pictures | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

Neighbourhood watch good guys

Posted: July 31, 2015 in graffiti and street art
Tags: altered signs, blade, Metroid, Mulder, Murtaugh, neighbourhood watch, photos, pictures, Riggs, Samus Aran, Scully, signs, Steben Seagal, street signs, streets, superhero, transformers, video game, wesley snipes, xena

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

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

below: Xena the warrior princess watches over Vermont Ave.

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

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

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

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

below: Samus Aran from the Nintendo video game Metroid

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

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’

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.

Water’s Edge

Posted: July 25, 2015 in galleries, locations
Tags: #myhomewaters, archipelago, art, black and white, Brazil, Burtynsky, color, colour, exhibit, Georgian Bay, island, lakes, people, photographs, photography, photos, pictures, Salgado, Toronto, Union station, water

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.

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”.

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.

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

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.

The exhibit ends on the 15th of August.

#myhomewaters

Faces of Regent Park

Posted: July 2, 2015 in public art
Tags: Dan Bergeron, downtown, faces, kids, men, park, peope, pictures, plaza, portraits, public art, Regent Park, Toronto, women

Faces of Regent Park,
a new art installation by Toronto artist, Dan Bergeron

on Dundas West on the plaza by the new Aquatic Center

part picture, part ?

Posted: May 28, 2015 in galleries
Tags: art, CONTACT, digital, experiments, film, frames, gallery, MOCCA, photographic, photography, pictures, Toronto, visual

Part Picture,
an exhibit at MOCCA,
part of CONTACT Photography Festival

Like the introduction of film photography once usurped the role of painters and engravers, the introduction of digital photography has supplanted the photographer of old. We are all photographers now. A smartphone. A little bit of software. And presto, you have a picture. Many, many bazillions of pictures. Photography excels at visually telling stories, documenting events or capturing a moment in time either with a single image or in a series of photos. The expression ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ comes to mind. Even a blurry selfie says something.

Photography has always had an uneasy relationship with art (with the fine art, visual artsy stuff in particular). This art, while also visual, often has a slightly different focus. It too aims to elicit emotions and reactions but no one expects an artwork to document or to tell a story albeit some do. But art too is in flux (and probably has been for a while). What hasn’t already been done? What rules are left to break?

So what’s a photographer to do?

Part of the description of this exhibit states: “placing photography in conversation with other artistic mediums – particularly painting and sculpture – to create hybrid works that are only part picture”.

Experiments with chemicals on photographic paper; experiments with photoshop artifacts as part of the image; experiments with how one frames or hangs a picture. What is photography anyhow?

below: close up of part of the picture from above, the one that is hung perpendicular to the wall.

Just because something is different doesn’t mean that it’s good just as not all experiments are a success but kudos to those who try. I will leave it to you to decide which category (good/bad) these pictures fall into.

a stroll inside Honest Eds

Posted: March 26, 2015 in history, landmarks
Tags: bargains, Bloor and Bathurst, clothing, come in and get lost, department store, Ed Mirvish, get lost, history, Honest Eds, humour, kitchen, kitsch, memories, old, pictures, posters, prices, sandals, shoes, shopping, slogans, souvenirs, store, Toronto

Honest Ed’s

In 1948 Edwin Mirvish opened his ‘Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House’ on the southwest corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets. Honest Ed’s was not only one of the first department stores in the city but also one of the first to offer discount prices on its merchandise.

below: Honest Ed’s, from across the intersection of Bloor and Bathurst streets.

Looking across an intersection of Bloor and Bathurst streets towards Honest Eds store with its big orange, yellow and black signs on grey cladding. Running around the store, about the level of the top of the first storey, are signs (red lettering on white background) that read "Only the Floors are crooked" , "There's no place like this place, any place", "Come in and Get Lost" and lastly, "A Bargain Centre like this happens only once in a lifetime"

photo taken 25 March 2015

below: The same intersection in 1948 when Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House opened. As you can see, the exterior was covered with signs with humorous sayings from the beginning.

historical black and white photo of Honest Eds store at Bloor and Bathurst.

photo from Honest Eds store via a 2013 article in The Grid TO

Along with the discount merchandise, Ed Mirvish filled his store with pictures and posters, especially movie posters. The stairwell walls are covered.

You can buy almost anything at Honest Ed’s! Clothes, shoes, toys, household items, groceries, hardware, prescriptions, souvenirs, … and so on.

There are hundreds of pictures of actors and other famous (and no so famous!) people.

All of the signs in the store are hand painted. In March 2014, Honest Ed’s had a sale of all their signs and the profits ($17,000) from this sale were donated to Victim Services Toronto.
Another sign sale is scheduled for 11 April 2015 starting at 8 a.m. If you want to buy a sign, arrive early and expect to wait as it is a very popular event.

In October 2013, the property was sold to a developer but as you can see from the sign in the photo below, the store is still open. It will remain open until the end of 2016. It’s been open for 67 years and will remain open for another 21 months.

Pedestrian Sunday

Posted: May 26, 2014 in events, people
Tags: bikes, chalk, chalk chick, colours, eating, enjoy, eye, food, graffiti, Kensington, patio, pedestrians, people, photos, pictures, sidewalk, sights, stores, street art, summer, Sunday, sunny, Toronto, umbrellas, walking

The first Pedestrian Sunday of 2014, Kensington Market, 25th May.

What follows is a collection of sights from that afternoon.

A group of young people are walking down the street, away from the camera. Some are walking their bikes and some of the men are topless.

It was a warm day, the warmest day of the year so far. Time to shed the remains of winter and enjoy the sun and the city.

art and music…..

A young woman is sitting on the sidewalk. She is creating a picture of one of the characters from the TV show Futurama.

‘chalk chick’ – see more of her work at chalkchick.com

A man sitting on a stool on the sidewalk, playing a musical instrument

I am not sure what his name is or what kind of instrument he plays. If anyone knows, please give me a shout!

Two men on the sidewalk outside Sancis store. One man is standing and the other is sitting.

guitar players

food and drink…..

Three women are lined up waiting to be served at a street vendor who is selling food.

one of the many street vendors selling food and drink – BBQ chicken, burgers, fries, sandwiches and coconut sorbet included

The front of Wandas Pie in the Sky restaurant. People are sitting at tables and chairs set up outside the restaurant.

enjoying Wanda’s patio

A number of people are having lunch on a patio.

lunch on the patio!

A group of young people are sitting onthe curb eating food out of stryofoam containers

street food

people watching ……

Some people sitting on steps, three women standing in front of a large graffiti face that is wearing large star shaped sun glasses.

In front of big red starry sunglasses.

giant scrabble!

A couple with a small dog on a leash are standing by one of the barricades used to keep cars off the street

People with animals ….

A woman has a large fake red nose and large white frames sunglasses. She is carrying a green umbrella with a froggie face on it

keeping cool under the froggie

A woman is sitting at a table, under a patio umbrella. Behind her is a large graffiti piece of a young woman's face

two women, one larger than life

A woman is looking at her phone as she waits behind a table where she is selling denim shorts (on the sidewalk). In the background a man is buying something at another vendor's table.

‘This Way’ to browsing, buying and selling.

A pile of large wood blocks are in the middle of the street and a family is building small towers with them - a small girl and boy and their parents.

playing with blocks

Two women, each with an umbrella open above their heads are standing in the street.

Some people bared their skin to bask in the sun while others wanted more protection

under the blade

….. and the sights of Kensington

Detail of messages attached to a telephone pole. They are written on strips of yellow and blue heavy paper. In the background is a painting of a large eye, part of the sign above the door of Orbital Arts on Augusta Ave.

A watchful eye from Orbital Arts looks over Augusta Ave.

At an intersection, lots of people are walking on the street. Across the intersection is a three story burgundy colored brick building with a shop, and awning, on the ground floor. There are murals of faces on the upper level of the outside wall along with the words 'Welcome to Kensington, Romeos'

crowded streets mid-afternoon outside Romeo’s

a man stands in the doorway of a shop that has towels in the window and a lot of things for sale on a table outside the shop

Captain America and the Hulk lurk outside a store.

street scene of the intersection of Kensington and Dundas West. There are people walking on the sidewalk past a boarded up shop.

the corner of Kensington and Dundas West

A man is sitting on a fence reading a book. There are books on the ground in front of him that are for sale. There are also some shirts on hangers that are for sale.

a quiet corner to read on

little people stuck to the wall, sticker street art on Kensington

Sonya’s Park

Posted: May 21, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: altered signs, brick, city, defaced, downtown, grass, green space, historical, houses, Kensington market, Oxford St., park, photos, pictures, playground, stickers, tags, Toronto, urban, wall

Sonya’s Park, a small green space on Oxford Street.

On the east side of the park there is a brick wall that had a number of scenes painted on it. The pictures depicted a trip to Kensington market, circa 1885. Some of the murals remain intact while others have been defaced.

A play structure with slide is on the left of the picture, a woman is sitting on a bench on the right side. Row houses on the opposite side of the street can also be seen. There are some large trees too.

Oxford St., from the park.

Spring plants are growing in front of the wall on which there is a mural on a brick wall depicting a scene from a visit to Kensington Market circa 1885. A small girl is standing beside a cart.

Trip to Kensington market, circa 1885. The first of the murals on the brick wall on the east side of the park.

Large white tags obscure part of a mural depicting Kensington market in the past

Once upon a time there was a mural there. Sadly, taggers have made their presence known.

mural on a brick wall depicting a scene from a visit to Kensington Market , people buying fruit and vegetables from a street vendor. Spring plants are growing in front of the wall.

buying fruit and vegetables, circa 1885

a large tag over another mural. Someone has then written large red letters that say Stop not taggin art

stop not taggin art & watch yourself

A brick wall that runs across the back of the park. It is covered with graffiti. There is a metal gate in the center and you can see that there is more graffiti on the walls of the alley behind.

at the back of the park

A chain link fence in front of a piece of graffiti in oranges, yellows and purple

diamonds of colour

A city of Toronto sign that has had four stickers attached to it.

Plea no the, Elder abuse, and Don’t worry CAMH is only a block away, all on one sign

as I walk Toronto

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