Posts Tagged ‘Harbourfront’

dia de muertos

Posted: November 9, 2015 in events, people
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Dia de Muertos, Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday where and friends come together to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.  It occurs at the end of October (31 Oct to 2 Nov).  Here in Toronto there was a Day of the Dead festival at Harbourfront this past weekend.

fabric hanging on a wall. There is a picture on the fabric of a woman's face painted white to look like a skull but with pink around the eys. Many orange roses surround her face

One of the traditions of Dia de Muertos is the making of ofrendas which are altars dedicated to the deceased person.  Jose Clemente Orozco was a Mexican painter (1883-1949).  He specialized in painting murals in frescoes and his work can be seen in Mexico and in the USA.

elaborate and colourful ofrenda with purple, blue and pink paper cut outs on the wall behind.
Another altar that was on display was one made by artist Alberto Cruz in honour of Pablo Picasso.

An ofrenda, or altar, in the memory of Pablo Picasso at a day of the dead festival. There is a photo of him surrounded by different objects and symbols representing his life and things that he did

The Casa Cultura Mexicana made an ofrenda to honour the Prehispanic indigenous people and warriors of Mexico.
The bottom part consisted of pictures made with coloured rice.

pictures made of coloured rice on an ofrenda dedicated to the indigenous people of Mexico

Food items such as rice, beans, and corns were an important part of the ofrenda.

a face shape made of dried beans and corn. red beans make a circle around the face, black beans make 6 rays coming out from the circle. The face is corn with bean features.

Ofrendas are decorated with sugar skulls and marigolds (or yellow and orange paper flowers) as well as candles, photos, momentos from the person’s life, and things that symbolize something about that person.  Sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical.

an ofrenda with a picture of a woman in a frame sitting on a table. One each side of her is an elaborately decorated skull. One of the skulls is wearing sunglasses and a wreath of yellow and orange flowers around the top of its head.

What would your friends and family put on an ofrenda in your memory?

objects on an ofrenda at a day of the dead celebration, decorated skulls, a small skeleton, some old photos of people, flowers, fruit,

There was also clay available if you wanted to make a small skull or other symbol for the occasion.

close up picture of a man putting details on a small clay skull with a toothpick

Two girls with day of the dead face paint on are making clay skulls. A young boy is also at the table making a skull, his mother is helping him.

A young man carefully adds tiny clay roses to a clay skull that he has made.

A small figurine made of a clay of a skeleton wearing a sombraro and playing a guitar is in the foreground, kids making clay skulls at a table are in the background.

skull painted white and then decorated with black, green, red and white

Rest in Peace.

ofrenda, altar, day of the dead celebration, woman's picture along with Virgin Mary candles and other pink cnadles, lots of orange flowers too

30,000 moths

Posted: September 30, 2015 in galleries
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The exhibit is called ‘Black Cloud’ and it consists of thirty thousand black moths, each one individually attached to the walls and ceiling of the clerestory of the The Power Plant Gallery.   Artist Carlos Amorales has reproduced the shapes and sizes of thirty six different species of moth with black paper.  They swarm towards the lights and they congregate in the corners.  It’s a fascinating display both in the overall composition and in the attention to small details.   This installation first appeared at an art gallery in Paris in 2007.

A wall covered with black paper moths, part of an art installation called Black Cloud by Carlos Amorales

A wall covered with black paper moths, part of an art installation called Black Cloud by Carlos Amorales where 30,000 black paper moths are stuck to the walls and ceilings of a hallway - looking up at all the moths on the ceiling

A wall covered with black paper moths, part of an art installation called Black Cloud by Carlos Amorales where 30,000 black paper moths are stuck to the walls and ceilings of a hallway - looking at the corner of the hall, where the wall meets the ceiling

A wall covered with black paper moths, part of an art installation called Black Cloud by Carlos Amorales where 30,000 black paper moths are stuck to the walls and ceilings of a hallway - this picture is a close up of some of the moths

As much as I liked the display, I was glad they weren’t real moths!

A hallway covered with black paper moths, part of an art installation called Black Cloud by Carlos Amorales where 30,000 black paper moths are stuck to the walls and ceilings of a hallway

#PPBlackCloud

of trees and queens

Posted: August 9, 2015 in galleries
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 Planet IndigenUS is a ten day festival co-produced by the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto and the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford. It features 300 artists with dance and music performances as well as visual art exhibits at a number of venues.  One of the venues is the gallery at Harbourfront Centre where a number of artists of Anishnabe heritage are showing their work.  Two of the artists are Christian Chapman and Scott Benesiinaabandan, and a sample of their work is presented here.

 

 Screenprints by Christian Chapman

print of an evergreen forest, a text in Ashishnabe language on top of the trees, hanging on a gallery wall gaawiin wiikaa ji gwerina-ka-nawich
miskwadessi opixwanak misa oi kitimagia
miskwadessi wag dash awessiwag
ji manaadji-a-ka-ni-watch

 never turn a turtle on its back so that it is helpless
turtles and all other animals are to be accorded respect

 

print of asky with clouds in red and orange tones, a text in Ashishnabe language on top of the trees, hanging on a gallery wall gaawiin wiikaa zaagi-dandaweken
wassetchiganatikong wayti-endaian
ai anike dibadjimowin eta ga nibodwach
sa gitinacasowug

never climb out a window in your house,
traditionally, only dead people are brought out like that

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below: ‘God Save the Queen’ by Scott Benesiinaabandan
a series of photos in which the queen is partially covered by the artist’s Solidarity Flag

In an art gallery, a series of three large photographs of a statue of Queen Victoria. THe first picture is just the statue, the middle picture is a man starting to put a flag over the bottom part of the statue and the third picture is the flag on the statue. Flag is solidarity flag created by Scott Benesiinaabandan, black and blue background, red circle in the middle, yellow sun in the red circle

 

Sunday sun and water

Posted: May 18, 2015 in waterfront
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Sunday of the long May weekend,
along the waterfront,
sun, water, and people

A man is sitting by the lake, his back to one of the posts supporting the chain links that separate the walkway from the water.

Two people are lying on the deck of a large boat that is moored at the waterfront, in the background is the Rees wave deck, a wavy sidewalk, on which a lot of people are walking

View of HTO beach with its yellow umbrellas with the Toronto skyline in the background.

people lying in the sand or sitting on chairs, reading, talking, and enjoying the sunny afternoon under large yellow beach umbrellas.

sitting under yellow beach umbrellas beside Lake Ontario

A couple is lying on their backs on a concrete bench beside lake Ontario. Their legs are bent and feet are on the bench, feet towards the lake, head towards the camera. You can see the backs of their heads.

part of the Toronto waterfront, looking towards the city with high rise condos and the CN Tower. some boats are moored , a man is standing beside the water reading a book.

The tall shil 'Caledonia' is moored in the foreground. Behind and to the left are red fire boats, to the right is a walkway beside the lake on which people are walking and cycling.

A child looks askance at thing made of green balloons.

A man on stilts and wearing a black tux and tophat along with a red cumberbund and rose in his lapel is entertaining a group of people

People on the waterfront boardwalk taking pictures of two swans and two ducks that are in the lake

Obsolescence

Posted: March 22, 2015 in galleries
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Obsolescence, by Shelagh Keeley, 2014
at The Power Plant, Harbourfront Centre

A man is looking at a large art piece on a wall. A collage called Obsolescence by Shelagh Keeley,

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

close up of part of a large collage art piece on a wall

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

close up of part of a large collage art piece on a wall. One of the pictures is of a typewriter

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

close up of part of a large collage art piece on a wall

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.”

A woman is looking at a large art piece on a wall. A collage called Obsolescence by Shelagh Keeley,

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.

The upper part of a collage by Shelagh Keeley at The Power Plant gallery. This is the top part of the piece which is 25 feet high.

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

Canada Day!

Posted: July 1, 2014 in events
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Happy Canada Day everyone!

 

large display of fireworks over Lake Ontario

fireworks at Harbourfront, Canada Day Eve, June 30

 

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