At the corner of Beatrice and Dundas West there is a new mural by Elicser of a couple building with blocks, or more accurately, playing with Tetris shapes.
Posts Tagged ‘Dundas West’
Beatrice building blocks
Posted: September 26, 2019 in graffiti and street artTags: Beatrice Ave., blocks, Dundas West, Elicser, mural, street art, tetris
Three Sisters, Tikay and Aner
Posted: June 19, 2019 in graffiti and street artTags: agricultural, agriculture, aner, Aner Urra, bean, colours, corn, Dundas West, First Nations, flowers, indigenous, leaves, mural, paint, Paula Tikay, Rodrigo Ardiles, squash, symbols, three sisters, tikay, tikay & aner, vegetables, vine, women
Three Sisters – both literal and allegorical. Three women, each with a vegetable, and these three vegetables, corn, squash, and beans, are the three sisters of indigenous agriculture. These were the main crops of most North American native groups and they were usually planted together; together they thrived for thousands of years.
This is one of two murals by Paula Tikay and Aner Urra (aka tikay & aner) in the Dundas West area. They are two indigenous Mapuche artists from Chile who were invited to come to Toronto to paint the murals.
The project was organized by Rodrigo Ardiles (of the Dundas West Museum). This neighbourhood was chosen because of its ties to the many immigrants from Chile who have found a home here as early as the 1970s. Children from the nearby Alexander Muir / Gladstone Avenue Junior and Senior Public School and The Grove Community School had some input on the mural. Also involved was StartARToronto.
meandering near Bloor and Dundas
Posted: November 9, 2018 in general Toronto, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, nature, old buildingsTags: alley, autumn, bikes, building, car, contemporary art, Dundas West, garage doors, heart, houses, lane, map, MOCA, mural, pasteup, people, raccoon, signs, street scene, Tommys Gift & Variety, tractor, trees, uber5000
Presenting an eclectic compilation of images so
Have a seat!
below: But maybe not here, even if they are two comfy sofas! Comfy but wet.
Meandering on a day early in November
while the trees were still showing their last hurrah of colour.
This mural is on Roncesvalles is partially obscured but is still a welcome splash of colour and vibrance.
I love the raccoons! Pink raccoons
and blue raccoons on street art that I haven’t seen before.
Crooked lines,
tight spaces,
and old glass. All kinds of alterations.
Peeling paint on diamonds (once red?)
and water drops on leaves (definitely red).
One very pink car. Whiskey for Whiskers.
Uber 5000’s yellow birdies and friends are still on the side of Tommy’s Gift & Variety.
And next door you Coffee and breakfast at Tina’s while your tax returns are prepared.
Semi neighbours
at the edges of gentrification.
Lights over the train tracks
and graffiti beside.
A fine and dandy tractor
and a great idea
She’s gone green but she’s got the blues.
and Ontario’s now orange.
A family outing
below: The building with the giraffe pattern on top, at Bloor and Dundas West, is still there.
below: The murals painted by Wallnoize are still there. They were painted in the spring of 2015 and I posted a lot of photos of them shortly after that.
below: The murals run under the Bloor Street underpass (railway tracks overhead), on both sides of the street.
below: The new MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) is now open on Sterling Road. The renovations to the old Tower Automotive building aren’t totally complete; most of the area is a construction site. But the museum opened earlier this year. Access from the West Toronto Railpath is available.
But hey! Why stop here?…. more about the new MOCA follows ……
of birds and flowers and more
Posted: March 5, 2018 in graffiti and street art, locations, storesTags: architecture, birds, cars, Dundas West, Dupont, facades, fairy, flowers, footbridge, gnome, graffiti, houses, maple leaf, mural, reflections, sidewalk, stairs, street, street art, tracks, underpass, West Toronto Railpath, windows
The other day I headed towards Dupont and Dundas West because I heard about a mural that I didn’t recall having seen. Here it is … and more.
below: The most westerly part of the mural is on the north side of Dundas West where Old Weston Road and Annette Street meet.
It continues along the side of the railway underpass on Dupont (it’s a confusing tangle of streets here!)
….and on the stairwell up to the West Toronto Railpath.
It was a gorgeous day so I walked around a bit more, of course!
below: On Dundas West
below: A row of houses with wonderful facades. You don’t many like that anymore! .. at least not on houses.
below: These fooled me at first. Interesting black and white photos looking grubby and worn… with a small McDonalds logo on the bottom right. The photo on the bottom left also has a few words in small print that give away the fact this is a McDonalds promotion. I don’t think I’ve seen any like these elsewhere – or have I missed something?
below: The large black metal staircase at the end of the footbridge over the tracks at Wallace Ave are gone. The replacement stairs are dull and bland. This change was meant to accommodate new development on Wallace.
below: Railpath window reflections.
below: Also on the West Toronto Railpath, someone has hung this colourful ‘curtain’ on the fence in order to add a splash of colour to a sitting area. Once upon a time there were more chairs here. And a table if I remember correctly.
below: One of two chalkboards installed by crazydames where people have written notes to cyclists imploring them to slow down and use their bells. I totally agree! Just before I came upon this, a man on an electric bike came up behind me, silently and fast.
below: This little gnome still stands by the entrance to a convenience store. This guarden gnome has been here (Bloor West) for a few years.
below: Reduce, reuse, recycle – here the R used is reuse. Truck and tractor parts and other bits and pieces craftily arranged and put to use on the outside of the Farmhouse Tavern. It should look better in a couple of months!
below: A fairy in a garden of mushrooms.
One last look at part of that mural!
Brockton murals
Posted: June 27, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locationsTags: artists, Brock Ave., Brockton, cat, corn, daisies, Dundas West, flowers, gourd, guitar, hibiscus, Jonny Cakes, lovebot, melon, mouse, mural, owl, paint, sewp, Tilay & Aner, walls, window, woman
Or more exactly, murals on Dundas West near Brock and Sheridan.
Starting with an old favourite – I had mentioned this mural in a prior post, Bloordale to Brockton, but at the time it wasn’t finished and it had no signature. Now it is completed and signed, Jonny Cakes and sewp.
In the background (on the other side of Brock Avenue) is a new mural by Tilay & Aner.
If you are familiar with the area, you will know that a very large Lovebot was on a wall here. You’ll be happy to know that he’s still here, large than life, kitty-corner from the cat and mouse.
Tilay & Aner have also painted another mural nearby, one with a South American flavour. It is on the side of building on Dundas West, but closer to Sheridan Ave.
almost clandestine Clandestinos
Posted: June 21, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street artTags: alley, alligator, animals, ape, bird, Bruno Smoky, clandestinos, creek, crocodile, driveway, Dundas West, feathers, graffiti, lane, leaves, nature, shalak, Shalak Attack, smoky, street art, turtle
On Dundas West, just west of Dufferin, there are two lanes with large murals by clandestinos.
One is the alley to the west of the Lulu Lounge where both sides are covered with fantastic paintings by fiya, shalak, and bruno smoky as well as a few others. I blogged about it just over two years ago and here is the link to the original post, “life as the shadow of vida“. Earlier this week I took another look at it – it’s still looking great and there have been no changes so I didn’t take any photos.
The other alley is nearby but on the north side of Dundas Street. Actually, it’s hardly an alley, more like a driveway which made taking pictures of the whole mural difficult. Also, if you are traveling eastbound on Dundas, you’d miss it. Here are the pictures that I managed to take:
say it ain’t so
Posted: October 15, 2016 in locations, public artTags: AGO, art, Art Gallery of Ontario, changes, construction, Dundas West, Grange Park, Henry Moore, McCaul, move, public art, renovation
First I heard a rumour that the Art Gallery of Ontario was going to remove that sculpture from the corner of Dundas & McCaul, you know, the one that everyone climbs on and takes their picture with, the one near the AGO entrance.
Then I read about in a newspaper.
You know, that curvy bulky slippery thing by Henry Moore, the one with a title that’s almost as shapeless as the sculpture, “Large Two Forms” although no one calls it that. Oh, what do they call it anyhow?
Then I read about it online.
It’s sat on that corner since 1974. That’s 42 years. Longer than the average Torontonian has been alive.
Can you say synonymous? …. as in synonymous with the corner of Dundas and McCaul.
Apparently it’s going to be moved to Grange Park. That’s the park behind the AGO, the one that is being renovated.
The expression “Rob Peter to Pay Paul” comes to mind.
How about new public art for a renewal of the park?
But walking the site and looking at the plans made me start to think. The sculpture is being moved into its own space in the park and as I looked at the drawings and the artist rendition of the future space, it dawned on me that the redesign of Grange Park was possibly (probably?) done specifically to accommodate the sculpture. The Art Gallery owns Grange Park after all. Toronto does a lousy job of placement of their public art so maybe I shouldn’t complain about this?
Maybe.
As I tried to take photos of the sculpture where it is, I was reminded of how the streetscape in Toronto gets short shrift.
Henry Moore competes with old poles as well as bus shelters that are designed to maximize Astral Media ads. At least there isn’t a ghastly trash bin beside the sculpture. And at least the art is solid enough and strong enough to hold its own.
But this is going to be a problem for any artwork that gets put on that corner.
Oh dear, assuming that something will replace Henry Moore?
Don’t mess it up even more AGO, don’t leave the corner empty.
We have more of a cultural memory than you give us credit for.
a new Chinatown dragon
Posted: September 17, 2016 in graffiti and street artTags: alley, Blinc Studios, Chinatown, Chinatown BIA, colours, dragon, Dundas West, lane, mural, paint, wall
There’s a new dragon in Chinatown. It lives on a wall on Dundas West, just east of Spadina.
This colourful addition to Dundas West was painted by Blinc Studios Artists, Allan Bender, John Nobrega, Jesse McCuaig, Azadeh Pirazimian, Chris Brown, Frannie Potts and Mohammad Jaberi with the help of the Chinatown BIA and the City of Toronto. It must not have been an easy mural to paint – the wall is not flat but all parts of it have been covered.
Another wonderful mural to brighten up the alley!
a lap around the tracks
Posted: July 27, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locationsTags: blue sky, dream, Dundas West, fence, flowers, glass, graffiti, hearts, I have a dream, images, Junction, love, lovebot, mural, paint, photographs, photos, pictures, plants, Queen Anne's lace, red, restaurant, sidewalk, street, weeds, West Toronto Railpath, yellow
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!