Posts Tagged ‘photos’

41 Esplanadians

Posted: August 15, 2015 in events, people, public art
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FORTY ONE the Esplanadian Connection,
an exhibit inspired by the book ‘FORTY ONE Neighbours’

The book was published earlier this year and there was a book launch at St. Lawrence Hall back in April.  The book is a collection of 41 portraits, one person from each country participating in the Pan Am and Parapan Games.  Each portrait is also of a person with a connection to the Esplanade community. Fifty three students/authors from The Esplanade neighbourhood wrote the stories.

A poster on a lamp pole, a picture of a woman and two boys playing with a ball (pretending to fight over it)

For the exhibit, the portraits were re-enacted by local residents.

A picture of a girl with a dog on a bench is posted on a lamp post as part of an exhibit for the Pan Am games, a bench in the park is in the background

Each portrait consists of three sides.  Two sides have photographs on them – one side with a Esplanadian person or family and the other side with a PanAmerican resident.

An exhibit on a street in Toronto that consists of a three sided sign wrapped around a streetlight pole. Two sides can be seen in this photo. One side is a picture of a woman sitting in an otherwise empty auditorium with red seats. the other side has the word calmness in English and then the translation of that in 4 other languages, French, SPanish, Dutch and Portugese
The third side has one word written in five languages.
From top to bottom – Dutch, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The word performance on a green and blue sign. It is also written in 4 other languages, Dutch, Spanish, French and Portugese

The words were chosen from the stories in the book, one symbolic word from each portrait.

sign on a lamp post that says hope in 5 languages with a basketball court and murals in the background. On the Esplanade in Toronto

The signs are mounted on lamp posts along the Esplanade.

poster on a lamp post with the picture of a mother and her son. Park is in the background. Part of an exhibit in association with the Pan Am Games.

Neighbourhood watch good guys

Posted: July 31, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Watching over some of Toronto’s streets are a number of ‘good guys’ from TV series, video games,  and movies.  These first appeared a little over a year ago.  In fact, they were mentioned in most of the Toronto media last summer.  Although I had heard of them before, I only recently noticed a few of them.

below: just south of Dupont Street, Steven Seagal

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a man looking over the top of his sunglasses has been added to the sign.

There are now more than 75 (or even 90?) pictures glued on to existing Neighbourhood Watch signs.
They are the work of Andrew Lamb, a pseudonym.

below: In Kensington, Wesley Snipes as Blade

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a black man wearing sunglasses and with a machine gun on his back

below: Xena the warrior princess watches over Vermont Ave.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A woman. Xena the warrior princess character.

 below: On Roxton Road, Agents Mulder and Scully from the TV series, the X Files.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A man and a woman, agents Mulder and Scully from the TV series X Files

below:  A faded picture of a group of Transformers on Palmerston Blvd.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A faded picture of a large group of transformers, the superheros from the old TV series.

below: Super Grover from Sesame Street on Wright Ave (near Roncesvalles)

altered Neighbourhood Watch sign, Grover from Sesame Street in a superhero costume flying through the sky

below: Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh, good guys from the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies, watch over Atkins Avenue.

Neighbourhood watch sign by Atkins Ave.., picture of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover has been pasted on it, two actors from Lethal Weapons movies.

below: Samus Aran from the Nintendo video game Metroid

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a superhero dressed head to toe in pink (or is it faded rad?) and holding a large weapon has been added to the sign

below: Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ movies

Neighbourhood watch sign with picture of Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in 'Aliens, carrying a child and a very big gun

below: The Thunderbirds from the 1960s British TV series watch over the north end of Borden Street.  They were part of International Rescue, an international life saving organization and their story was told using electronic marionettes and scale models.

blog_neighbourhood_watch_space_animation

 

below: Grace Jones and Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘Conan the Destroyer’

Neighbourhood watch sign with Grace Jones and Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie 'Conan the Destroyer'
This is only a small sample of the heroes that adorn our streets.  Maybe you have seen some of the others – Batman, Nancy Drew, the Hulk, Robocop, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Yoda, and even Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable.   As I researched these signs I found them online so if you haven’t seen them on the streets, here is the link to the website that has photos of them all.

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

kissing in traffic

Posted: July 26, 2015 in events, locations, people
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The intersection of Yonge and Dundas as a location for a few wedding pictures!

A quick google search shows that it’s not the first time a couple has chosen this location to shoot a few wedding pictures but it’s the first time that I have encountered it!   Yesterday afternoon….

The bridegroom in his black suit dips the bride in her white wedding dress in the middle of a pedestrian crossing across Yonge St. at Dundas in TOronto.
A bride and groom are standing on the corner of Yonge and Dundas streets in Toronto. They are talking to a woman in a white dress who is organizing the wedding photo shoot.

A bride is standing in the middle of an intersection in downtown Toronto, wearing a long white wedding dress, she has her arm up and is beckoning to the groom.

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

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

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

#turbanup

Posted: May 17, 2015 in events, locations
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This afternoon at Yonge Dundas Square,
Turbanup, presented by the Sikh Youth Federation.

There were many people there helping to wrap

Passersby have stopped to watch a an is wrapping a red turban around a young woman's head.

and many colours of fabric to choose from.

People in turbans are at a table sorting and folding purple and pink and blue fabric that is available for making turbans with.

A young man having his head wrapped in a dark blue turban. His eyes are closed. Close up shot.

Two men sitting in chairs while having their heads wrapped in a turban, one purple and one orange.

A man is wrapping a light blue turban around a young woman's head.

A man in a bright yellow T shirt is sitting in a chair while another man wraps an orange turban around his head. To the right, an older man is waiting his turn to get a turban.

A man is grimacing while having a yellow turban wrapped around his head (and into his eyes) by an older Sikh man with a a dark red turban.

A black woman with long hair is having her head wrapped in a turquoise turban

Three men in their new turbans are standing together while a fourth man is taking their picture.

bolts of many different colours of cloth being folded by some people

legs, we walk on them

Posted: May 15, 2015 in locations, people, public art
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Figures and Models of Surfaces,
by Isabelle Wenzel,
on King St. West at John (by Metro Hall).
Part of CONTACT Photography Festival.

Six people walking on a sidewalk. They are walking past a row of large pictures of legs in various strange poses on bodies with no upper parts.

“I’ve got two legs from my hips to the ground
And when I move ’em they walk around
And when I lift ’em they climb the stairs
And when I shave ’em they ain’t got hairs.”

 “I’ve Got Two Legs” by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam

That’s the sort of thing that went through my head as I took these photos.

A man in brown pants and a brown and white striped shirt is holding a drink in his hand as he walks past two large pictures of legs.

a man's leg and black boot stick out from under a picture of a woman's leg with a yellow shoe, on a bright orange background. A man is sitting on a ledge behind the photo.

All photos are self-portraits of the photographer.
Legs as sculptural elements – colour, shape and composition.
Legs as objects – objectification of the legs is now complete.

people in front of 4 large photos of legs by Isabelle Wenzel. A couple are saying goodbye, two men in suits are walking together, a woman is looking at the pictures as she walks past and another woman is walking out of the photo on the right.

These legs were made for walking.  Not.
Just walk on by.
More silly thoughts as I watch people walk past the pictures.

Two young women are alking past a few large, larger than life photos of legs. The women have their arms up in the air.

below:  The blue tones of Metro Hall provide a backdrop.

A tall bluish colored glass building with a sidewalk in front. Along the sidewalk is a row of short young trees with new leaves. There is also a row of large photos of legs on the sidewalk between the building and the street.

Fun.  Great installation.

alley bunnies

Posted: March 23, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Back to Graffiti Alley for the first time this spring…  well, for the first time since the snow melted since I’m not sure you can call it spring yet!

Here are a few poser and abm crew bunnies that I saw.

large greenish brown poser bunny in Graffiti Alley on pinkish purple background. Bight yellow, pink and blue tag to the right and a door covered with small tags to the left

three black and white poser bunnies on red background with black and white tag in front in Graffiti Alley. They are beside a doorway on which a man has been painted - red hair, white T-shirt and blue pants. Stylized, shrugging his shoulders and holdin his hands at waist level.
light brown poser bunny in Graffiti Alley - about 30 cm wide and 75 cm high on a wall that is perpendicular to the alley, Graffiti Alley is in the background. Signed ambcrew 2014
black, grey and white poser bunny in Graffiti Alley on a wall that is perpendicular to the alley. Graffiti Alley is in the background.

small black and white poser bunny in Graffiti Alley on a wall beside a metal exterior staircase

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