drawing | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘drawing’

slaps on walls and poles

Posted: December 2, 2019 in graffiti and street art
Tags: circus rats, daughtcalm, David Baron, drawing, drible_drible, dunzo, eat the rich, eddaviel, faces, feelings boi, freewill, graffiti, honest, humour, Jeremy Lynch, lovebot, Nixon, paste ups, Pestilencia Worldwide, poles, question authority, Ratanic, Scumby, sketch nate, sketch rat, slaps, stamps, stickers, tbonez, TCF The chosen few, The Forge Fury, urban ninja squadron, wires, xmarks

I have accumulated a small collection of slaps, stickers, and small paste-ups, that I have seen around the city over the past couple of months. This collection has grown large enough to warrant its own blog post. So here they are….

below: He’s stepping out of the bunny suit in a little paper paste up by sketch nate (aka Nate Galbraith)

below: Looking a bit weathered on this piece of plywood is a paste up by sketchrat, (aka srats) Now Hiring Circus Rats.

below: Two stickers on a pole, the top by drible_drible and the bottom by daughtcalm

below: This old orange stikman has lost his head. In its place is a sticker for eddaviel aka Edison Montero

below: A solemn (depressed?) man with baby.

below: Wires, and more wires, on old wood utility pole.

below: Covered.

below: Contributions from Paranoid, Cherry Whine, and feelings boi. This is the oldest photo in this post; it dates back to TIFF in September. The rabbit poster was a promotion for one of the TIFF movies, Resin.

below: A bunch of words. Honest. Question authority over and over again. Wants to be healthy and happy? Money first. Capitalism. Put them altogether and what do you have?

below: Nice to see that there are still some Rob Ford faces around. He shares this sign with many others including a lovebot, a deluxo xyz, and a blue skull.

below: Time may be a human construct but I’m still tired – sitting in the bottom corner with a head full of flowers, by Sketch Nate.

below: Fake Canada postage stamps as graffiti. An interesting idea. Each of the little red maple leaves on the stamps has a letter in it, P A W. Is this the artist’s initials?

below: Many slaps here – On the bottom tight is one from Pestilencia Worldwide with two of their characters, Ratanic and Scumby. Bottom left – an Urban Ninja Squadron tbonez turned barber. Nixon, lines and shapes by The Forge Fury, and freewill are in the center, and a person hides behind a cute cat mask by Sketch Nate.

below: Another Urban Ninja Squadron, this time with The Forge Fury (aka David Baron) and screaming ‘Your Mom’. Also, Fascism shall be destroyed.

below: These faces, either with eyes missing, or eyes added on top, or some variation on that theme, have sprung up all over the place. These are two of the small ones that I have seen. You can see more of Jeremy’s work on instagram.

below: Lots of silly faces with Urban Ninja Squadron loser, and a cat on its 9th life by Sketch Nate. As for the top poster, so much for Sketch Rat.

below: Urban Ninja Squadron with a playing card Lovebot, the lovebot of hearts.

below: Tbonez with dunzo on top -more of TCF, The Chosen Few. The Forge Fury on the bottom.

below: And now Urban Ninja with Ratanic from Pestilencia Worldwide. I am getting the sense that this a rather incestuous group in that they all know each other and cross pollinate each other’s work.

below: And last but not least, a very small sticker on a pole, xmarks

Kensington paper

Posted: July 8, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: art, black and white, drawing, faces, feelings boi, graffiti, grey owl, Kensington, ninja, paste ups, photography, poles, pot belly pop, slaps, stickers, street art, urban ninja squadron, walls

Slaps, stickers and paste-ups in Kensington.

below: Stickers on a pole

below: Ohhhh, Portland is burning

below: Feelings boi hanging out on a wall with a morose pot belly poop

below: Riding zebras in pairs

below: The words flow. “She clasped my face in her bones and kissed silence into my mouth” a quote by Amiri Bakara

below: Four urban ninja squadrons and a couple arguing

below: Even aliens check their phones.

below: An ad, a drawing, and some knowledge

below: Black and white photos of people’s faces with the eyes missing.

below: More missing eyes, but this time some of the faces have eyes. For the latter, the faces are composites

below: One is blind and one is the merging of three. I’ll leave it to you to figure out if it’s three different people, or the same person photographed three times.

below: Urban ninja with Grey Owl and its large (and very sharp looking) talons

below: Go vegan for her. A pig’s eye?

Those are what I saw today. You could probably walk Kensington and see others. Many are hard to miss but keep your eyes open for the little things in unusual places!

Women in Focus

Posted: May 19, 2019 in galleries
Tags: AGO, Alfred Eisenstaedt, art, Art Gallery of Ontario, drawing, Germaine Richier, graphite, Hanja Holm, Herbert Bayer, Ilse Bing, Jesus, Lotte Jacobi, Mary, painting, photography, Rudolph Koppitz, spider web, To Fix the Image in Memory, Vija Celmins, water, Women in Focus

‘Women in Focus’ is the name of a photography exhibit on at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) at the moment. I want to talk about that exhibit in this blog post but I also want to expand the post to include a few other women at the AGO that caught my eye the other day when I was there.

below: A woman’s portrait by Modigliani and a sculpture of a female form in the room beyond. The latter is “The Leaf”, 1948, by Germaine Richier. She’s a forlorn figure, standing naked and all alone.

***

The ‘Women in Focus, 1920s – 1940s,’ exhibit is fascinating. The history, not only of photography but also of the subject matter, is wonderful. The world was changing. Photography was there to be a part of that change as well as document it. Cameras and processing techniques advanced. Magazines flourished. The way that we looked at the world and at ourselves evolved. Photography became an artform.

below: ‘Hanja Holm with dance group, New York’, around 1938, by Lotte Jacobi. Gelatin Silver print. The photo is actually sepia toned and not as ‘black and white’ as shown here. Hanja/Hanya Holm (1893-1992) was the stage name of a German born choreographer and dancer; she was Johanna Kuntze (nee Eckert) but considered her name “too heavy” for a dancer. She is also considered one of the founders of American modern dance.

below: ‘St. Moritz, Frau Wernod-Gtoffel with a modern film camera’, 1932, by Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898-1995). Eisenstaedt began his career in 1929 with the Associated Press in Germany. Because of the war he emigrated to the USA in 1935 where he became a photographer for ‘Life’ magazine. I love the old camera… and what’s that in her mouth?

below: ‘Bewegungsstudie’ (‘Movement Study’) 1926 by Rudolph Koppitz (Austrian, 1884-1936), bromoil print. Koppitz was a leading avant-garde photographer of his time. Bromoil prints are slightly fuzzier than other photographs as the image is produced with an oil based paint.

below: ‘Sea of Ice (Genevieve)’, 1935, by Ilse Bing (1899-1998). Bing was born in Frankfurt Germany. She spent the early part of her career in Paris before moving to the USA in 1941. The exhibit at the AGO includes more of her work (and it’s all good).

below: “Good Night Marie’, 1932, by Herbert Bayer (1900-1985). It looks very contrived, doesn’t it? The study of the nude as a photographic skill – getting the skin tones right and all that. Or is it just soft porn?

below: On the left is ‘Colette’, 1939, by Giselle Freund (1908-2000). Colette (1873-1954) was a French author and in this picture she is writing in bed. Her best known book was ‘Gigi’. She was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. The other picture is a portrait of Virginia Woolf, also a writer, by Man Ray (1890-1976).

***

Vija Celmins was born in Latvia just before the Soviets invaded during WW2. She emigrated to the USA and settled first in California and then in New York City. ‘To Fix the Image in Memory‘ is a retrospective of her work at the AGO (until 5th August). Most of her work is in very muted tones if not shades of grey.

below: Five of a series of drawings (there are 6 in the series) of water done in graphite (i.e. pencil). One is the original and five are copies of it. These photos are small but I think that you can see that they are of the same waves. A lot of her work was intense – detailed drawings of water and the desert floor. She also did a series of drawings and paintings of stars in the sky.

below: A spider web painted in oils on linen. Celmins experimented with pictures of spider webs done in different media on different surfaces. This was my favorite – muted and slightly blurry.

below: I’ve cheated a bit here…. this is a screenshot of the top part of the results of a google image search on Celmins’ name. It gives you a much better sense of her work that I can convey.

***

As I was walking towards the exit of the AGO I was still thinking about how women are portrayed in art. I found myself in the ‘religious art’ section of the gallery, from a time in history when the church was a major patron of the arts in Western culture. Apparently, it wasn’t a good time for women. There are plenty of Mary’s either in her virgin mother role or seen weeping at the foot of the cross, but there is a dearth of other women. Ponder that for a while but try not to get too depressed. And while you ponder, here is a photo of a small white statue bathed in light coming through a stained glass window. Mary’s watching over you.

Tinirrusiangit

Posted: June 30, 2018 in galleries
Tags: AGO, art, art gallery, Cape Dorset, drawing, fish, fishing, Kenojuak Ashevak, Kinngait, owl, paintings, person, print making, ravens, stencil, stonecut, Tim Pitsiulak, whales

Tinirrusiangit is an Inuktitut word that means “their gifts” or “what they gave”. It is the name of the latest exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario features the work of two Inuit artists, Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013) and her nephew Tim Pitsiulak (1967-2016). Ashevak (1927-2013) was born in southern Baffin Island although she grew up on the land in the traditional, semi-nomadic hunting lifestyle, living in igloos and skin tents.

In the 1950’s she developed TB and ended up, against her will, in a hospital in Quebec City This was not a happy time in her life. She had just given birth when she was forcibly transferred; the baby was adopted by a neighbouring family. Several of Kenojuak’s children died while she was in the hospital. One of the ways of passing time at the hospital was making arts and crafts such as beading and doll making.

When she returned to Kinngait Nunavut (previously Cape Dorset), she learned printmaking. She was also one of the early members of the West Baffin Eskimo Collective which became Kinngait Studios.

Ashevak was the first internationally known Inuit artist. Her most famous piece, ‘The Enchanted Owl’ 1960, was used on a Canadian postage stamp in 1970 in honour of the Northwest Territories centennial. Owls were one of her favorite subjects.

below: Ravens and Owl, 1979, stonecut and stencil on paper, by Kenojuak Ashevak

below: Happy Little Owl, 1969, stonecut on paper, by Kenojuak Ashevak

below: Untitled, 2004-5, pencil and felt tip marker on paper, by Kenojuak Ashevak

Tim Pitsiulak, born in Kimmirut Nunavut, was a hunter and a painter. He started drawing as a young boy and although he tried carving and jewelry making, most of his artwork centers around depicting everyday life in drawings and paintings.

below: GoPro Hydrophone, 2016, pastel on black paper, by Tim Pitsiulak. Here, the artist (the hunter) throws a GoPro camera into the water to record the sounds and images of the animals in the water.

“What more could I ask for, than for people to notice what we have up here? This is the best thing about being and artist and a hunter.” Tim Pitsiulak quote on the wall at the AGO.

below: Swimming with Giants, 2015, by Tim Pitsiulak. Beluga whales swimming with a bowhead whale.

The exhibit continues until 12 August 2018

Progress is a spiral upward

Posted: October 2, 2017 in galleries
Tags: 401 Richmond, art, collage, drawing, gallery, ink, paint, paper, poetry, sab meynert

Progress is a spiral upward is the title of an exhibit at the Tangled Arts Gallery at 410 Richmond. It is a series of collages of ink and/or paint drawings by Toronto artist sab maynert.

“for sight beyond seeing
for seeing in order to know”

“let the flow carry you, rest in the soil, let the seed push you to the sun,
palms out to the sky,
let go, make room”

below: The piece in the middle is “By Proximity”, 24″ x 24″, gouache and ink on paper.

below: bottom left (yellow and black): “You Give Everything”, ink on paper, 9″ x 12″ while bottom right (with the red ‘knot’) is “Decisions we Made”, ink on paper, 9″ x 12″.

“pull yourself out of the thornbush
you smell like flowers”

The quotes that I’ve used in this blog post are lines that I have pulled from the writing that accompanies the exhibit, a poem with the same title, “Progess is a Spiral Upward”.

The exhibit continues until the 14th of October.
Link to sab meynert’s website

a dead end

Posted: November 16, 2016 in graffiti and street art
Tags: alley, architecture, blackburn, drawing, garage door, heads, houses, lane, paint, squirrel

Exploring streets and lanes I don’t think that I’ve walked before… or at least I don’t remember them!
Following every possible alley.
Then one turns a corner and becomes a dead end.
Frustrating to have to turn around and retrace my steps but rarely is it a waste of time.

below: There really isn’t much to this graffiti but at least there’s a creative (albeit gruesome) use of the garage door knob. The poor guy is shocked and probably in pain as he’s stabbed in the eye. I’m not sure if the other fellow is screaming or laughing loudly.

below: Flash, glare and a happy light bulb.

below: A blackburn giant squirrel covers a garage door.

go east, way east…..

Posted: November 11, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
Tags: animals, autumn, batman, community, drawing, Elicser, faces, graffiti, hair, head, Highland Creek, hope, Morningside Park, msn, mural, Orton Park, PanAm Path, people, public art, Rowell Soller, satelite, Scarborough, Skratch Wonder, street art, Ted Hamer

I had heard about a mural at Lawrence and Orton Park so this morning I thought I’d check it out. I ventured out Lawrence Avenue to just east of Markham Road. As I drove I was reminded of how big this city really is.

below: This is the community mural that started my adventure this morning. It was painted in nine sections and then assembled on the wall. It is the work of Ted Hamer, Rowell Soller and Skratch Wonder.

below: As I left Orton Park, I saw this mural from a distance. Of course I had to stop and take a picture. I got some strange looks. Tourists are probably not too common in this part of the city.

below: While I was looking for the best angle from which to take the above photo, I noticed some markings beside the road.

below: As it turns out, these are from the summer of 2011. Lawrence Avenue is 6 lanes wide and at this point it crosses Highland Creek and Morningside Park – a long bridge, a rather barren stretch of concrete and pavement.

below: Bridges were meant for going under, right? Luckily there was an entrance to Morningside Park right there, and luckily I left my toboggan at home 🙂 Morningside Park is part of a network of parks that follow the Highland Creek. It starts near Markham Road and the 401 and runs south to Kingston Road near Guildwood station. A search for an answer to the question, “How many ravine parks does Toronto have?” has yielded no results yet. I’ll keep looking.

below: The answer to another question, “Is there graffiti under the bridge?” was more easily found.

below: The bottom of the pillars were painted back in 2010 and 2011.

below: Hope takes flight over the city. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see but the word hope is written on the city at the bottom of this small mural but it is behind the weeds.

below: Personified Hope, from the picture above, wraps around to another side of the pillar as he/she moves upward. Also seen here is one of the feet from the upside down man.

below: Another pillar has a painting by elicser.

below: There were also a couple of paintings on the other side of the creek. There was water in the creek. Too much to cross safely.
Or at least, too much for me to cross safely!

It was a very quiet place to be this morning. I saw a couple of people on the path, including Batman, but they were silent.

One last photo, taken as I was driving home across Lawrence. I guess it’s somewhat appropriate for the time. Not sure why one would be sporting such a sticker in Ontario though. C’est la vie. To each their own.

I saw many people at bus stops waiting for the 34 Lawrence bus and I wondered how long it took them to get to the subway. Lawrence is 6 lanes wide and I tried to picture it with an LRT running down the center. (but that’s a whole other blog post, perhaps another day).

Craven Road gallery

Posted: November 6, 2015 in locations
Tags: artist, canvas, cats, Craven Road, dogs, drawing, painting, staples, wood fence

Craven is a narrow street that runs south from the railway tracks. For most of its length, there are houses only on the east side of the street. Between Gerrard and Dundas, a wooden fence runs along the west side right up next to the street. This fence separates the backyards of the next street, Ashdale, from Craven Road. As I drove up Craven this afternoon I noticed that someone has mounted a number of pictures onto the wall so of course I parked my car and took some photos.

There are paintings of cats of various sizes and colours

The stars look like the glow in the dark stars that my kids used to have.

Most, but not all, of the paintings have an animal theme. Seven Christmas sheep in the snow.

They are painted on canvas and stapled to the fence. Some are in better shape than others! The pattern of the rips in this painting seems to complement the pattern of the boards in the fence although the cat doesn’t look too pleased about it!

There are a few dog pictures too including this reindeer dog.

You may have noticed by now that this gallery is a one woman show. Christine Kowal is an artist and a resident of the street.

And did I mention that there were pictures of cats? 🙂

Obsolescence

Posted: March 22, 2015 in galleries
Tags: art, art gallery, collage, computer cards, contemporary, drawing, fibres, gallery, Harbourfront, large, Marhsall McLuhan, McLuhan, Obsolescence, paint, power plant, Shelagh Keeley, technology, textile, textile factory, the power plant, Toronto, typewriter, wall

Obsolescence, by Shelagh Keeley, 2014
at The Power Plant, Harbourfront Centre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First Toronto Japanese Summer Festival

Posted: July 28, 2013 in events
Tags: crowds, drawing, Dundas Square, festival, geisha, Japanese, kids, kimono, parasol, people, Pokemon, red parasol, summer, sunglasses, T-shirts, Toronto

Dundas Square, Sunday July 28

I happened upon this festival this afternoon. It was crowded but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Many people were out at Dundas Square this afternoon enjoying the perfect summer afternoon.

There were displays and activities. You could make buttons, practice calligraphy or try your hand origami.

two girls dressed in kimonos trying to grab a small inflated balloon that is floating in water.

Catch a bobbing balloon with a tiny hook!

Display of T-shirts for sale. They have Japanese writing on them. One is the character for energy and the other is the character for "be yourself'

T-shirts were some of the things that were available for sale.

A man wearing a Pokemon mask on the side of his head. Also in the photo is a small boy wearing a fedora but falling asleep on his father's shoulder

There were also masks for sale.

A woman wearing a kimono made of fabric that is covered with red maple leaves.

Many woman wearing kimonos in all colours and variety of fabrics. Some men were wearing the male equivalent (sorry, I have forgotten the name). There was a kimono fashion show as well.

as I walk Toronto

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