Posts Tagged ‘photography’

Phase in my Journey

Posted: May 14, 2025 in events, galleries
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“Phase in my Journey” is the title of an exhibit of the wonderful black and white photography of Walter Borchenko.   The photos span 20 years of his craft including his work with filters, with infrared photography, and with minimal digital manipulation.

below: Grassy Brook, Talbot River Road, Kawartha Lakes Ontario

below: Look Left cross walk, Birmingham England

the words look left in capital letters on the pavement by a crossing, warnings to pedestrians crossing the road

below: Wet tables, Las Ramblas, Barcelona

outdoors, lots of small tables and chairs, in the rain, wet, Barcelona, photo by Walter Borchenko

below:  One of the reflecting pools at the Aga Khan Museum.

large, 66 inches by 40 inches, black and white photo by Walter Borchenko, of one of the reflecting pools at Aga Khan museum in Toronto

below: On the left, Leather Jacket, New York City.   On the right, an intentionally out of focus city scene – a little disorienting, full of motion and uncertainty.

black and white photo by Walter Borchenko, exhibit is at Japanese Canadian cultural center and is part of Contact Photography Festival,

All of the images are printed on hand-made Awagami Japanese paper.

black and white photo by Walter Borchenko, exhibit is at Japanese Canadian cultural center and is part of Contact Photography Festival

below: Hong Kong ferry terminal

black and white photo by Walter Borchenko, exhibit is at Japanese Canadian cultural center and is part of Contact Photography Festival

below: New York New York casino in Las Vegas in the foreground.

black and white photo by Walter Borchenko, exhibit is at Japanese Canadian cultural center and is part of Contact Photography Festival

below: The larger picture on the left is the Airport Long Distance Train Station in Frankfort Germany.  On the right, is an older house in Port Royal, South Carolina.

black and white photo by Walter Borchenko, exhibit is at Japanese Canadian cultural center and is part of Contact Photography Festival

below: Not a Borchenko photo! The exhibit is being held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center. Outside, they have the oldest Sakura tree that I have ever seen. It has large, dense, gorgeous blossoms!

sakura, cherry, blossoms on a tree, lots of pink and white petals

Exhibit closes 30th June

 

photos at College Park

Posted: May 13, 2025 in events, galleries
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I went to College Park in search of a CONTACT Photography Festival exhibit.  To me, College Park has always been a place where people pass through on their way to somewhere else.  If they linger it’s to grab a bite to eat from the food court or from the grocery store.

lower level of college park, outside glass wall of grocery store

I’ve never spent much time looking around inside so I wandered around a bit. I couldn’t find any space/place where there might be a photo exhibit.

a chair sits behind a translucent blue glass wall, escalator and the reflection of that escalator in the background

coming to the top of an escalator to an atrium where the walls are glass

I found a small group of paintings by Divyani Chandorkar in a small, out of the way corner by an elevator. Interesting, but not what I was after.

painting of a nature scene by Divyani Chandorkar, a sunset or sunrise over water

After a chat with a security guard and a little more walking around, I discovered that the photos were being displayed outside!  They are in a public space immediately south of the College Park building- between the College Park and Aura buildings.  Here, they become part of the environment.

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photo of a couple standing facing each other with arms wrapped around each other

Photo by Hikari Creatives (aka Winson Sun) who specialize in wedding and engagement photos.

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The exhibit is presented by the Downtown Yonge BIA and Aden Camera.

photo by Nim Mendoza of a bright orange building, night time, there is a group of young people walking past it, outside

by Nim Mendoza

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picture photograph on display as part of contact photography festival, night city scene, by Aidan Samuels, cars on a street

by Aidan Samuels

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photo of lower part of man's body, wearing dark pants, holding a purple skateboard, by Nim Mendoza

by Nim Mendoza

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This large bunny and butterfly were there too!

large blue sculpture of a rabbit in the foreground, and a butterfly with open wings in the background

Other photographers involved in the show: Rob Burns, Maryn Western, and Eden Schwinghamer.

public park space behind College Park and beside Aura building, people sitting on benches,

Colours at Davisville Station

Posted: May 4, 2025 in events, locations
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For the month of May, “Time Capsule”, a series of abstract images by French artist Laure Tiberghien is hanging on the walls of Davisville subway station.

on the walls of Davisville subway station, 4 large photographs have been mounted in the display cases usually used for ads. Photos by Laure Tiberghein

Tiberghien doesn’t use a camera to produce the images.  Instead, she creates them by exposing light sensitive paper to different natural and artificial lights.  Further processing is then required.

Two images by Laure Tiberghein, behind glass, by exit from Davisville station platform

Dark colours behind glass make a mirror and these images are no exception.

reflections in a red photograph hanging in Davisville subway station

The images have been inserted into the newer display cases that the TTC now use for advertisements.  On the left of each case is TTC information.

Davisville station, two art images in display cases usually used for ads

reflective picture in reds and blues on wall of davisville subway station, images by Laure Tiberghien

looking across the TTC subway tracks to the platform on the other side, on the northbound side of Davisville station, two images by Laure TIberghien, part of Contact Photography festival

exit sign hanging over platform at davisville subway station

hanging on the walls of Hart House

Posted: April 29, 2025 in galleries
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Hart House, at the University of Toronto, has two photography exhibitions on at the moment. Both are in hallways and both are open to the public.

Please remember that these are photos of pictures behind glass – don’t judge the quality of the image on display by the quality of the photo here on the blog! As usual, the real thing always looks better.

The first is “Interwoven Identities, Unraveling Diaspora Narratives” with the goal of tracing “the threads of memory, migration, and identity that shape Asian diasporic experiences and mental health.” This quote is taken from the Asian Art and Culture Trust website.

below: Fangdan Chen’s photo seems like a collage of many different kinds of faces, some natural and some not.

Untitled photograph by Fangdan Chen, on display at Hart House

below: A photograph by Sarah Jihae Kaye titled, “I’ve Begun to Distrust my Body”.

Photograph by Sarah Jihae Kaye, on display at Hart House

below: “Gourd” by Phoung Nguyen

photograph by Phoung Nguyen, title is gourd, on display at hart house

below: “Imagined Ricefields” by Reginald Balanga  – a barren winter scene that is possibly as far away from any rice field as possible.

a photo of a blacket draped over oa chainlink fence, winter scene, snow on the ground, small leafless trees.

The second floor hallway has an exhibit that features work by the Hart House Camera Club. The winners of the 103rd Annual contest, in 9 categories. A sample below. If your favorite photo isn’t here, don’t take it personally, it’s probably because I had trouble with reflections in the glass of many of them.

below: Cosmo Chan “Home”

colour photograph of a large multi story building

below: “Gently” by Jacob Lee

Photograph by Jacob Lee, two people reaching out to touch each other, with focus on the hands

below:  A surreal blue scene by Ongphat Piyabenjarad titled, “Parallel Worlds”

surreal photo, all in blue, two people floating or swimming underwater, with cityscape, highrises, in the background,

below: “Veiled” by Jasmine Lu, part of a photographic essay.

photo of a woman with light clothing, standing knee deep in water, part of a series by Jasmine Lu

below:  A young man sitting on a bench in what might be a bus shelter.   This is “How to Start your Digital Detox” by Gerald Lerchbaumer.

colour photo, man sitting on bench with back to camera, street scene in front of him

below: Albert Huang, “Camel Man”

black and white photo of a man with two camels, by Albert Huang, title The Camel Man, on display in the hall of Hart House at University of Toronto

below:  “The Strongman” by David Williams.

A black and white frames photo on display on a brick wall, The Strongman by David Williams

below: Playing with reflections, in another David Williams photo.  Who is watching who?

black and white photo of a man looking out a window, by David Williams, with reflections of the photographer and the wall behind

two framed colour photos hanging on a brick wall, interior, as part of an exhibit by the hart house camera club

below: Auden Cole “Phone Hunch”

colour phiotograph, black silhouette of a man behind clear glass or plastic that has graffiti on it

The Hart House Camera Club exhibits ends 30th of April.

The “Interwoven Identities” show continues until 18th May. If you are interested in the subject, there is another exhibit at the STACKT Market during the month of May called “Interwoven Identities: Healing in Community” – information at the Asian Arts and Culture website.

Light Years and Modernism

Posted: March 19, 2025 in galleries
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A quick, and very selective, look at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), focusing on two exhibits, “Light Years, the Phil Lind Gift” and “Moments in Modernism”.

below: Rodney Graham, “Media Studies ’77” . This large installation (lit from behind) will bring back memories if you are of a certain age!

below: Welcome to Vancouver

below: A series of images by General Idea (There are actually 4 pieces in this series).  General Idea was a group of 3 Canadian artists, Felix Partz (aka Ronald Gabe), Jorge Zontal (aka Slobodan Saia-Levy) and AA Bronson (aka Michael Tims).  The three men met in Toronto in the late 1960s; their collaborative work then continued until the mid 1990s. They were pioneers in the field of conceptual photography.

below: William Kentridge, “Drawing for Another Country, Flooded Street”, 1994.   Kentridge was born in South Africa in 1955)

below: “River Road” by Canadian photographer Jeff Wall. The photo was taken along the Fraser River in Richmond BC and was taken in 1994.  It is shown here as a transparency over a lightbox so that it is lit from behind.

The “Moments in Modernism” exhibit is a re-working of artworks owned by the AGO.  Some of you may have seen one or two pieces before.

below: “Delta Tau” by Morris Louis, 1960.

below: “Abstraktes Bild”, 1986,  by Gerhard Richter (b. Dresden Germany 1932).

below: I have seen this before (and possibly shown it here?) and I like it as much as ever.  It takes a certain amount of audacity or gumption to create a painting like this. Robert Motherwell painted this – title: “Open No.37A: in Orange”, 1971, charcoal and acrylic.

Robert Motherwell painting, orange, with three thin black lines, like an unfinished square, top open

below: Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), mixed media on panel, 1964 (only part of it is shown).   Rauschenberg made pieces like these that he called ‘combines’ and they were for stage decorations for performances by an experimental dance group (Merce Cunninham Dance Group).  In 1963 they did a world tour  called  “Story”where they made a different ‘combine’ for each performance.  This particular piece was made onstage at London’s Phoenix Theatre in August, 1964.

Robert Rauschenberg, combines, artwork,

The modernism exhibit is more extensive than I have made it seem.  I didn’t take many pictures of pieces that I had seen before which may or may not have been the right call.  Andy Warhol’s large silkscreen image of the 4 identical Elvis Presley’s holding a gun ready to shoot is on display –  the one where two Elvis’s are in bright colours and the other two are in black and white.     You can also see Alex Colville’s “Woman in a Bathtub” if you want (I think that it is the worst of Colville’s otherwise wonderful paintings).   In addition, there are works by Canadian artist Rita Letendre and Norval Morisseau, plus others.

Light Years continues until November 2025,
while Modernism continues until March 2026 (another year)

A Photographer at Work

Posted: December 2, 2024 in galleries
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Lee Miller: A Photographer at Work is the title of a recent exhibit at TMU’s Image Centre,

A brief synopsis of her long and storied life – Miller (1907-1977) started her career as a model in New York in the 1920s. She went to Paris in 1929 where she became a fashion photographer. She also tried her hand at conceptual photography in the 1930s when she was living in Egypt with her first husband.  During WW2 she was a war correspondent for Vogue magazine in Europe.

two people looking at black and white photos in an art gallery, an older man and a woman with long red hair

black and white photo in a gallery, of a woman in old fashioned bathing suite standing beside and posing with a large fake fish

below: Fashions for Factories with the subtitle: “Every picture tells a story of streamlined,  uncompromising chic for a vital job.”  One of the paragraphs is this: “A woman is apt to be much what she looks. Fix her up smartly and she’ll be smart at the job.  The factory people know this.”

page from Vogue magazine from the early 1940s, spread on fashion in the factories, and what women were wearing at work, hat like turban, short sleeved shirt

women looking at an exhibit in an art gallery

below: Three actresses and models in a photo taken in New York in 1933.  One woman is unidentified and the other two are Dorothy Hale  (1905-1938) and Kendall Lee Glaenzer (1903-1978)

Lee Miller photo of three women, two sitting on a couch and the other standing behind it. Book case behind couch

below: “What’s Yours?” a double page spread in Vogue magazine with coats on the left and dresses on the right. Country coats and town coats… day dresses and afternoon dresses from a time and place when those details might have been important.

double page spread in Vogue magazine showing three women in each of four photos with different kinds of coats

black and white photo from vogue magazine, young woman holding a tennis racquet. Part of a tennis net is on the wall behind her

below: From an article, Six for Dinner”.  The six refers to six long, simple yet stylish dresses for the well dressed woman of the time.

three back and white photos on a green gallery wall, by Lee Miller

below: Advertising ‘intimate apparel’ but staying modest and discrete (r very coy?)  The age of the girdle! (even though this model doesn’t really need one!) – so glad that that phase has passed (sigh of relief).

black and white lee miller photo for vogue magazine, showing corset, or under garments for women, bra and girdle, slip, hard to tell because details are hidden

old black and white photo by Lee Miller, of three women, fashion photography, 2 standing are wearing slacks, woman witting on ground is in a dress

below: From 1945, chronicling the liberation of Europe by the Allied troops.

two photos, on left is a cover of vogue magazine from 1945, a woman in a head scarf, with bright red lipstick, on right a large photo of a recently liberated part of Europe and an article describing the liberation

below: November 1944, Paris.  “Ah Madame! Merci!  The article is written in French and it is a thank you to all the women who played a role in winning the war.  Like her fashion work, her focus during the war years was also on women and how the war affected them and their place in the world.

two photos on a gallery wall, on left is woman on a motorbike by the eiffel tower in Paris and on the right are a group of black and white photos of women working, article is thanking women for their role in winning world war 2

Her documentation of WW2 and its aftermath was extensive.  She was one of the first photographers into Hitler’s residence (and there is a photo of her in his bathtub).  She also documented the liberation of many of the concentration camps.  After the war, she continued working for Vogue, taking pictures of models and celebrities.

two people looking at photos on the wall of an art gallery

Unfortunately, this exhibit ends today, 2nd December.

infinite games, repeating games

Posted: August 26, 2024 in galleries, public art
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Infinite games, repeating games – both kinds of games can be seen in Yorkville.  For instance, we can start with the infinite…..

below: Sculpture by German artist Willy Verginer, titled “The Infinite Game”.  It’s a boy all in white kneeling on 4 dark grey teddy bears.  Meaning?

in courtyard at 80 cumberland, a statue by Italian artist Willy Verginer, a boy all dressed in white is kneeling on 4 grey teddy bears

below: The words, “Life is a Repeating Game” are a predominant part of this piece by James Verbicky.  The whole artwork is a large circle.  Circles, we go around in circles don’t we?  Plus, circles make cycles which we repeat over and over again.

artwork in a gallery window, horizontal stripes, painted in abstract, with words life is a repeating game

Yes, this post is about art.  More specifically, it is some of the works that caught my eye as I walked around the Cumberland-Yorkville area.  Some are in galleries or in their windows;  some are on the street.

below: “Hercules”, by Joe Fafard (the same artist who is responsible for the piece where Vincent Van Gogh’s head is inside a square, located on Dundas Street directly across from the Art Gallery of Ontario).  No attempts at being profound here but there is nothing wrong with whimsy.

flat metal sculpture, outline with small number of lines outlining details, of a cow, with title hercules, by sculptor joe fafard, located in front of mira goddard gallery in yorkville

below: Francisco Valverde’s riot of colours in vertical stripes in an artform that he calls Histograms.    There is an image in the background that is then covered with resin stripes of different colours.  The title of this piece is “Apricity”.

below: “Cosmic Dust” by Chinese artist Zhuang Hong Yi.  He produced this artwork by using acrylic paint on rice paper which has been mounted on canvas.  The paint is added last. .  The rice paper is folded and added to the canvas before the paint is applied.

artwork called cosmic dust, three dimensional, on wall, folded rice paper that is painted and then stuck on board or canvas

below: Three paintings, oil on board, on a gallery wall – painted by Ron Bolt.  They are images of rock formations that have been shaped by the ocean, and they are titled, Sea Carvings 1, 2 and 3.

paintings, oil on board, by Ron Bolt, on display at Loch Gallery, images of stones by the sea, abstract looking, 3 paintings side by side

below: d|azur A blue and white mural by Toronto-based artist Dahae Song on the corner of the Four Seasons Hotel.  It’s title is “d|azur”.

large artwork

below: This is “Raptor” by Nathan Mabry.  Something like ‘Toronto Raptors meet the Toronto Blue Jays’ vibes going on here.

Large blue bird, metal sculpture, title is raptor, by nathan mabry, in yorkville

below: Large black and white photographs by Deana Nastic in the windows of the Izzy Gallery

black and white photo, large, in window of izzy gallery,

black and white photo, large, in window of izzy gallery,

below: Another gallery window, another female image but that is where the similarities end!  Betty Boop and a collage of pop culture references such as The Beatles, Marilyn Munroe by Andy Warhol, bazooka chewing gum,  Pac-Man, the Starbucks logo, and more.

in a gallery window, collage art, featuring very large image of betty boop

below: Art on the streets, specifically on hoardings to hide a construction site.

artwork on hoardings and under scaffolding, beside sidewalk and around a construction site, multicoloured ovals, oriented vertically, on black background, by Peter triantos

below: Big coloured ovals on a black background, by Peter Triantos.

artwork on hoardings and under scaffolding, beside sidewalk, around construction site, multicoloured ovals, oriented vertically, on black background, by Peter triantos

artwork on hoardings and under scaffolding, beside sidewalk, around construction site, people, with lots of purple and orange tones

below: Slightly different from all the other image here, but still art in my opinion.  This image is from inside the Cumberland Terrace, a shopping center that has always struggled and is now facing demoltion (or total makeover, not sure what the plan is).  The interesting tile design on the wall was defaced by a line of Bell telephone booths. I wonder how long it’s been since someone made a call here?

tile mosaic design, interior wall of cumberland terrace, black and white stripes and a yellow and orange circle in the middle. Four phone booth mounted on wall

below: Gallery clutter.  He’s watching you watching him.  What does he see?

bookcase in a niche in a wall in an art gallery, painting above it, many small images in frames on the shelves, and a portrait of a man in front of it

I am going to end this post with three artists (from different eras and different backgrounds) who have portrayed their Canadian experiences in their paintings.

below: First is the oldest, Dutch born and European taught, Cornelius Kreighoff (1815-1872), whose “A Trip to Town” (1865), is one of his many scenes of life in what is now Quebec.   Kreighoff was a fairly prolific artist during his time in what is now Canada.  He first moved to the Montreal area about 1846.  At one point Ken Thomson (the newspaper/magazine publisher) owned about 200 paintings, many of which are now at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

painting by Cornelius Kreighoff in a fancy gold coloured frame, title is A trip to town

below: Lawren Harris (1885-1970), of the Group of Seven, painted  “House in the Ward, Winter City Painting No. 1” (Toronto) in circa 1924.   A snow covered street scene with not a car in sight! Just lovely old trees and red brick houses.

painting of a city street in winter, snow covered leafless trees, a red brick house, painting by Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven

below: And last, William Kurelek (1927-1977) “The School’s Woodpile” 1972, mixed media on board. Kurelek, son of Ukrainian immigrants, grew up on the Prairies during the Depression.

Previous posts about Yorkville Art:

1. The Yorkville-ification of Street Art.
2. A Yorkville meander with Captain Canuck

 

a common enemy

Posted: July 21, 2024 in galleries, history
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One of the pieces on display at TMU’s The Image Centre is this is pen and ink drawing signed by “Fun & Borckmann” from about 1895.  It is part of the exhibit, “Hypervisibility: Early Photography and Privacy in North America, 1839-1900.”  The drawing is on loan from the collection of Stephen Bulgar and Catherine Lash.   As you can see, across the top is the title, “A Common Enemy of Mankind”.  If you start at the first panel on the top left, you might think it is etiquette suggestions for photographers, but on closer inspection, is it?

an ink drawing from the late 1800s as seen in a gallery, framed and behind glass

Let’s take a look!

Panel 1 (below): ” The amateur
Photographer
A cheerful sort of nuisance is.
Does it occur To him – or her –
He shouldn’t take what isn’t his

part of an ink drawing by Fun and Borckman from about 1895 on the etiquette of photography, a common enemy of mankind

Panel 2 (above): A man whose life
Has been one strife
Against appearances of wrong,
Can’t kiss his wife
Lest lenses rife
On negatives his kiss prolong

Panel 3 (below) – along with “The other fellow’s girl!”
“Where’er one goes
To seek repose
Far from the city’s heat and din
Be cannot doze
In wooded close
But that a snap-shot takes him in.”

Can I call him a jaunty looking fellow with his striped blazer and the polka dot band on his hat?

ink drawing from circa 1895, a young man and a woman are sitting together outside, another man with a camera is hiding in the bushes behind them

Panel 4 (below): “Sometime mayhap,
A city chap
May linger in the moonlight fair;
He hears the tap
Of shutter-snap
And knows too well he’s pictured there.”

ink drawing with etiquette rules for photographers, or is it a guide to the follies of mankind? picture of two men about to kiss

Panel 5 (below): “Or in the street,
If he should meet
A former friend of single days,
It’s not meet
His smile so sweet
Be captured in actinic rays.”

bottom panel of drawings, a common enemy of mankind, with bottom title of Snap-Shots at the Amateur Photographer, about 1895 by Fun and Borckmann

Panel 6 (above): “But in default
Of dungeon vault
In which to lock this modern pest,
A plain assault
Might cause a halt –
But then, perhaps, a gun were best.”

Life’s little indiscretions now preserved in little snap-shots!   Please don’t shoot the photographer!

Extra litte note or two: Peter Borckmann was an artist whose pen and ink drawings appeared in the “New York Fun Magazine”. In the 1880s and 1890s, this art form became very popular as demand for humorous illustrations grew along with the increasing popularity of magazines and journals at that time. The “Fun Magazine” was published in the 1880s and early 1890s.

Oh, in case you were wondering about that word ‘actinic’.  I looked it up….According to Merriam Webster:  “of, relating to, resulting from, or exhibiting chemical changes produced by radiant energy especially in the visible and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum.”   Sounds a lot like old-fashioned, pre-digital, light hitting chemically treated film, photography to me!

 

portraying the city

Posted: July 6, 2024 in galleries
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For the last 12 days of June, Gallery 1313 had an exhibit of artworks that featured Toronto.  As someone who walks around this city with a camera, I was interested to find out how others “see” the city.

signs on a gate outside Gallery 1313 with the three posters about the shows there at that time

below: “Cranes on the Rooftop” (collage) and a photo of the old Humber Cinema on Bloor West.   Both are the creation of Jesse Miletin.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, two colour photos

below: Two paintings by Kathleen McGuire (“Shwarma King” and “Abell Street Stop”), and a photograph by Courtney Fairweather of the Gooderham Building.  The distinctive yellow building on the northeast corner of Church and Queen was a Shwarma King restaurant in the last years of its life.  It is now being demolished.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, 2 paintings and a photograph

below: Drawing of a raccoon (actually a digital print on canvas), “Toronto, Mood the Raccoon” by Edgar Baculi.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, black line drawing of a raccoon

below: Two Toronto images – on the left the CBC building with shadows of people dancing or cheering by Phil Taylor.   And on the right a mix of Yonge subway station and the interior of a subway car by Tim Gorewich. Or at least that’s what the labels on the wall claim.  As it turns out, both pieces are Tim & Phil collaborations.  The two men have been friends and collaborators for more than 30 years.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, 2 photos

below: Collage with a TTC theme, by Emily Pike, “Takeover”.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, collage with ttc theme

below: “Why Wellesley” by Anshul Sharma.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, platform at wellesley subway station

below: “Fresh Peaches” by Steve Schnier

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, painting in mostly blues and golds, of a woman looking a baskets of peaches for sale at a fruit and vegetable market, sidewalk, by Steve Schnier

below: On the left (and yes, it’s difficult to see), a pencil drawing by Michele Cross, “The Railway Bridge at King”.   In the middle is “Bus Stop No. 1” by Elnaz Hessami Pilehrood.  TTC bus route 39 is Finch East.

3 artworks on gallery wall, two paintings and a black and white drawing

below: A section of the “The Toronto Show” exhibit.

photographs on display in a gallery, on a wall with a white radiator

below: Two black and white photographs by Monique Campbell – “Timeless”, taken in a barber shop and “Union Station” showcasing the ornate decorative elements in the arched doorway.

two black and white photos on the wall of gallery 1313, above a radiator

below: Just looking

woman in a brown and white striped shirt looking at artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313

“The Toronto Show” was in the larger room at Gallery 1313.  Off to the side are two smaller rooms and each featured a different show.  One of these was “Artist Pets”.

below: “Whiskered Foster” by Mariel Pagliai

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, title whiskered foster, very orange, with black drawings of rabbit and cat, also in blue, a nest of eggs

below: Photo of a dog on an old wicker chair by Karen Perlmutter, “Gracie in the Woods”.  Gracie has had her photo taken MANY times!!  A star model.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, sepia toned photo of a dog sitting on an old wicker chair

below: And last, a painting by Roy Wong of a barn in winter, seen somewhere in Caledon.  “Impressions of Beauty” was the title of the small exhibit of Wong’s still life paintings and landscapes.

artwork on the wall of Gallery 1313, barn on a lane in caledon, painted in winter

gallery wall, exposed metal vents or beams in the ceiling, image on the wall

another bridge is open – Port Lands again

Posted: June 17, 2024 in construction, locations, public art, transportation, waterfront
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view of cn tower from port of toronto, with buoys, on land, in front, as well as a parking lot

Welcome back! Bienvenuti!  A colourful sign to welcome you and visitors to Toronto.  I’m not sure how many visitors get to see this banner!

sign saying welcome to toronto in many different languages

The Port of Toronto has almost become an obscure corner of the city.  It’s certainly not where most tourists arrive in the city!  Nor is it a place where residents venture.

welcome sign in different languages, puddle in front, large green and orange buoys, on land, reflections in the puddle

below: Once there was a ferry between Toronto and Rochester that docked here but it didn’t last long.  Now there are a few cruise ships that stop here.  The building would be almost deserted if Netflix hadn’t taken over some of the space.

building on pier, beside waterfront, with chainlink temporary fence, sign says Toronto Port or Port of Toronto

below:  The fragments of railway track are reminders of the industrial past.

metal fence across old railway tracks on a pier, beside waterfront, Lake Ontario, Port of Toronto

below: There are bits of track scattered all over the Port Lands

fence across old railway tracks with industrial site beyond

below: The Port is much quieter but there is still activity.  These long metal bars that are neatly stacked on shore were probably recently offloaded.

stacks of 40 foot long rebar on the waterfront, port of toronto, recently unloaded from a boat
view through chainlink fence on pier, a yacht is exiting the harbour, toronto skyline in the background

below: Boats in the Ship Channel.  The redevelopment plan for the Port Lands has always included the retention of the Ship Channel.  The sand and salt for Toronto’s roads is delivered here.

ships in the Shipping Channel

below:  At the east end of the Ship Channel, a new park is being developed – Leslie Lookout Park.   The concrete cylindrical structure is a lookout tower so there will be views over a man-made beach (that appears white in the photo).  The beach is larger in real life than it looks like in the photo.

new park being developed

below: Can you see the little sliver of blue water?  That is the Ship Channel.

behind chainlink fence, new park being developed, on shipping channel so water is just visible in the photo

below: Looking south on Munitions Street

munitions street, port lands, construction, all gone but old fire hall and white building film studio

below: Toronto Firehall, Station 30, built in 1928 still stands.  It is a heritage building and if the plans are followed, it will be repurposed.

munitions street, port lands, construction, all gone but old fire hall

entrance to old metal clad building, tree in front, no trespassing sign on door, no parking sign beside door

below: The redevelopment of the Port Lands has involved a lot of infrastructure changes.  Roads have been changed, rivers have been diverted, bike lanes and better sidewalks have been created.  At times it has been confusing to navigate through.

traffic signs, signals, and new construction in Port lands

below: The new Commissioners Street bridge is in, and there is water running under it.  There is now a river on land that was once industrial.   On the north side of the bridge there is a bike lane and a wide sidewalk.

red and white curvy bridge, commissioners street bridge, dark clouds in the sky,

below: The bridge offers new vistas of the city.  Many new trees have been planted.

view northwest from commissioners street bridge, over river and park with many newly planted trees, to downtown toronto skyline

view north from commissioners street bridge, towards Gardiner Expressway, and Lakeshore

below: Lakeshore Blvd crosses the Don River on a very low bridge (like before) while the ramps between the Gardiner and the DVP curve above it.

view north and slightly east from commissioners street bridge, ramp from Gardiner to DVP with Lakeshore crossing river
below: Just be careful because there is no sidewalk on the south side (why not?? for the sake of saving money on 4 extra feet??)

cyclists crossing commissioners street bridge
commissioners street bridge, mostly sky with lots of clouds

below: The same sleek curvy design seen in the previous bridges is repeated here.

red and white curves of the commissioners street bridge

below: Another series of photographs of the work being done here, by Vid Ingelevics and Ryan Walker

large photograph on a billboard in front of large concrete silos, port lands,
below: One photograph is mounted on the roll-up door of one of the ESSROC cement plant silos

large photograph mounted on door of garage on concrete silo

below: Like the previous series of images, most of the photographs are displayed down the center of what remains of Villiers Street,  on top of the remains of the old railway line.

large photo image on display beside street, in front of building with cranes beside it

below: One more photograph on what remains of Villiers Street – and in the background, what remains of the eastern end of the Gardiner Expressway.

construction in port lands, villiers street torn up, photograph on display in center, gardiner expressway in the background

below: Southeast corner of Villiers and Cherry

old bank building with columns, stone, on southeast corner of villiers and cherry

below: One original bridge remains, the one with the long name – Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge.

cherry street straus trunnion bascule bridge, with person holding stop sign, construction on the bridge

lifeguarding station at cherry beach, old white wood building, with look out tower and flag pole,

below: The first of the new bridges that was actually operational is the south Cherry Street bridge, the yellow one.

yellow and white cherry street bridge

below: The second new bridge on Cherry Street is now in use.  For months we’ve been able to take pictures of the side of it as we stood on the old Cherry Street bridge. (see The New Cherry Street Bridge from Nov 2020).  Maybe one day in the future there will be a streetcar on the east part of the bridge.    As you can see, the rain came and we bailed.  Better pictures of the bridge will have to wait for a future post!

new cherry street bridge from the south, double bridge, one side for cars, bike, and pedestrians. The other side is for transit but so far there is no transit here

below: The old Cherry Street bridge is gone and the road has been rerouted. The old jog in Cherry at Lakeshore is gone.

rubble and digger removing old cherry street bridge, distillery district condos in the background

rubble and digger removing old cherry street bridge, distillery district condos in the background

below: Misdirection.

green and white sign that says cherry street continues one block north of Lakeshore

below: Trying to see the new bridge from the site of the old bridge but there seems to be a construction site in the way.

new cherry street bridge, red, and white, seen from site of old bridge

below: Continuing north on the now straight Cherry Street.  Any ideas what that white structure is ahead?  It runs parallel to the railway line at track level and crosses Cherry Street just south of the railway underpass.

a red car waits at a red light on Cherry at Lakeshore. The Gardiner Expressway passes overhead. Distillery District and Corktown are straight ahead

We now exit the Port Lands and finish today’s explorations…. with the exception of one quick note…. I noticed that the old Canary Diner on Cherry is now painted a reddish orange colour.  It looks like it is being renovated.   A story for another day!

TTC streetcar, route 504, in front of repainted canary diner on cherry street, old three storey brick building

toronto skyline in the background, with boats docked on piers, rubber dinghy in foreground

hydro transmission towers with the cn tower in the background

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