Posts Tagged ‘people’

near Dundas and Dufferin streets

Posted: August 14, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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A few things seen while walking Dundas West (and the alleys behind it) near Dufferin Street.

below:  Dundas Street West, looking east from Dufferin Street, March 2015

view of Dundas St. West, looking eastward towards downtown from the intersection with Dufferin St.

below: At the corner of Sheridan Ave and Dundas West.

building on the corner of Sheridan and Dundas is a two storey brick building. On the whole of the side wall is a large Dundas West mural featuring a large butterfly painted on it.

below: A mural by Jarus

a Jarus street art painting of a woman sleeping on a bed. She has long black hair and is wearing white clothes

On a wall that has been painted a couple of shades of red is a painting of a green head with a green and red striped head dress on

below: Solicitors will be fed to the chihuahua

sign on the door of a store that says Solicitors will be fed to the chihuahua, with a picture of a little chihuahua dog below the words

large colourful mural on the side of building, two stylized musicians, a drummer and a guitar player as well as two people dancing.

large mural of stylized people, 2 people, a drummer and a dancer

garage door with three black line drawn foxes, there is a construction site to the right of the garage
A brown car is parked in a driveway beside a door with a yellow man's face painted on the bottom half of the door. He's bald, little round ears and his eyes are closed.
blue door with faded paint and a metal grille in front of it, beside a garage door with graffiti on it including the words Idle no more. Upper storey has an exterior door that goes nowhere

garage door with a picture on it titled Casa Nostra, a picture of a man playing a large guitar and a woman standing beside an outdoor table with food on it.

below: Kick out the jams

black and white street art on a garage door that is partially obscured by trash bins and wooden structure. The art is geometric shapes and includes the words Kick out the Jams

mural behind a small tree on a red brick wall, spiral of DNA, medical symbols, butterfly

black stencil of a man's head on a white brick wall

kultura 2015

Posted: August 11, 2015 in events
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10th Annual Kultura Festival

This Filipino arts festival was 4 days long;
I caught some of it on its last day, 9th August, at Yonge Dundas Square.

Phillipines flag hanging from the top of an open sided tent. A young man is holding down one of the corners so it doesn't blow in the breeze

a large number of people at a festival at Yonge Dundas square.

a longline of people waits for food at an outdoor festival at Yonge Dundas Square in Toronto

a young man preparing food outdoors on hotplates at a festival

Women buying Filipino food at a vendor at an outdoor festival

three young men preparing food outdoors on hotplates and a barbecue at a festival

a line of filipino design T-shirts for sale on a table outdoors

A filipino woman singer and a woman on drums, on a stage, outdoors, making music

The Lonsdales from Vancouver

A male singer with a man bun is sitting in front of a keyboard playing music and singing

Sean Kua

multicoloured geometric shapes that together make a star shape

Toronto selfies and other poses

Posted: July 28, 2015 in locations, people
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Overheard at Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday:
“There must be 10,000 photographs being taken here as we speak”.
I suspect that he was right!

A view of the 3D Toronto sign from the southeast corner of Nathan Phillips Square showing the lights on the arches above the water as well as the Panamania pink and yellow covering on the lights and sound system for the stage.

I think that there is something intriguing about what people will do when there is a camera in front of them, how some people are comfortable while others are not.    The photos that I took by the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips square on Saturday were of people taking selfies or posing for pictures.  None of them were posing for me, but for their friends or families.

A young couple sits in one of the O's in Toronto while another person takes their picture with a smartphone.

There is also something intriguing about how people behave when they have a camera in their hand.

A toddler sits on her father's shoulders. He is holding onto one of her arms. She is looking at a pink smartphone being held up by a selfie stick almost to her level.

A young blonde woman is posing inside the O of the Toronto sign.

A couple takes a selfie beside water. He has long hair, a beard and is wearing sunglasses.

Two Asian women sit on a concrete wall beside water. They are probably mother and daughter. They are posing for a photograph.

A middle aged man and woman are looking at a selfie that they have just taken on a cellphone.

Three sets of photos taken beside water. Two boys are sitting crossed legged right at the edge. A young woman is posing with her hands in the air and her fingers in peace sign. A south Asian couple are looking at a picture that they have taken on a smartphone.

A family of four, mother, father and two sons, are taking a selfie.

Many people are standing in front of the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips square. There are also many people standing around the pool.

A young woman with long black hair and an Aeropostale T-Shirt stands beside the water with her arms raised to shoulder level.
three South Asian women are standing beside the Toronto sign. A few other people are in the picture because they are sitting on the base of the sign.

A young man has climbed up the side of the N in the Toronto sign as is sitting on top of it.

A couple poses beside the water in Nathan Phillips Square.

A group of Pan Am games volunteers in their orange T shirts pose in front of the 3D Toronto sign.

A young woman gestures towards the Toronto sign (which is not in the photograph).

A woman with long brown hair and wearing a red T shirt poses beside the water. The 3D Toronto sign is in the background on the other side of the pool.

Two women check a picture on a smartphone. They have just taken a selfie.

Six people, a man and five women, are talking a selfie with a phone on a selfie stick. Two of the women have small Canadian flags. Another woman has her arm up in the air.

#share3DTO  #hostcity2015

Streetfest on the Beach, 2015

Posted: July 25, 2015 in events, people
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The annual Streetfest on the Beach,
on Queen St. East between Woodbine and Beech,
23rd, 24th, and 25th July

A young Asian boy is on his mother's shoulders. He is looking back. He is wearing a greyhat with a red band, as well as a tie.

A crowd is on Queen St in Toronto as they have come to listen to live music as part of streetfest at the beach, intersection with Glen Manor Road

looking east, Friday evening

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Three brass players performing outside. Two men on saxophones and a woman playing a trumpet

A couple sitting a bench laughing. They were taking a selfie when they noticed 4 photographers taking their picture. She is embarrassed and is covering her face, he is laughing.

young black man, drummer, laughing as he plays the drums

Isaiah Gibbons, drummer, Saishubi

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a group of older people dancing to the music on the street at a street music festival

blog_streetfest_dancers

three musicians performing outside. Two women singers and one male singer

the Arsenals

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young man in dreadlocks and a yellow Tshirt waiting to perform at a music festival

A black woman with shoulder length curly hair and a bright pink top is singing into a microphone. A woman in green is watching her

Mae, singer in Grace, Toronto’s all female funk & soul band

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A woman's back is to the camera as she watches live music outside. Her black hair is tied in a short ponytail, she is wearing a white hat and a white sundress. She has a large tattoo on one shoulder blade.

two young boys sitting on the sidewalk watching a drummer play in a band in a street music festival performance

A young boy looks longinly at his sister who is drinking coconut water from a coconut with a straw. He is trying to reach his own straw

man playing the guitar outdoors at a street music festival

Paul James band

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A man is squatting on the sidewalk with two girls on his knee. Both girls have balloons. They are part of a crowd watching a band perform in a street music festival

saxophone player playing in front of many microphones at an outdoor music festival

saxophone, Blue Room

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lead singer for Blue Room, grey hair and beard, Hawaiian shirt, black hat, singing at streetfest at the beach

Brian Neller, lead singer, Blue Room

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A man has his arm around a woman's back and her hand is on his shoulder as they watch a musical performance outside along with a number of other people

Dr. Draw playing his violin in front of a crowd, outdoor street music festival

Dr. Draw

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Dr. Draw and his backup guitar player, streetfest at the beach,

keyboard player in Conor Gains band playing at Streetfest at the Beach, Queen St. in Toronto in July, summer evening

Conor Gains Band

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A man is buying food from a food truck

 

Water’s Edge

Posted: July 25, 2015 in galleries, locations
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Water’s Edge
A Pan-American photography exhibit
produced by No.9: Contemporary Art & the Environment.

Two venues are involved, Union Station and Pearson Airport.  The photos below represent a sample of the photos on show at Union Station.

 

below: Bridge Glacier, British Columbia 2012, by James Balog, part of his study of vanishing glaciers.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below: Two black and white photographs by Sebastiao Salgado,
part of a photographic project titled ‘Genesis’.
One aim of ‘Genesis’ was to examine “the fragile beauty and grandeur of nature”.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below:  ‘The Anavilhanas’ taken in Amazonas Brazil, 2009 by Sebastiao Salgado.
Located on the Rio Negro, the Anivilhanas Archipelago is the world’s largest fresh water archipelago.  It is an unique ecosystem with over 400 river islands spread over 90 km.  The Rio Negro is 27 km at its widest point. During the rainy season (November to April) many of these islands are underwater.

large black and white photograph, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below: ‘Sarnia’ by Gustavo Jononovich, taken in Sarnia, from his “Free Shipping” series.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

below: ‘Georgian Bay #1, Four Winds’, Point-au-Baril, Ontario  2009, by Edward Burtynsky.
This picture is part of his Water Series, a series that looks at changing water systems around the world as well as the relationship that we have with these water systems.

large photographs, part of an exhibit at Union Station in Toronto -

The exhibit ends on the 15th of August.

#myhomewaters

Underpass park

Posted: July 21, 2015 in locations, public art
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Lower River Street passes through it; Eastern Avenue passes over it.
And now the support pillars on the eastern side of the park have been painted by various street artists.

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - young man on skateboard jump in the park with many of the pillars in the photo including a large greyish blue clown face

photo of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - close up of a multocoloured clown face with a scary expression

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - an elicser painting of a person in a red hoodie holding a basketball. Eyes closed, thining, hood pulled up over head

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - guys on bikes in the park with many of the pillars in the photo including a large greyish blue clown face and an orange woman's face.

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - looking from one corner of the park diagonally through the park. A creature with a white skull-like face with pinkish red mushrooms in the foreground, other pillars in the background

 

large orage woman's face by fiya painted on a concrete support that is helping to hold up a road.
picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - bottom part of a pillar with a painting of a big red set of lips, a red heart with an arrow through is as well as yellow symbols from playing card - hearts, diamond, spage and club. Signed Enjoy denial.

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - in the foreground is a pillar with a birdo bird on it. Many other supports in the background along with a young man on a skateboard

head of a colourful birdo bird with other street art in the background

 

part of a street art painting showing two people standing on the suway holding onto the handles from the ceiling. Both are shown as muscle layer as outer layer of body, i.e. no skin. A man and a woman.

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - lage eyes on one creature, a red creature with open mouth and long purple tonge, by spud, in the foreground. Other pillars in the background, as well as one young man with a skateboard

South American themed figure with head dress painted on a pillar, with other painted pillars in the background.

 

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park -

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - large blue face of a man wearing sunglasses, in profile, in the foreground. A pillar with a tall skinny person painted on it in the background.

picture of art (mural) on a concrete support holding up a road above a skateboard and basketball park - painting of a large purple woman's face with her eyes closed

photograph of a number of pillars and supports holding up Eastern Ave as it passes over Lower River St. Pillars have been painted by street artists including a fish by birdo and lips by Enjoy Denial. Underpass park. Toronto

 

on two sides of a concrete pillar there are paintings of people. One has two nose to nose with both arms raised to the top of the pillar such that it looks like they are holding up the upper horizontal part of the concrete support. On the other side of the pillar is a man with bent head who looks like he is carrying the weight of the road above on his shoulders. There are also some figures painted on the horizontal part of the support.

street art painting of a white face, weird eyes and an open mouth

Two overpasses come together to form one, view from below, there is an urban park under the overpass on the right, with the concrete supports holding up the road covered with paintings by street artists.

You’ll find more photos of the park in the post below too

people overhead

Posted: July 20, 2015 in public art
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In Underpass park, some of the concrete supports holding up Eastern Ave have been painted by various street artists.  The pillars that are closest to Lower River Street feature people of all races, genders, ages, and colours entangled together.

A man and two kids walk their bikes past Underpass Park on Lower River St. in Toronto. A road is above them. Concrete supports that hold up that road have been decorated with paintings by various street artists. Closest to the street, the pillars are people with their arms raised so it looks like they are holding up the road. The horizontal part of the supprts are covered with pictures of people flying outward from the center.

Details of some of the people:

part of a street art painting, a black man with a yellow baseball hat, an older Chinese man with a small beard, as well as other arms and legs tangled up together

street artist painting of a woman with long black hair emerging from a bed of flowers.

blog_underopass_park_people_purple_pants

street artist painting on a concrete underpass support, a white man is reading a read book with the titile Like. A brown man's face is also in the picture.

street artist painting of a woman with long yellow hair emerging from a bed of flowers.

a street artist painting of a woman in a blue and white striped shirt flying with her arms outstretched. Two pairs of feet as well as a pair of hands belonging to other people are also in the picture.

Ratha yatra

Posted: July 20, 2015 in general Toronto
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The 43rd Annual Festival of India started with a parade down Yonge Street from Bloor to Queens Quay on Saturday afternoon.

The parade is similar to an annual procession that has occurred for centuries in the city of Puri, India as part of a Hindu festival associated with the god Jagannath.  Here in Toronto, as in Puri,  three chariots constructed to look like temples are pulled through the streets in a procession from one temple to another.    Each chariot carries a richly decorated representation of a god, first is  Jagannatha (another name for Krishna or God) and then his brother Baladeva and his sister Subhadra.   The chariots are pulled by people and the procession symbolizes the pulling of the Lord into our hearts.

In Puri, this Ratha-Yatra procession continues to attract over a million people every year.
In Toronto, the numbers aren’t quite that high!

parade going down Yonge St. using just the southbound lanes. A policeman on bike keeps the traffic out of the way. A float is being pulled by people walking in the parade. Part of the Festival of India in Toronto.

float in a parade for the Festival of India, or the Chariot Festival, a Hindu celebration, in downtown Toronto

 

below: Many people used ropes to pull the floats down Yonge Street.

people are using a long thick rope to pull a float down a city street for a parade.

below: Other people danced, walked, sang and chanted Hare Krishna mantras.

Some women in saris and men in traditional Indian clothes, dance and walk in a parade down Yonge St. as part of the Festival of India
Some women in saris and men in traditional Indian clothes, dance and walk in a parade down Yonge St. as part of the Festival of India

The back of a T shirt that a man is wearing. It has all the words of the hare Krishna mantra on it.

 The festivities continued on Centre Island for the remainder of the weekend.

distress at Union Station

Posted: July 16, 2015 in locations, public art
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A while back, I posted some photos of ‘Zones of Immersion’,  Stuart Reid’s art installation at Union Station.   Now that it is completed, I decided to revisit it.  There has been some talk about how depressing it is.
I’ll let you decide whether it is depressing or not.

If you are on the ‘northbound to Finch’ platform you get a clear view of all the panels.
If you are on the ‘northbound to Downsview’ platform you can only see some of the glass panels.

I’ve now been back a number of times and this is what I saw:
1) Of the figures with discernible gender, 12 or 13 were male.
2) The males are of different ages and shapes.
3) The number of females outnumber males by at least 2:1.
4) Almost all (or even all?) of the women are young.  They are all thin, if not gaunt.
5) There is one child…. with a finger up his/her nose.
6) Only two or three figures are smiling.

 

Part of an art installation at Union Station, paint on glass panels - a rough drawing, black outline with some grey shading of a couple

paintings on glass panels, Union Station art installation, two women. One on the left looks very sad, like she's been crying. The other woman is painted very dark grey with a few red highlights.

Looking along a subway platform at Union Station, the far wall is an art installation, paintings on glass panels of people

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels,

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a woman's head in dark blues and blacks, heavy paint around the eyes

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a large face in red
blog_union_art_thinking

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, three men sitting on a subway

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, on the left are white words on blue background, on the right are two women in profile

“the way we settle into a seat
the way we stretch when the train is empty
and retract as it fills
the way we deflect a glance and simultaneously present
language of the body claiming, relinquishing and balancing
personal space in the interstitial realm
halfway between the worlds of here and there”

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a woman in yellow on a green and blue background, a man is waiting for the subway and his reflection is in the photo

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, woman standining

The panels that can be seen on the ‘northbound to Downsview’ platform are seen as the reverse of those viewed from the other platform.

black and white painting on glass of a woman holding a mobile phone

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, upper part of a man sitting and reading, in profile, on the left is the reflection of a woman waiting for the subway
“slicing through the clay of the earth’s first skin
steel rails and electric lines
going from      going to
slicing through time and distance
darkness and light
station by station
releasing us into the city’s fabric
stop by stop
after a days labour
taking us home”

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, four women sitting on the subway

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a group of people standing. The word because is also visible in the picture

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a woman sitting on the subway with a child on her lap. The child has a finger up its nose

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, on the left side is a man on blue and on the right is a woman's head drawn in blue

painting on glass panels, two women, on the left is standing, on the right is pointing to the left.

(added in October) I got off the subway at Union Station today.  There were three guys in front of me.  One of them stopped and pointed to the nearest painting which happened to be the one above.  As he pointed he said “See what I mean, if that doesn’t make you want to jump… “.

 

I’m happy to be corrected if you can prove me wrong.

 

our latest photo op

Posted: July 13, 2015 in locations, public art
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A newly installed large 3D sign in Nathan Phillips Square is Toronto’s latest tourist attraction and local photo op.  It is scheduled to remain in the square until the end of 2015 at which point it will be moved to another public location.

large three dimensional block capital letters that spell Toronto installed alongside the pool fountain in Nathan Phillips Square -

large three dimensional block capital letters that spell Toronto installed alongside the pool fountain in Nathan Phillips Square - a couple sits in the O posing for a picture while a young boy crawls between the O and the R

large three dimensional block capital letters that spell Toronto installed alongside the pool fountain in Nathan Phillips Square - from the back, Toronto is spelled in reverse but there are still people taking their picture by it

large three dimensional block capital letters that spell Toronto installed alongside the pool fountain in Nathan Phillips Square - a couple stands in front of it, a man with a camera walks past it

large three dimensional block capital letters that spell Toronto installed alongside the pool fountain in Nathan Phillips Square - kids standing in between the letters as well as in the round part of the O

large three dimensional block capital letters that spell Toronto installed alongside the pool fountain in Nathan Phillips Square - a man stands in the water in front of the word Toronto

large three dimensional block capital letters that spell Toronto installed alongside the pool fountain in Nathan Phillips Square - a woman stands with her back to the camera and takes a picture

#share3DTO  #hostcity2015

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