Posts Tagged ‘Nicolas Baier’

a blustery winter day

Posted: January 23, 2024 in locations, public art, reflections, waterfront
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Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

below: A Porter flight approaches the island airport

porter airplane coming in for landing over Lake Ontario, with small dock in foreground

below: The Empire Sandy moored at the waterfront, with the Toronto fire boat in the distance.

the Empire Sandy, a three masted sailing ship moored at a dock at Toronto Harbour, in winter, foggy grey day

ice and reflections on the water, with ropes from a boat with snow and ice on them

“Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily

And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it’s rather safe to say

That it seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today”

as sung by Winnie the Pooh

windows on a boat with snow on them, ropes,

below: A kraken is taking over the boat!

picture of an octopus painted on the side of a red and black boat that is tied up at the shore

below: A large photograph, on the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is  “These Times 2019” by Anique Jordan which has been on display since the CONTACT Photography Festival last spring.

large black and white photo displayed on exterior wall of art gallery, person lying down with back to the camera

below: “Kuumba”, Photography by Stephen Tayo is on display outside at Harbourfront

large photograph displayed outside, two Black men, one has his arm around the other

harbourfront parking pavilion and entrance building with two large photographs by Nigerian Stephen Tayo featuring black men, and black hair

large photo of two Black women with their hair in curved shapes made from braids, displayed outside in winter, Queens Quay, Ontario Square

below:  Also at Harbourfront, orange ties blowing in the wind.  These are remains, and a reminder, of Orange Shirt Day on 30th September.

2 rows of orange ties hanging from tress, winter, snow covered ground, in a park

CN Tower between two condos

below:  Looking east on Harbour Street, parallel to the Gardiner Expressway, toward York Street and the wedged shaped building that has been squeezed into the space.

wedged shaped building at York and Gardiner Expressway

below: Waterfront ReConnect: Pixel Story is a “temporary creative intervention” located under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe.  Crowd-sourced stories and memories of the waterfront each on a little blue square.  Making constructive use of a space that has been neglected for so long; adding colour and interest to what was grey and slightly foreboding.

under the Gardiner, pillars painted blue and purple

blue squares arranged in a grid as part of a public art installation. some squares have simple white pictures and some squares have words written in white

“Railways arrived on Toronto’s waterfront in the 1850s. To accommodate, a southward extension of the shoreline via infill was required. The ground where we stand now is close to the original shoreline of the lake.”

construction beside the Gardiner expressway, raised road, winter,

below:  On the north side of the Gardiner – still a little darkness lurking there.

under a Gardiner expressway ramp

below: City of Toronto sign says Tree Protection Zone.  I don’t think that I believe it.

City of Toronto tree protection zone sign on a fence around a construction supply site. no trees there, under the Gardiner Expressway

walking beside a Gardiner Expressway ramp, near York street, north side

concrete bent pillar under the gardiner painted blue with the work york, for york street,

glass structure south of the Gardiner on York

looking into entrance of 12 York, reflections in the glass

below: At this point I had had enough of the cold; it was time to check out a warmer route!  So underground I went, down into the PATH system.   The lobby of ICE at 12 York has this large circular skylight over the escalator.

skylight in roof over escalator to PATH system in ICE condos

 below: And then there is this long black, white, and chrome tunnel that connects the ICE condo and the PATH system.   The walls on both sides are reflective and it’s a bit disorientating.  Is this supposed to represent walking through a block of ice, or black ice?

tunnel from Ice Condos at 12 York to the PATH system, black and white and reflective surfaces

below: PATH, the underground rabbit warren of tunnels that connect downtown buildings to each other.  Usually I get lost down here.

on a white wall, PATH sign,

below: I found myself in a grocery store

view of shelves in grocery store

below: And I discovered that the PATH sometimes goes high, not low.  I found myself on the upper level of the Scotiabank Arena.

a man walks through the PATH system on the upper level of scotiabank arena, interior

below: There is a great view of Legends Row from up here – that’s the statues of all the Maple Leaf Captains from the past.

looking out window of scotiabank arena and seeing legends row, the line up of statues of former Maple Leafs captains

below: And inside, a collage of Leaf players hangs on the wall.

collage of Maple Leafs hockey players, framed picture on wall

below: There’s even a portrait of Justin Bieber, behind glass, wearing a Maple Leaf jersey with a Captains C on the shoulder.

framed picture of Justin Bieber in a Maple LEafs jersey, blue, with a C,

below: This is also good vantage point for all of Maple Leaf Square

Maple leaf square view towards union station with royal york hotel in background, snowy, grey day,

below: Including a close up view of the rusty metal things…  Actually it’s “Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light” (1998) by John McEwen.

rusty metal conical shapes, art, maple leaf square, metal has star shaped holes and are lit from inside

At Scotiabank Arena, the PATH splits into two possibilities.  One route is through Union Station and the other is up the escalator towards the new GO Bus Terminal.

below: Four  (or five?) John Tavares’s to give directions to the new GO Bus Terminal.  Happy to oblige!

Picture of Maple Leafs captain John Tavares in quadruplicate, in uniform and helmet, photo on the wall behind a sign giving directions to the new GO bus station

below: There is now a pedestrian bridge over Bay Street that connects the Scotiabank Arena and Union Station Bus Terminal to the new CIBC SQUARE building. This is the view looking south on Bay

view south on Bay street from pedestrian bridge south of railway tracks that joins union station to cibc square

man using phone to take picture out a window from pedestrian bridge, another person watching him as he walks past

below: Along the north wall of the bridge is a work by Nicolas Baier called “Mycelium”.  It is a network of LED lights and it is visible from outside as well.

elevated enclosed walkway over street, with one wall made of glass with artwotk of LED lights running through it

reflection in mirrored glass with a network of L E D lights running through it

below: At CIBC Square there is a new rooftop garden/park that has a tall  skinny metallic tree, along with some real trees. There is no access to it yet but it will probably  be a more welcoming in a few months.

rooftop park, closed for winter and construction, cibc square

At this point I retraced my steps back through Scotiabank and then walked through Union Station where I learned that a small space has been set aside for a temporary roller skating rink.  Free rentals. Free entry.

two women roller skating, one has fallen and the other is helping her up

below: He still stands outside Union Station with the flock of birds flying around while the sun reflects off the gold tinted Royal Bank Building.

sculpture outside union station, man with birds flying around him in partial sphere shape, gold coloured rbc building behind him

below: Steamy Yonge Street on a cold day

Yonge street looking north at king on a cold winter day, steam coming from manhole, steam and fog above the street too

below: Development notice outside 69 Yonge Street.

blue and white city of toronto development notice outside door of 60 yonge street, orange and black traffic construction cones in front of the building

below: C’est tout. Fini. Time to go home.

a man stands on the platform at king subay station, talking on his phone

 

a December morning walk

Posted: December 9, 2022 in locations, old buildings, people, public art, windows and walls
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Ahhhh December, that time of year when the mornings are dark, and even darker when it’s raining.  But that’s no reason to stay at home!

people walking past Starbucks on Yonge Street, morning, still darkish outside, people inside the coffee shop, man with umbrella outside, another man standing by wall looking at his phone

below: The northwest corner of Yonge and Queen is still behind hoardings.

early on a dark and wet morning, the northwest corner of Queen and Yonge, 2 Queen West, a building under renovation and behind hoardings, people waiting on the sidewalk for traffic lights to turn green, reflections on wet pavement

below: Even on a dark and foggy morning, Dundas Square is radiant.  The colours that it casts on Yonge Street  are dependent on the electronic billboards that dominate the space.  A constantly changing light show.

looking north up Yonge street early on a dark morning, lots of red lights reflecting off buildings and pavement from the lights and large signs at Dundas square

below: Old style, simple, sidewalk to subway access.

looking north on yonge street, by entrace to TTC subway on sidewalk on east side of yonge street, people coming and going, dark morning, rainy, reflections,

a woman crosses the road, early morning, rain, wet pavement with reflections, she is wearing a bike helmet and roller blades that light up. Pedestrians and cyclists waiting for the light

large red planters at Yonge Dundas square with evergreen boughs, ribbons and other Christmas time decorations,

below: The Christmas tree arrives at Yonge Dundas Square

morning, on a dark wet day, Yonge Dundas square, wet pavement,

below: When a damp December day gets wetter it’s time to go inside!

back of a grey haired man's head as going up escalator, with some white lights in star shapes on the ceiling

orange coloured faceless mannequin in a store, holding a large bowl of facke food - lettuce, peppers, eggplant,

below: Snowpeople frolicking among the Christmas lights.  December of course means Christmas and you know that the stores have been decorated for weeks already!  Lots of Christmas stuff on display….

a red christmas sweater with many little white snowmen on it,

two white female mannequins stand beside a large white nutcracker figure and two very pink magenta fake Christmas trees. One mannequin in a slinky blue dress and the other mannequin in a silvery glittery dress with spaghetti straps. she is holding a gold sparkly handbag

below: Multicoloured shiny balls on this Christmas tree

large fake christmas tree with bright coloured balls on it, in uniqlo, a clothing store, with mannequins in winter puffy jackets

white eyeless mannequin with bright red lipstick, wearing a high necked embroidered top with flowers and leaves on black background, in a store

a woman comes out of the apple store at the eaton center

below: Hockey and rainbows

beaded christmas tree ornaments for sale, hanging on hooks, red maple leaf with silver accents on the left, a red and white hockey shirt with maple leaf in center, and a rainbow on the right

below: Another typical tree scene

mannequins standing beside a decorated christmas treee in a store, with wrapped presents under the tree, and handbags for sale

below: Many trees in gold and silver in this Christmas dream (nightmare) bedroom scene.  Jokes about Santa and naughty or nice are running through my head now!

decorated bedroom scene in a store, white bedding, gold and silver christmas trees, a large gold and silver nutcracker, wrapped presents with gold ribbon and bows, large white stars hanging from the ceiling

below:  Are those meant to be trees?  An anti Christmas statement?  Someone thinks this is being edgy or radical – a wink at climate change?  The Christmas budget was slashed to smithereens and this was all that was left?

two mannequins with black face, dressed for winter, Boss store, mannequins standing beside two very small and awful looking tree shapes made of grey sticks

below: Come on in! I’ve been waiting for you (no trees here!)

in a store, looking in the door, a faceless mannequin sits on a counter with legs crossed,

looking out a small window in a pedestrian bridge over queen st., yellow school bus on the street below

below: Christmas shopping 2022.

lots of stuffies on shelves, for sale for christmas time, mallow, round characters,

looking in the window of a barber shop or hair stylist, partially translucent window

below: A very tall tree stands on its own in a quiet corner behind the elevators.

a large christmas tree in office building, partially obscured by a bank of elevators

man on a lift washing interior windows, office building lobby, with danger sign below him, man in background looking out window while talking on the phone, christmas lights and decorations outside

below: A marble wall with a bas-relief artwork by Nicolas Baier with the title, “Mappemonde”It was made by cutting way pieces of the marble, leaving a tree-like network  that could be roots and branches or it could be more technical man-made communication infrastructure….

a wall, interior, lobby of an office building, white, textured, artwork by Nicolas Baier called Mappemonde, Bay Adelaide Centre, bas-relief work made by cutting away at the marble, network of lines and shapes like roots and branches of trees

below: Watching the World Cup 2002 from Qatar.   As of this morning (9 Dec), eight teams remain – Brazil, Croatia, Argentina, Netherlands, Morocco, Portugal, England, and France,

people watching a large tv screen, world cup soccer, football, game,

below: Not a tree; instead it’s a collection of red, gold, and silver shiny balls in an metal inverted cone shaped frame.

tall christmas tree in an office building lobby, made of red, gold and silver shiny balls on an inverted cone metal frame,

people talking on an escalator, a Christmas tree of gold and silver balls is in the background

on a red carpet in a large space, a gold decorated christmas tree surrounded by 2 intersecting circular bands of lights so that tree looks like it is in centre of a sphere

below: Twin highly decorated, very brightly lit, Christmas trees at the St. Regis hotel.

two very decorated, very brightly lit christmas trees in the lobby of the st. regis hotel

below: A trend is starting to emerge… ye olde typical office building lobby tree. Tall, perfectly shaped, and classically dressed.

large plainly decorated christmas tree behind a window, orange and black abstract painting on a wall nearby

below: A new curved glass ceiling structure on Wellington Street beside the old red brick Toronto Club building.

new construction on wellington street, beside an old red brick building, a new curved roof glass atrium, behind black hoardings, and a new entrance

below: On an interior wall there is a plaque describing the history of the Toronto Club building at 107 Wellington West. It was built in 1889 and inside you’ll find “a billiards room, reading rooms, and dining rooms finished with wood paneling and carving, stone and marble fireplaces, and plaster ceilings.”

ontario blue and gold plaque for history of 107 Wellington St west, the Toronto Club building built in 1889

below: Access to the Toronto Club may be difficult but this little area seems like a quiet oasis for anyone that knows of its existence.  I didn’t try sitting down so I am not sure how security would react!  Some buildings are more welcoming than others.

small tables and chairs in a hall space, Christmas tree on one, side, pictures on the wall on the other side,

below: The pictures on the wall feature the rivers of Toronto – Humber, Don, and Rouge as well as the shore of Lake Ontario. They were painted by Canadian artist Linda Martinello (oil and graphite on drafting film).

four water themed paintings by Linda Martinello hang on a white wall, above chairs and desks.

below: The cows are lazing on the grass… perhaps they are waiting for someone to decorate the Christmas trees!

cow statues in a small downtown park, 3 conical christmas trees nearby, undecorated

2 young women taking a selfie at a specially set up space with proper lighting, and background designed with red and a large green heart, words say Celebrating Christmas

below: Gingerbread Lane at the Royal York Hotel

large gingerbread person shape in a christmas display, gingerbread lane, at the Royal york hotel. Large red bow on her head, green glitter on her face, a necklace of candy canes, a green collar on a lighter green top

large nutcracker christmas decoration, red hat with gold filagree, white beard, black mustache, green jacket, holding a present wrapped in red and white striped paper and a big red bow

below: Up on the mezzanine level of the Royal York lobby there is a display of old black and white photos such as this one of the building of the hotel (about 1928). The pictures illustrate the early days of the hotel. There are also photos of famous people who stayed here. The lighting is terrible but the images are interesting.

old black and white photo of building the royal york hotel

looking down into cafe area of royal york hotel, people eating, talking, and reading newspaper

below: The bar at the Royal York.  Not a bad place to end a blog post!