-thick beams that span the 15-foot-wide opening, spaced to handle the weight of locomotives and heavily loaded railway cars.

below: Also under the bridge is an entrance to Bond Park.

below: Another entrance to Bond Park, this time from the trail via a hole in the fence.

below: “Responsible alcohol consumption is allowed in this park”….rules and responsibilities are then listed along with health information about alcohol.

below: A few remnants of its former life. Once upon a time this multi use path was a spur line for the CNR, the Leaside Spur. One of its functions was to connect the CNR main line (now also used by GO to Oriole station and beyond) to the CPR line near Eglinton. The CPR tracks are those that cross Eglinton just east of Leslie and then cross the Thorncliffe trestle bridge over Wilket Creek Park. The path ends just before the CPR tracks – there is no connection any more.

below: Abandoned and rusting. CNR stopped using this spur line in 1999. The city bought the property ten years later.

below: Crab apples and dead leaves litter the path

below: Storage in bins and barrels, on the other side of the fence.

below: Left behind

below: The north end of the Don Mills Trail runs beside the live CNR line. Not much of a view is it? No trains passed by. Very quiet.

below: Many, many large satelite dishes (and many small ones too). I was feeling like a spy as I tried to take pictures through the fence… but I didn’t see any surveillance cameras…

below: Approaching York Mills Road

below: The north end of the trail runs beside the bridge York Mills over the railway tracks (on the right in this picture). From here there is an access road to Scarsdale on the south side of York Mills, or an exit through to Longos Plaza on the north side.

below: Have a seat!

below: Rogers has a large property on the east side of the CNR tracks and has access to this area.

With thanks to my mother for walking with me – she didn’t hesitate to climb through holes in the fence! She also doesn’t like this picture, but it’s the better of the two that I took that morning!

Bonus section! Just in case you are interested in what’s on Scarsdale Road….

below: Colonel C.O. Dalton CSO and Colonel H.E. Dalton CSO Armoury

below: Greek Orthodox Education in Ontario – Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox School.

below: Korean Presbyterian Church

A Photographer at Work

Posted: December 2, 2024 in galleries
Tags: fashion, Image Centre, photographer, photography, TMU, Vogue magazine

Lee Miller: A Photographer at Work is the title of a recent exhibit at TMU’s Image Centre,

A brief synopsis of her long and storied life – Miller (1907-1977) started her career as a model in New York in the 1920s. She went to Paris in 1929 where she became a fashion photographer. She also tried her hand at conceptual photography in the 1930s when she was living in Egypt with her first husband. During WW2 she was a war correspondent for Vogue magazine in Europe.

below: Fashions for Factories with the subtitle: “Every picture tells a story of streamlined, uncompromising chic for a vital job.” One of the paragraphs is this: “A woman is apt to be much what she looks. Fix her up smartly and she’ll be smart at the job. The factory people know this.”

below: Three actresses and models in a photo taken in New York in 1933. One woman is unidentified and the other two are Dorothy Hale (1905-1938) and Kendall Lee Glaenzer (1903-1978)

below: “What’s Yours?” a double page spread in Vogue magazine with coats on the left and dresses on the right. Country coats and town coats… day dresses and afternoon dresses from a time and place when those details might have been important.

below: From an article, Six for Dinner”. The six refers to six long, simple yet stylish dresses for the well dressed woman of the time.

below: Advertising ‘intimate apparel’ but staying modest and discrete (r very coy?) The age of the girdle! (even though this model doesn’t really need one!) – so glad that that phase has passed (sigh of relief).

below: From 1945, chronicling the liberation of Europe by the Allied troops.

below: November 1944, Paris. “Ah Madame! Merci! The article is written in French and it is a thank you to all the women who played a role in winning the war. Like her fashion work, her focus during the war years was also on women and how the war affected them and their place in the world.

Her documentation of WW2 and its aftermath was extensive. She was one of the first photographers into Hitler’s residence (and there is a photo of her in his bathtub). She also documented the liberation of many of the concentration camps. After the war, she continued working for Vogue, taking pictures of models and celebrities.

Unfortunately, this exhibit ends today, 2nd December.

The Original Family

Posted: November 30, 2024 in public art
Tags: animals, Anishinaabe, creation story, mural, Philip Cote, thunderbird

Sometimes there are silver linings when buildings get demolished. Until recently, this wonderful mural was difficult to get a good look at. Now that there is a vacant lot next door I was able to get a much better picture of it.

The title of the mural is “The Original Family” and it is based on an Anishinaabe creation story. The artist, Philip Cote, has been telling Anishinaabe stories through his mural painting for at least twenty years, including a series of images on the concrete supports of a bridge at Old Mill subway station (see Spirit Stories Under Old Mill in this blog).

The Grand Hotel was demolished to make room for a 68 storey skinny tower (on a larger base – i.e. the lower floors will be bigger, podium-like). No facades to save here. Once construction starts on this new building, the mural will become partially obscured again.

some games people play

Posted: November 30, 2024 in graffiti and street art
Tags: dice, games, Jasmine Pannu, monopoly guy, mural, Picachu, pokeman, wizard, Yonge

… on view in a mural on the side of 401 Games on Yonge. It was painted by Jasmine Pannu and it features a number of characters that gamers and fans of anime might recognize… such as Picachu, Charizard, and other Pokemon characters…. and Wizards, sorcery, and flaming dice. I am sure that some of you have a much better idea about the source/name of some of these images!

below: The Monopoly Guy aka Milburn Pennybags, or Rich Uncle Pennybags.

all connected

Posted: November 23, 2024 in galleries, graffiti and street art, public art
Tags: 401 Richmond, A Space Gallery, All Beings Connected, art, August Swinson, Carole Conde, Cecilia Vicuna, Citra Sasmita, cows, Emily Pope, Evan Penny, Harold Town, It's Still Privileged Art, Janet Cardiff, Karl Beveridge, Katharine Burns, Morris Lum, Mycelium, Nicholas Baier, Nicholas Galanin, Open Studio Contemporary, painting, sculpture, Tessa Mars, Union station, Vera Frenkel

a photograph from 1975, colour, couple sitting on old couch, words on white wall behind them that say it's still privileged art, woman is leaning away from man, head turned away too, man has his hand up toward camera

Photo taken of a picture on an art gallery wall. The original was taken by Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge in 1975 as part of a series titled “It’s Still Privileged Art”. Now it is part of a retrospective exhibit of the artists’ work at A Space Gallery at 401 Richmond West.

Is art privileged? What does that mean? I hadn’t meant to get philosophical when I planned a “Downtown Art Hunt” walk. Put the question aside for a bit and let the ideas simmer in the back of your head. Instead we’ll wander around downtown Toronto and see what we can find.

below: I wasn’t looking for Taylor Swift but she’s difficult to avoid these days.

below: It’s hardly art but it’s probably better than grey concrete. Better still would be to get rid of these Jersey barriers that line Front Street in front of Union Station. They are a temporary solution that is fast becoming a permanent installation. “aaniin boozhoo” is Anishinaabemowin (also known as Ojibwe) and is a greeting. (UPDATE – 25 Nov: I just read that these barriers are being removed this week!! Maybe complaints do get action!!).

below: “All Beings Connected” by August Swinson in the Main Hall of Union Station.

below: The figure in the image is rooted to the ground, drawing their strength from the earth beneath, connected to the life around.

The West Wing of Union Station connects the main building to the walkway to the UP Express or to the Skywalk that leads to the CN Tower and vicinity. A lot of people pass by here. At the moment there are two art exhibits, both of which are part of “Precarious Joys”. This is the name given to a collection of art exhibits around the city, the Toronto Biennial 2024 (which ends December 1st).

below: Using art as a backdrop to a family photo. the Tong Yan Gaai (Chinatown) series by Morris Lum

below: Nicholas Galanin, part of “Threat Return” 2023

below: “Mycelium” is the name of this network of lights designed by artist Nicholas Baier. In biology, mycelium refers to a root-like structure of a fungus that consists of a network of thin fungal strands called hyphae. In Toronto, it is found on the Bay Street bridge that connects Scotiabank Arena with CIBC Square and the GO Bus Station.

below: Because the walls of the Bay Street bridge are glass, “Mycelium” is also visible from the outside.

below: A green acorn. From little acorns….. There was a picture and a planter beside the elevator in this lobby. Nothing more. A small austere space but someone cared enough to hanging a painting of an acorn.

below: Tucked away in a corner where it’s often overlooked is “Pi” by Evan Penny (1996). A man’s head has been cut into four pieces, disconnected, and left sitting on the ground. I have walked past here many times and not noticed it.

below: It’s art, but it’s also a place to sit.

below: Another painting on a wall in a quiet lobby. No signs. Abstract, but it reminds me of two faces smushed together. One of the faces has a mouth and chin made of crushed shredded wheat. He, or she, is wearing a black mask. What else does it look like to you?

below: More lobby displays. One of a group of paintings by John Eric Laford (1954-2021), an Ojibway artist from Manitoulin Island.

below: Mama elephant is still leading her two little ones behind Commerce Court.

below: If the elephant could see, this would be her view. I am not sure it’s art, but the white light trees that come out around Commerce Court at Christmas time are now up.

In same square (does it have a name? Or is it just Commerce Court?), is an art gallery, Collision Gallery. They are one of the locations featuring art from the Toronto Biennial.

below: Cecilia Vicuna helped co-found of Artists for Democracy in 1974 after she left her home country Chile. A military coup upended that country in the early 1970s. Here at the Collision Gallery she has an installation, “Futur.O [Futur.E]” that pays homage to Gail Kastner.

below: Words written on strips of paper. From the left, the first four are: “I had a very [illegible] feeling in my head. I had a blob not a head”, “The whole purpose was not to research brain washing but to design a system for extracting information from resistant [forces?]”, “These little books are her memory”, and “To defend herself and preserve her mind from erasure she created little books packed with extremely dense miniature handwriting” When you read the story of Gail Kastner and her treatment at a Montreal psychiatric institute in 1953, these writings will make more sense.

below: Vicuna connects the electroshock experiments of the 1950s to the use of such techniques in interrogation and torture. In this drawing she writes about electroshock treatment being used in Chile to “erase the past and the future, creating a great lie”. Almost as an aside, I’m not sure that creating lies requires such drastic measures; it seems these days that all you have to do it shout it loud enough and often enough and you can create whatever reality you want. How do we retain our memories under such circumstances? Memories help keep us connected to our past and to our present. Who are we without our memories?

below: Dreamlike mythical figures dancing together in “Joyous Procession/The Infinite Serpent” by Rajni Perera.

below: Details of a couple of the banners that hang from above to form a circle around an LED light fixture that suggests fire. Artist: Citra Sasmita

below: “All Islands Touch” by Tessa Mars, another installation at Collision Gallery. I am not fond of things lying around on the ground counting as art and I don’t think that they add much to the piece. You might disagree and that’s okay.

below: Fingers growing out of rocks? Plant life at the bottom of the sea reaching skyward toward the light?

below: Playing with the cows

below: Denyse Thomasos (1964-2012) Trinidadian-Canadian, is the artist who painted this picture that hangs inside in the lobby of the TD Centre-Mies van der Rohe building. An abstract, but very much an urban scene with its vibrant chaos.

below: In the same lobby as the image above, this abstract by Susanna Heller (1956-2021) tells a different story. There is also chaos but it seems more “natural”, more like nature instead of man-made. It is titled: ‘Restless Prowling from Night to Day Break’ and is 30 foot long.

below: Jose Bautista flips his bat after hitting a home run ….and his fans cheer.

below: Emily Pope and her series of (mostly) blue, black, and white. “Antidotes for Yearning” or the examining of “the instinctual urge to ward off the inevitable despite our guaranteed decay. Through symbolic imagery…” Abbozzo Gallery

below: Also at the Abbozzo Gallery are a series of very realistic looking paintings of waves by Katharine Burns. (It looks better in real life!)

below: One of the wave pictures, zoomed in a bit. Translucence, light, spray, motion, and so much more.

below: At the BAND (Black Artist Network in Dialogue) Gallery is a small showing of artworks owned by the founders of the gallery. The BAND Gallery has temporary space at 401 Richmond West while its usual space at 19 Brock is being renovated.

below: Two large paintings by Janet Cardiff, large figures, connected. Dancing, Intertwined. Are they happy?

below: In one of the halls of 401 Richmond West is a large poster. It is a collage of photos taken by Vera Frenkel with some of her words added to them. Title: “Once Near Water: Notes From the Scaffolding Archives” 2008. She took pictures of any scaffolding that she saw while walking around Toronto. At the top left she opens with these words: “By the time you see this, the city we know will be gone. Once a rich multi-course meal, now a dry biscuit.” Do you think that we are turning into (or have become?) a “dry biscuit”? We’re definitely changing and I’d like to think that some of the changes are for the better (and it would help if Doug Ford would keep his hands out of the cookie jar).

below: On another hallway wall (in the basement) of 401 Richmond is this piece….Do you think that you are tough? A tree made of bricks.

below: He’s got a long way to go. Smashing the tree, brick by brick, smash, smash, hurt your head, crash, faster harder, smash, smash

below: An oldie but goodie; a painting by Harold Town (1924-1990). It’s on display at the Simon Bentley Fine Art Gallery along with a number of other paintings and artworks.

If you can remember waaaaay back to the beginning of this post, you will recall that I started with an image by Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge. I am going to end the post with a couple more of their photos. They obviously care very much about social issues.

below: A marvelous collage, “A Work in Progress”. The original dates from 1979. In 2006 it was updated by adding four in the series so that now 12 decades of women’s work/life is now covered. This is the picture that encapsulates the 1950s. The wartime image out the window is actually the Hungarian uprising. Elements include a calendar on the wall showing a woman working in a factory, a coffee percolator on the table, a Beatrix Potter children’s bowl on the table, a crucifix on the wall, a red squeezie ketchup bottle, the syrup container with the pull back tab opening, baby bottle, star weekly magazine, the old radio….

below: Not a Care, A Short History of Health Care. This is actually a series of 12 images, each one representing a time and place in history from neolithic times to the present (made in 1999). I discovered that the whole series is online and if you are interested, you can see them here: Conde & Beveridge’s website

As for that statement about privilege and art… there is no answer; there are many answers. Making art is not for the privileged few; most of us have the need to create. Whether it’s shouted from the rooftops or whispered quietly in a little corner, all art is valid to some degree.

Viewing art is not just for the privileged; there is so much out there… just get out and look. You will think some of it is stupid, or mediocre but sometimes you’ll find something that makes you stop and think. Or stop and stare.

Those sentences barely scratch the surface and may seem quite lame but this is probably not the time nor place for philosophical essays… but feel free to leave your comments/opinions on the subject.

“Opinions? I’m supposed to have opinions?”

When the fare inspectors get onboard.

intersections – Queen and Spadina

Posted: November 20, 2024 in construction, history, old buildings, people, public art
Tags: buses, construction, hoardings, Metrolinx, Ontario line, people, Stephen Cruise, streetcars, subway

Subtitle: More Ontario Line mess

below: Spadina and Richmond…. A giant thimble (by Stephen Cruise) sits on a stack of buttons. Behind it, a building is shrouded in blue netting.

below: Blue, blue, my world is blue… walking north on Spadina under blue netting that protects the sidewalk from work being done on the southwest corner of Queen and Spadina. The whole block between Richmond and Queen is under wraps. This is a future subway station with the imaginative name of Queen-Spadina.

below: Southwest corner of Queen and Spadina

below: A look at what’s happening behind the hoardings….

below: Mcdonalds on the northwest corner is unaffected by the changes around it.

below: Looking south on Spadina with a good view of the southeast corner of the intersection with Queen West.

below: There is a lot happening in the northeast quadrant, all by Metrolinx. the yellow framework that protects and stabilizes a facade is becoming a common sight in Toronto.

below: In case you can’t remember what was on that corner, this is a photo taken back when they were laying streetcar tracks in 1912. Most recently there was a CIBC bank on the corner.

black and white photo from 1912 of brick building on the northeast corner of Queen and Spadina.

Photo taken from WIkipedia Commons, in public domain. Originally from City of Toronto Archives.

below: A couple of the old houses/stores on Queen beside the old brick building seem remarkably unchanged since 1912. (As a light grey car partially blocks the pedestrian crossing at the intersection).

below: The 510 streetcars are not running during this construction.

below: But because the buses are too wide for the streetcar lanes, the middle of Spadina is very quiet… so I can stand here and take pictures.

below: It also means that the replacement buses are now running… and competing with cars for a limited space.

below: Painting over the graffiti

below: Just north of Queen, there is a large vacant lot on Spadina. So large you can see through to Cameron Street.

below: Cameron House and other houses on Cameron Street and beyond.

above the railway tracks, at CIBC Square

Posted: November 18, 2024 in construction, locations, public art
Tags: CIBC, construction, downtown, park, poppies, railway, Roxy Paine, Royal York hotel, Scotiabank Arena, Steve Driscoll, tracks, Union station

There are so many new buildings in Toronto! One of them is the new CIBC building at 81 Bay Street which is immediately south of the railway tracks and across the street from Union Station. It is also adjacent to the new GO Bus station.

below: If you take the elevator to the 4th floor of the new CIBC building, you can access the new park. This is the view that greets you. The park extends over the railway tracks – a great use of space!

below:Looking east from the park (on a foggy morning, and with a spot of dirt on the glass fence). The trees on the right mark the spot where a strip of land separates the railway tracks from the Gardiner Expressway/Lakeshore combination. Between Yonge and Parliament there are no buildings adjacent to the tracks on the south side. That tall splotchy looking building is the Sugar Wharf Condos which, as the name suggests, are close to the Redpath Sugar property.

below: Looking north across the roof over the railway tracks. The gold building is another bank building, RBC (Royal Bank of Canada). On the right, the building that looks like there are diamond shapes in the glass, is a second CIBC tower but on the north side of the railway tracks.

below: Construction continues on the north side. It too will have a park that extends over the tracks. The two parks should merge into one once construction is completed.

below: Westward

below: In the center of the park is a large shiny metal leafless tree. This is “New Amalgam” by Roxy Paine (2022). It is 72 feet high.

below: Looking over the covered tracks at Union Station and all the ventilation system components on the roof.

below: A closer look at the nearby construction at track level (and lower).

There are also stairs on the exterior of the CIBC building that lead to the elevated park.

below: Looking south on Bay Street where Scotiabank arena takes up most of the street scene. That’s the Gardiner Expressway as it crosses Bay.

below: Through the window to the interior of CIBC where Steve Driscoll’s artwork shines brightly.

below: “A light stolen from the sun” is a collection of 12 digital prints on laminated glass. they can also be viewed from the 4th floor but access is controlled. Also, camera use will get you a nice chat with a security guy. The usual, phones are allowed but even little cameras are a no no.

below: An outpouring of red poppies is the stunning centerpiece in this Remembrance Day tribute (created by Fresh Floral Creations).

With thanks to Nancy and Merle who went exploring with me that day.

Elaborate and more

Posted: November 17, 2024 in galleries
Tags: ceramics, demons, Elaborate, faces, figurines, flowers, Gallery 235, Harbourfront Centre, Jess Riva Cooper, Joon Hee Kim, Julie Moon, Kaley Flowers, Lindsay Montgomery, Marc Egan, Marissa Alexander, mirrors, pottery, sculpture, women

The previous blog post featured a wall that was covered with ceramic tiles that created an image of a Tree of Life – It is part of “Elaborate”, a group exhibition, at Harbourfront Centre’ s Gallery 235. This blog post takes a look at some of the other art in that exhibit as well as a few more ceramic art pieces that can be seen in display in cases in the halls of the Harbourfront building.

First, in the hall, Joon Hee Kim’s wonderful busts of fanciful whimsical characters.

Also in the hallway, round pieces by Jess Riva Cooper where flowers bloom from mouths, noses, and ears of the central subject(s) swirling to form wreaths around them. The series is titled “Pullulate”

below: “Helleborus viridis” 2024, 45 cm in diameter

below: Some of pieces have hands in the central position, hands that rip the flowers from the ground and/or tear them apart.

below: Large droopy flowers in weird colour combinations on a table, sculptures by Julie Moon,

below: On the table in the background in the above photo are little sculptures by Lindsay Montgomery. This is a close up of one of them. Maybe someone spilled its cup of tea?

Montgomery’s work is in two sections. The above figurine is a newer piece from the series “Despairware” “which references books of demonology and iconographies of feral femininity with Staffordshire figurines from the 19th century” (from the words on the wall at the gallery). She is also showing some of her older work here, a series called “Neo Istoriato” which re-imagines paintings and pottery from the Renaissance. Two examples:

All together in a big pot in the fiery mouth of Hell while the demons dance with glee.

below: Kaley Flowers, cracked and broken glass to mimic water within a frame of ceramic shells, rocks and marine forms.

below: Marissa Alexander, eight women hanging on the wall. Hung up, hanging about, hanging out….

And last, there are a few individual tiles by Marc Egan that are very similar to the flowers and leaves in his Tree of Life.

the tree of life – a ceramic version

Posted: November 16, 2024 in galleries, general Toronto
Tags: art, branches, ceramic, Elaborate, flowers, gallery, Gallery 235, Harbourfront, leaves, Marc Egan, tiles, tree, tree of life

The Tree of Life is a symbol that originated in antiquity; it appears in most religions and cultures. Over the centuries it has been depicted in many different ways. Here, it is shown with colourful and imaginative flowers and leaves in an image that has been constructed using large ceramic tiles by artist, Marc Egan. The resulting artwork is 9 feet by 12 feet big.

It is on display at Gallery 235 in the Harbourfront Centre, It is part of an exhibit titled “Elaborate” that continues until 29th December 2024.

There is even a creepy crawly red and white bug!

on a Scarborough pond

Posted: November 14, 2024 in nature
Tags: autumn, bridge, Canada goose, creek, dead leaves, dogwood, fowl, leaves, nature, November, oak, park, pond, rocks, tamarack, trees, water

One of the great things about Toronto is the network of creeks, rivers, and ravines that runs through the city. I happened upon one of these yesterday. A small oasis in a Scarborough neighbourhood.

below: I was very surprised to see a heron standing quietly among the trees. I didn’t have a better lens to catch a decent photo of the bird, so this slightly fuzzy version with have to suffice. A heron in Scarborough! Considering how much ravine and park space there is Toronto, there is probably more wildlife living in the city than we realize.

below: What Toronto park doesn’t have Canada geese?

below: A tamarack tree, a unique tree because it is a deciduous conifer in that it has cones and needles like a conifer such as pine and spruce, but its needles turn yellow and fall off in autumn like a deciduous tree (such as oak or maple) does. Tamarack is also known as Larch.