There is a mural on Richmond Street West of a boy lying on his stomach, feet in the air, as he searches on what looks to be a smart phone. Not long after this mural was painted, it was tagged with ugly black markings. There was only one tag but it ruined the picture. Sometime in the recent past, the mural has been cleaned up and/or re-painted. It’s great to see it restored and looking terrific!
The painting is by Mikha. Other images of his work can be found on his instagram page.
As you may know, every few months I wander down Rush Lane and all the other lanes that make up Graffiti Alley on the south side of Queen West. There is usually something new on the walls and hydro poles and there are often people watching opportunities as well. Wednesday’s walk did not disappoint. Here is the photographic evidence – some street art that I saw for the first time and some worth a second look… and even a person or two.
below: Taking selfies is an artform in itself.
below: Making a video in one of the side alleys.
below: A home for hundreds of stickers, all nicely frames together
below: This poser bunny takes the spotlight.
below: A new piece, with some older poser bunnies in the background.
below: When I first saw this piece (by elicser?) I thought that he had his heart in his hands. As I look at it more, I’m not so sure. Any ideas? Also, “How long do we have?” An open question, an incomplete question, a mysterious question, or a question of philosophy. You see, one question leads to another.
below: This one isn’t new and isn’t particularly outstanding, but the way the sun was shining on it caught my eye. A bit of a silly comment – I’ll assume that W C doesn’t stand for water closet!
below: Donald Trump and the lovebot share a pole. Poor lovebot 😦
below: Street art by gems
below: One more new street art piece
below: Talking trash says “She’s bound to put a blanket on my bed”.
below: A small blue airplane and another little blue thing, all that remains of a larger mural painted long ago.
below: Apparently he doesn’t miss us?
below: Oh no! Stikman is behind bars and lovebot’s been restrained.
below: A seat and a smoke at break time. Maybe he’s texting his girlfriend about the weirdos he sees in the alley. Or maybe he took my picture and he’s adding it to his instagram collection of strangers in the lane! 🙂
below: A protest piece. A play on the national anthem. Oh Canada our home on native land.
below: One word of warning if you plan to walk this alley in the late afternoon, you may be dodging cars that are trying to avoid Queen Street traffic.
below: But you’ll also be entertained by those who get stuck. It’s especially amusing when it’s the more aggressive drivers who are thwarted. It is a working alley, not a street, after all.
The word Chihuly in the title refers to Dale Chihuly, an American artist who has been working in glass since the mid 1960’s. At the moment there is a special exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) of some of the sculptural work produced by him and his team.
I’ve now wandered through this exhibit three times. The first time, I found it a bit overwhelming and I wasn’t sure how to photograph it. The second time I went I just looked. Yesterday I went back with my camera and tried again. I’m reasonably happy with the photos but I know that I have only captured a small part of the art. Perhaps it is enough to enable you to imagine more of it, or to refresh your memory if you have already seen the exhibit.
below: Admirers looking at “Persian Ceiling”, 2012 . Large cushions were provided for those who wanted to lie down to get a view of the ceiling in its entirety. Of course, looking at the sections up close was also fascinating. All the different shapes and colours overlap and produce new colours and textures.
below: Section of the “Persian Ceiling” installation.
The round slight scalloped glass shapes that look a bit like flowers are called Persians. At least that’s the name that Chihuly has given them as described in this quote that appears on the wall just outside the room. “I just liked the name Persians. It conjured up sort of Near-Eastern, Byzantine, Far East, Venice, all the trades, smells, sense… I don’t know, it was an exotic name to me, so I just called them Persians.”
below: A ray swims amongst the waves of colour.
below: “Red Reeds”. I thought of candles when I first saw this piece, red candles in a birch bark candle holder. Then the young girl standing beside me announced that it was a campfire and I changed my mind. I think she’s right. Marshmallows anyone?
The red tubes are hollow glass. Metal rods have been inserted into the birch logs and the glass tubes sit over these rods. You can see the darker sections at the bottom of the tubes where the metal rods are.
below: “Blue and Purple Boat, 2006”. Back in 1995 Chihuly floated some glass pieces on a river in Finland. Local teenagers collected the pieces in their wooden boats and this provided the inspiration for a number of installations featuring glass in boats. This is one of two on display at the ROM. It is on a reflective surface, like a calm river.
below: “Sapphire Neon Tumbleweeds” constructed from factory made neon tubes that have been heated and bent into organic shapes. The lighting is magenta in real life but blue in my photos.
below: The next few photos are of a large and elaborate installation called “Laguna Torcello”, named after a lagoon island in Venice. It is a garden of fantasy in glass. Parts seem to be aquatic, growing under water.
As an aside, I suspect that the logistics and cost of transporting and installing these pieces is not minor. Like the red tubes above, this garden is made of hollow glass pieces that are arranged on, and supported by, rods. The whole thing sits on a flat, dark, and reflective surface which adds another dimension to the artwork.
The exhibit continues until the end of 2016.
I decided to head to Pape and Danforth on Friday, on a very hot & humid afternoon. The Danforth was just beginning to get ready for the Taste of the Danforth weekend festival. I stopped for a bottle of water and tried to find a bit of shade while I figured out where to walk. The street was still quiet. The day was hot and humid and no one was moving quickly. Not many photos to be had there. Instead, I decided to walk a few of the alleys north of the Danforth between Pape and Donlands.
below: No famous graffiti artist has left their mark in your neighbourhood? No problem, make your own!
A collection of icons with even the bricks painted into the picture.
below: Three garage doors with street art including one by spud.
below: Cruz1art (aka Angel Carillo) and a girl power pink skull by dudeman
below: “Turn the lights off and look to the sky”
below: I’m used to seeing ‘No Trespassing’ or ‘Keep Out’ signs but not so many ‘Keep Off’.
below: A happy Uber5000 birdie knitting away, a close knit street art painting.
below: Another creature by Cruz1
below: Two more painted garage doors, very linear, very stylized and abstracted.
below: A play on the word ‘cool’. Snowy words and a penguin with sunglasses. Unfortunately it didn’t make me feel cooler but only slightly nostalgic for winter. Only slightly!
below: On the left is “destroy and rebuild” and on the right is “We are 1, [illegible] mi gente siempre”. The last bit is Spanish and translates to “My people forever”
below: I think there was a point to this picture, but I’m not sure what it is.
below: Since this stretch of the Danforth has been “Greektown” for as long as I can remember, it makes sense to find street art in Greek. In this case, Greek love.
below: A slight chuckle, the next garage door is the translation.
below: Insert a little rant about horrid TTC concrete fences here. At least someone has found a way to brighten one of them up. This one is right beside the entrance to Donlands subway station.
A few more pictures….
below: A survivor. A lone white rose amongst dead roses. May you all survive the heat of summer!
British mural artist Phlegm has been painting a large mural on the side of 1 St. Clair West. The first time I saw it, was on the 14th of July when it looked liked this:
below: The white background of the mural was painted first.
I have been watching it, checking up on it every couple of days. At first I took photos fairly frequently because I had no idea how long it would take before the mural was finished.
below: 19th July
As it turns out, there is a lot of detail in the mural! It slowly took shape.
below: 21st July
below: Fast forward to today…. the mural is almost finished. …
but wait! Isn’t that the CN tower on the shoulder?
below: Hey! It is the CN tower. And isn’t that the Gooderham/flatiron building? And that building with the little dome, isn’t that on Yonge street?
below: There’s the ROM and its ‘crystal’ too! This is the ‘bottom’ of the figure and in this photo two things become clearer. First, the scale of the project and just how big the mural is becomes apparent. Second, the mural is of a person coming out of the earth, being pulled out by the roots almost. But is it a person? Or is it a living city?
below: The head part – play ‘spot the building’! Is that old city hall?
below: Scalliwags is on one of the knees along with a lot of trees.
below: And last, the feet with more roots at the heels
This project is also a part of the STEPS Initiative program.
This post also appears in a blog about street art. Phelgm’s Progress.
Just before Dupont Street ends at Dundas West, it passes under a set of railway tracks…
and of course another underpass means another mural.
It is an Art Starts project “honouring the Junction and paying homage to its industrial past rooted in the railway and celebrating its development as a diverse neighbourhood oriented community. ” Lead artists Joshua Barndt and Jamie Bradbury along with 5 youth artists took 4 weeks to complete the mural.
The mural was funded by the City of Toronto’s Graffiti Transformation Program.
Cycling is used as a theme and as a way of traveling from the past to the future in the mural.
below: The final panel in the mural, a future friendly city.
July is almost over – yes, summer is flying by.
So far, it’s been a good one!
below: Staying cool and having fun in the Yonge Dundas square fountains
below: A giant bite from a giant watermelon slice
below: A Bay Street hug and kiss.
below: An impromptu serenade
below: Watching the entertainment at the waterfront – it’s magical
below: Making comfort at Afrofest, Woodbine Park
below: A Canada Day kiss.
below: Leave your message by the outdoor facilities!
below: A mother and daughter stroll on the waterfront
below: Posing, Pride fun
below: Blowing bubbles by the lake.
Happy August everyone!
The first time I saw the latest art installation in the Canary District I was in a car and only got a quick look at it. I couldn’t figure out what the mess was all about. It wasn’t until I went back on foot to take a closer look that I could appreciate what the artists were trying to do.
Located at Front and Bayview is the ‘Garden of Future Follies’ by Hadley Howes and Maxwell Stephens (Hadley & Maxwell and the Studio of Received Ideas). It is a sculpture garden and there are 7 sculptures in this garden. Each sculpture is a mashup of pieces from different sculptures around Toronto. Aluminum foil ‘molds’ were used to replicate portions of over 80 different monuments and architectural features. These portions were then put together in a whole new way.
From an interview with the artists:
“Sir John A. Macdonald’s nose is assembled along with the eyes of artists Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, the chin of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, and Northrop Frye’s hair; Jack Layton’s smile is one of seven that grace a figure lounging atop a reconstituted mantel from the library at Osgoode Hall; a bell from St. James Cathedral’s famous collection is perched on a cannon from Fort York; while nearby a suitcase from the Memorial to Italian Immigrants acts as a plinth for a collection of hats from various bronze heads.”
Now you can play spot the pieces! But you won’t find any hockey sticks.
So far I haven’t seen anyone taking selfies here but I think it would be a great spot for them!
below: No one will ever call it beautiful, playful yes, but not pretty.
There is a railway underpass on Dupont just before it meets Dundas West. Several years ago the north side of the underpass was decorated with some murals. Most of them are in bad shape or have been tagged or painted over.
below: Unity is one of the original murals here. It is the best preserved.
This wall has also become a place to comment on life in words and and poetry.
below: Through the fires of chaos, let there be light! ~ ” blessed be!”
“The man who misses all the fun is he who says it can’t be done.
With solemn pride he stands aloof and greets each venture with reproof.
Had he the power he’d efface the history of the human race
There’d be no motor cars or streets lit by electric stars
No telegraph nor telephone. We’d all linger in the age of stone.
The world could not be run by men who say it can’t be done”
– Druid
Been through rough times – keep your head up!The poem in the above transcription comes from ‘The Book of Virtues’ by William J. Bennett with one little change. The last line in the original is as follows: “The world would sleep if things were run By men who say “It can’t be done.”
***
below: When I researched the source of the message below I discovered that it was from a poem by Rumi. He was a 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic amongst other things but apparently he’s also one of the most widely read poets in North America.
The lines of the poem are translated/shared in slightly different ways including
“Somewhere beyond right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there.”
and
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.”
***
below: Things aren’t what they seem? I’m not sure if you noticed it, but someone has added, very faintly, “sometimes it’s a gold pot”.
below: Someone’s commentary on the world today.
“Teens fight but don’t know what 4.
It’s really sad 2 see them _e.
Teens killed at subway stations,
young innocent girls being stalked by perverted men.
When will it all end,
what will happen 2 us.
What’s Happining 2 The World Today?”***
But not a running, or even a jogging, track! No, yesterday’s walk was an oval-ish loop at walking pace from Dundas West station, up one side of the railway tracks and back down the other.
below: Just past the subway station I saw the mural on “The Friendly Trini’s” which is now closed. If the mural is telling the truth, they once served butter chicken, curried goat roti, jerk chicken with rice and peas, as well as drinks in coconuts and pineapples. Feeling hungry already, and I’ve only just begun my walk.
below: Also on Dundas West, the King’z Convenience and Dollar Store which sells Filipino products and delicacies is adjacent to the Slovenija meat & delicatessen. Multicultural. I regret not taking pictures of the window of the Slovenian store – juice and beer brands that were unfamiliar to me.
below: Detail, boy riding an old fashioned bike on a little hook above a door.
below: And someone has decorated their balcony.
below: Just before I reached the bridge over the railway tracks I saw these words on a wall.
below: The dream theme continues on the metal steps up to the bridge. This one was small and I almost missed it. I’m not sure if it was painted black to blend into the background, or if the painting was an attempt to “clean up” the graffiti when prying off the letters proved to be too difficult (the D is broken so maybe someone tried). Insert words about killing other people’s dreams here.
below: From the top of the steps looking south. The minimalist new Bloor GO and UP (Union Pearson) station is finished, top left of the photo. Don’t you think we should call it ‘Get UP and GO’? The street is Dundas West and yes, that mural is new.
below: Helping to hold up the bridge, west side of the tracks. He’s carrying the weight of the world, or maybe just the bridge, on his shoulders.
After crossing the bridge, I walked north along the West Toronto Railpath. The fencing along the path has all been upgraded. There used to be some spots where you could get through the fence (non-railway side) but those are gone. Between the tracks and the path there is a new clear (glass? plastic?) fence. Of course it has already been ‘vandalized’ or ‘tagged’ – choose your verb. Because I was there on a sunny afternoon, the sun was shining through the ‘artwork’ and making interesting designs. A few thistles and other weeds added some compositional elements.
There were quite a few hearts on my route, especially around the Dupont exit of the Railpath.
below: Many hearts on the fence.
below: A heart for Hex and Nish wherever, and whomever, they may be.
below: Three heart balloons on the Dupont sign. You can get a good view of the fence here.
below: Part of the West Toronto Railpath runs alongside Planet Storage, an large old brick building. There used to be a lot of street art along the side of the building but it’s all been painted over. A few tattle tale remnants remain.
below: My favorite, little details like the bright yellow giraffe looking at the clouds.
below: There is one mural on the Railpath, the back of Osler’s Fish Market is covered with a fish and fishing themed mural.
below: Fish heads in the weeds. Queen Anne’s lace, that plant with the white flowers, was growing in abundance along the path. You might know it by its other name, Wild Carrot.
below: A splash of red on a street just off the railpath.
below: The sign on the table says: “Hi! La Witch Cat here. Enjoy the space, but PLEASE do not litter. I provided a garbage can. Use it! This includes cigarette butts. Put in trash once extinguished. Thanks! XXO”. Marvellous! I sooo agree with the part about cigarette butts. Why do people who don’t litter still consider it okay to throw cigarette butts wherever they please? I smiled but I didn’t stop to rest.
below: At one point I found myself at this intersection. What is a pedestrian to do? It’s possible I walked where I shouldn’t have, or at least where foot traffic is rare. All the roads in the photo are Dundas West; it’s where the street splits as it approaches Dupont and Annette. There was a small park behind me, called Traffic Island park. The name sums it up I think.
below: A lament for the streetscape. One more line in an elegy to public spaces. The result of a half hearted attempt. Massive hydro poles on the narrow sidewalk. A large ad. A green space that needs attention. If you look carefully, you can see a plaque on a small stand.
below: This is the plaque. According to the words, this strip of land was replanted in 2001-2003 with a number of native species with the plan that they would spread and “create an oasis in the middle of the city”. It mentions three plants – Nannyberry tree, Staghorn sumac, and Bottlebrush grass. Disconnect alert.
below: On my way back to the subway station I spotted this 24 hour lovebot.
…. that was where I walked yesterday but before I leave, a few small details. Ciao!
as I walk Toronto 