Posts Tagged ‘public art’

waterfront

Posted: April 10, 2022 in construction, locations, public art, waterfront
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Let’s follow the fish! 🐟 It’s pointed east along Queen’s Quay and by coincidence that the direction I’m headed too… 😃

a metal life like fish embedded on the paving stones on the ground, boot toes beside the fish

The seagull is not amused.

seagull standing on a short post beside Lake Ontario, with the back end of a boat in the background

front end of boat, Empress of Canada, white and black hull, dirty, tied to pier with yellow rope, reflections of it in the water of the harbour

below: Harbour Square Park with “Sundial Folly” at the water’s edge.  This art installation is the work of John Fung and Paul Figueiredo.  It has recently been cleaned up.  The sphere is hollow and there is a walkway that runs through it.  An opening at the south side (water side) acts as a sundial.

Toronto waterfront looking westward

Toronto waterfront looking westward

below: Looking east from Harbour Square towards the Westin Hotel tower and the park by the ferry docks.

Toronto waterfront looking eastward towards Westin Hotel tower and park by ferry docks

below: Tour boats and ferries still under wraps for the winter months.

Trillium tour boat and other boats and ferries parked on Toronto waterfront, covered for winter storage, tall condos in a line along the waterfront in the background

below: “Shore Stories” a mosaic located by the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. It was made in 2012 by youth from the community under the guidance of AFCY (Arts for Children and Youth, an organization that may or may not still exist).

mosaic pictures in circles forming a mural, Shore Stories, at ferry dock in Toronto

below: The “egg beaters” at 1 Yonge Street are now behind a fence. The installation is actually called “Between the Eyes”, and is by Richard Deacon.

two people walking past a site with a green fence, a sculpture behind the fence, new buildings and new construction in the background

Between the Eyes, a sculpture by Richard Deacon on Queens Quay East

below:  It’s 830km to Kapuskasing and even farther to Cochrane, just keep following Yonge Street northwards.

brass letters embedded in the concrete of the sidewalk, distances to different places on Yonge street,

a very big muddy puddle in a parking lot with reflections of the condos around it

empty parking lot with two light standards. on the other side of the lot is a light brown brick building with small square windows

an empty bench on the waterfront with new condos behind

below: “A Series of Whirlpool Field Manoeuvres for Pier 27”. by Alice Aycock

whirlwind, a white metal sculpture between two condos, with an elevated section above it, taller condo in the background

along the waterfront, whirlwind, a metal white sculpture, tornado swirls of metal, by Lake Ontario,

CN Tower in the background, peaking through between a new glass and metal condo with different angled balconies, and an older concrete highrise

below: The walkway along the waterfront comes to an end where a very high concrete wall separates Redpath Sugar from the public space.

Toronto waterfront, public path ends at a large high concrete wall by Redpath Sugar, the back end of a red ship is visible jutting out from behind the wall

below: Que Rock murals, water theme, “Water Clans (Nbii Dodem)” four panels at Redpath Sugar.

two Indigenous themed murals on exterior walls of Redpath Sugar on Queens Quay

2 indigenous themed murals on Queens Quay by Que Rock a k a Quentin Commanda

reflected light against a grey exterior wall, with 5 small vents

view from sugar beach, willow tree in front of a red ship parked at Redpath Sugar, city buildings behind

orange life saving ring by a ladder on shore in front of a parked red hulled ship, harbour

below: Pink umbrellas and sugar filled ships, at Sugar Beach.

sugar beach with pink umbrellas in the foreground, a sugar ship unloading at Redpath in the background, Toronto skyline with CN Tower in the distance

below: Queens Quay East at Dockside

new construction, new condo, at Dockside Dr. and Queens Quay East, Corus Quay, waterfront, new street,

below: Sherbourne Commons

Sherbourne Commons as seen from the waterfront, large grey building with washrooms and change rooms

a person sitting in a muskoka chair on the waterfront near a water work site with barge, and rusty metal pylons in the water, port lands in the distance

below: New construction on Queens Quay East where many parts are  being made of wood.   A new park, Aitkens Place Park lies between the new building and the waterfront.

Aitken Park in front, new condo building built behind it, concrete core but rest built of wood

two people sitting on a bench, one with yellow toque and the other with yellow turban, other people walking past, on the waterfront

below: Vacant lot on the corner of Queens Quay East and Small Street.

northwest corner of intersection of Queens Quay East and Merchants Wharf, large billboard, vacant lot parking lot

small temporary bridge, concrete silos in background, construction fence in front,

concrete silos in background, construction fence in front,

below: At the foot of Parliament Street.

small red cabin beside entrance to parking lot and construction site, concrete silos in the background

below: Anser eyes

old anser eyes graffiti on a piece of concrete leaning against a fence

below: Sweet and salty at the Distillery

large billboard in front of tall condos, a sweet and salty relationship, reeses peanut butter cups with potato chips

Oakwood village

Posted: July 17, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores
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crocheted concentric circles in a window with reflections of the houses across the street

Oakwood Village BIA is centered on Oakwood Avenue, south of Eglinton West.

Toronto street signs, Jesmond Ave with Oakwood village top,

below: “Celebrating Queer Black Lives (2021) by Curtia Wright.  This is also part of a STEPS project, I HeART Main Street, which features 26 murals on “Main Streets” in Ontario this year.

mural on the side of The Beer Store, in bright colours, two women with dreadlocks, eyes closed and about to kiss

below: We are all Canadians, and with a big heart too

hand written sign in window that says We live in Canada We are all Canadians, Toronto Ontario, Below sign is a heart made of crocheted circles in different colours

below: Sidewalk games
paintings on sidewalk, game with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, blue water a truck, and a hot air balloon

below: Sidewalk vowels
drawings and paintings on the sidewalk featuring vowels, A E I O and U

below: Shiny palm tree about 5 metres tall – an art installation from 2010 on the traffic island where Oakwood meets Vaughan Road.  It serves as homage to the neighbourhood’s Caribbean community.

Shiny metal sculpture of a palm tree

a house with a glassed in front porch and a Canadian flag flying outside the door, other stores and houses in the background

two small houses pus a couple of slightly larger houses on Oakwood, two have front porches with chairs on them, and well tended front lawns

a grey concrete flower pot that is supposed to look like Roman urn, with bright red flowers growing in it plus a blue and white polka dot child's plastic windmill

below: Rusty the Snowman!

an old rusted metal decoration on a chainlink gate. laughing snowman, front steps and flowers in planters in the background

below: La Cubana, Supermercado Latina.

La Cubana supermercado Latino, grocery store, first storey painted in blue and white stripes like the Cuban flag, Cuban flag hanging in the window

The side of La Cubana supermercado grocery store with pictures of food, also stored items under blue tarps, and a bell box painted with a yellow measuring tape and articles of clothing, a bonnet, a tie, a cap, and three pairs of shoes

A purple picture in the window of a door with a cardboard sign in middle that says Please do not put garbage in front of the store, reflections of stores across the street in the window as well

Awning cover on Edmundo Snack bar, with round Carlsberg beer advert above it, exterior

three storey white brick building with reddish mansard roof, lower floor is Asmareeno Grocery and Alert Pest Control

items for sale in displayed in store window that is still decorated for Christmas even though it is summer. Bowls, tea pots, dishes

reflections in the window of Alfredos hair styling, closed, with a small Canadian flag in the window

below: Recently sold, Open Bible Baptist Church, just south of Eglinton.

old red brick church at 587 Oakwood, windows boarded up and cross removed from over front door

The New Jerusalem Spanish Church with a green hedge in front of it

below: Old gate in front of new (or being renovated) house

below: Where WTF = Wear The Facemask!

4 broken front door bell buzzers on a white peeling paint wall showing yellow paint below. sticker on yellow with man from monopoly game saying covid? wtf*? *wear the mask

below: Reggae Lane, just south of Eglinton. The mural in the background was painted by Adrian Hayles in 2015.  Better pictures of it are on a previous blog post about Reggae Lane

murals on reggae lane

graffiti, black spray paint on a light grey concrete wall, outline of a person holding up a sign above head that says Afroism, 2020

below: Waiting…..

below: Never Give Up!

door with a window at 506 Oakwood, with a picture of a bird with a frog in its beak and the words Never give up

a woman dresses in black t shirt and shorts and holding her bike is getting sir from an air pump at an ultramar service center

below: Looking north up Oakwood to Eglinton West. The construction of Oakwood station still has a long way to go! The previous blog post (‘Eglinton and Oakwood’) looked at this intersection/construction.

looking north on Oakwood to where it ends at Eglinton West, crane, construction of new oakwood subway station

Winter Stations 2020

Posted: February 28, 2020 in events, locations, public art, waterfront
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This is the 6th annual Winter Stations art installation event at Woodbine Beach.  It was officially opened on Family Day, February17th.

below: Tying yellow ribbons on the yellow metal frame in “Mirage”, designed by Cristina Vega and Pablo Losa Fontangordo.  The orange frame is parallel to the lake and the yellow sections are perpendicular.    Depending on where you are standing, you see either a red transparent sun setting or a light and bright rising sun laying on the horizon.

5 people working, two up on ladders, Lake Ontario in the background, tying yellow ribbons on an orange metal frame, finishing touches on an art installation called Mirage

tying yellow ribbons on an orange metal frame, finishing touches on an art installation called Mirage

below: “The Beach’s Percussion Ensemble” by Centennial College while under construction.

woman holding a shovel, on beach, by some yellow and pink boxes, installing a public art display at Woodbine Beach

below: The end product.  There is now graffiti on the boxes

tagged and graffiti covered pink and yellow boxes stacked on the beach, art installation by Centennial College students.

below: and cowbells hung from the underside of boxes in a couple of places.

smal cowbells hang from the underside of a yellow box that is stacked on top of two other boxes, one yellow and one pink

below: “Kaleido­scope of the Senses” is a strong piece designed by Charlie Sutherland of SUHUHA (An architecture studio in Edinburgh).  People were lining up to take turns sitting on the lifegusard chair.

people lined up to take a look inside a portion of art installation at Woodbine Beach

a father lifts up a young boy in a red winter coat so he can sit inside an art installation over a lifeguard station at the beach

below: “Noodle Feed” by iheartblob was very popular on the Sunday before Family Day (the official opening of ‘Winter Stations’).   It wasn’t designed to have a jumping feature but that’s what all the kids were doing that day.  The fabric tubes are filled with straw.

a girl jumping off a lifeguard station onto rolls of fabric stuffed with straw, on the beach

below: When I returned to the beach a few days later, the installation was gone.

a metal frame lifeguard station, raised seat, with a red board against the back and a sign on the front that says do not jump off lifeguard chair

blue pole with two small signs, both with snow on them, the top sign just has the number 3 on it. the other sign has its back to the camera so it can't be read

Information about the installations can be found at winterstations.com

January once again.

Posted: January 25, 2020 in waterfront
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It’s been a while since I posted here mostly because I’ve been away.  But I’m back in Toronto and back to walking.  The other day didn’t start as planned!  A locked gate stood in my way.

winter scene, base of Bathurst street by old Canada Malting Co silos, black gate to Ireland Park path is locked, snow, bench,

Shortly after, I saw a sign …. I’m not sure that it references locked gates specifically, but at the minimum it’s a reminder to remain flexible.

an art installation on the exterior wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, words in pink letters written over an river landscape scene. the words say If you end up with the story that you started with, then you're not listening along the way.

As anyone Canadian city dweller knows, winter in the city rarely means white snow – the brown slush quickly takes over.   Here, at Spadina and Queens Quay, the road has been painted red to alert drivers to the fact that this is a streetcar lane.

new TTC streetcar turning left from Spadina to Queens Quay, slushy streets after snowfall, people waiting at bus stop,

Lake Ontario has only begun to freeze, and only in quiet protected places.  The first part of January was warmer than usual.  Even as I type this it is raining and all the snow is melting.  There probably isn’t much of this ice left this afternoon.

a couple of boats docked at wood docks, lakefront, waterfront, some thin ice in patches on the water between the shore and the boats. Lake Ontario

below: A “Danger due to” sign that has blown in from somewhere else but is just as relevant here as it is at any construction site.

Toronto red tug boat in the water with brocken bits of ice in the water, also a red and white danger due to sign that has fallen onto the ice of Lake Ontario

below: The Music Garden hibernating for the winter.

along the waterfront, view of CN Tower, with sculpture and dead or hibernating plants at Music Garden

below: Kayaks at Harbourfront resting for the winter months.

red, orange, and yellow kayaks on the ground for the winter, mostly covered with snow

below: The fire rescue boat was out and about the other afternoon.

yellow umbrellas and painted muskoka chairs in the snow at H T O beach, with red fire rescus boat just offshore

a large flock of sea gulls take flight beside Lake Ontario and in front of H T O beach

three people skating at an outdoor skating rink

Now on at the Harbourfront Centre is “Future Retrospectives” which is a group exhibition of works by artists and designers who use the past as a lens to look at the future (until 29th March).

below: The coloured shapes with the words, are the work of Hannah Claus.  They hang on a clear background so the installation on the wall behind shows through (also the work of Hannah Claus).  In fact, the two go together.  At first I thought the coloured shapes represented tombstones but in fact they are a replica of the plaque on Hochelaga Rock. This rock commemorates the village and people encountered by Jacques Cartier in 1535; it is on the McGill campus in Montreal.  It is also featured in the photos on the far wall. The English words (bottom half) start with “Near here was the…”.  More information.

Near Here was art installation or Harbourfront Artport gallery

below: Will we be able to understand a future time?  Also part of Future Retrospectives.

will we understand future time, video art with some other bits and pieces, Harbourfront Artport gallery

below: Timeless.  Eternity. Waiting for the bus.

three people at a bus shelter waiting for a bis, two are standing and one is sitting. They are underneath a large photo of stars and the night sky

below: This is ‘Loop’ an interactive “Winter Station” public art installation.  In past years, there have been 5 or 6 different art installations along Queens Quay as part of the Winter Station project.  This year, there is just this one which is located at York Street Park.   The circles are large enough for two people to sit face to face.  There is a metal bar which can then be moved back and forth between the pair.  This movement makes an inner circle spin and activates some lights.   It is the creation of Olivier Girouard ; it is scheduled to remain here until the 9th of February.

black circular structures that are part of an interactive art installation called Loop, arranged in a semi-circle at Yor Street Park, snow on the ground, trees with no leaves, no people there

below: Harbour Street, looking east towards Yonge Street from the elevated walkway that runs north from WaterPark Place, over the Lakeshore and under the Gardiner.

view east on Harbour Streeet from the walkway between Waterpark Place and Scotiabank Arena, construction of new high rises in the background, traffic,

below: Reflections on the walkway.

reflections of people walking in glass walled elevated walkway om downtown Toronto

below: After passing under the Gardiner, the walkway wraps around the west side of the second floor of the Scotiabank Arena (originally the ACC).

interior, Scotiabank Arena people on elevated walkway between Waterpark Place and Scotiabank Arena

below: The south entrance to Union Station, from the walkway.  This is also a good view of the new glass platform over Union Station (train shed roof?) – this is something that I need to check out in more detail.

Union Station entrance, a couple of people walking in front, Royal York hotel in the background, taken from elevated walkway beside Scotiabank arena

below: Also under renovation is the Bay Street exit of the Scotiabank Arena.  A new walkway between it and the building being constructed across the street is almost complete.  It is on the same level as, and immediately beside, the railway tracks.  This walkway will connect to the new Union Station bus terminal

from the inside, looking out, construction of the new exit, and new elevated walkway to building being constructed across the street

below: Exit onto Bay Street and look up!  Upward.  And to the future…. wherever that leads us.

looking up towards the sky at the Bay Street entrance to Scotianbank arena, wall of old arena, top of new building being constructed across the street,

a rainy September day

Posted: September 9, 2019 in construction, events, general Toronto, graffiti and street art, public art, reflections, stores
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A grey day. The kind of day that when it starts to rain you head to a subway station, only to have the rain stop before you get there. So you walk more. Then it rains again so you buy an umbrella and minutes later the rain stops. So you walk more.

below: Southwest corner of Yonge & Wellesley

a shoe store, a massage parlour, and a convenience store, on the southwest corner of Yonge & wellesley, old brick buildings on Yonge with newer taller condos behind

below: Northwest corner of Yonge & Wellesley

northwest corner of Yonge & wellesley, old brick buildings on Yonge with newer taller condos behind - Not Just noodles restaurant

below: Marks left behind, traces of lives once lived there.

on the side of a brick house, two storey, Victorian, the remains of marks left behind on a house that was demolished, new development going up beside it

below: Do you think that there will ever be a time when we can walk downtown without encountering construction zones?

two orange signs saying sidewalk closed, and arrows, barriers on street to form a passage for pedestrians on the street, two people walking by

below: If it’s a gaggle of geese or a parliament of owls, what’s a group of cement trucks?

five or six cement trucks parked on a side street

reflections in glass windows downtown

a sign stenciled beside a doorway that says Anything can b iced. Window beside it, with a woman sitting inside by the window

below: A new large mural by birdo at Dundas & McCaul

Dundas street, near McCaul, coffee shop and artist supply store, with a large mural by birdo above it

below: Same mural, different angle

the corner of Dundas and McCaul with a large mural by birdo looking over it

below: “Keep going” at the Children’s Healing Garden outside Sick Kids Hospital on University Avenue.

chalk writing on a low concrete wall in a small park that says keep going

below: You can do anything

chalk words on a concrete path in a park that say you can do anything

below: A large hole on University Ave

construction site, hole in the ground, a digger in the hole, one wall of the hole is a light orange colour. The Duke of Cornwall pub is on the other side of the street across from the hole

below:  There was a Dragon Festival at Nathan Phillips Square this past weekend.

arches over the pool at Nathan Phillips square with old city hall behind, and a red and gold dragon head (very large) on display for dragon festival

below: Friday was a rather quiet day at the festival, probably because of the weather.

large and colourful inflatable dragon in front of city hall, at Nathan Phillips square, for dragon festival
below: But there was lots of different food available including skewers of octopus

pieces of octopus on skewers, ready to cook

below:   There were also these fried potato spirals on sticks that are available at every festival and street function.

potato spirals, fried and on sticks, looking a pilie of them from the end

below: Hot dog vendor on Queen Street

hot dog and sausage vendor on Queen street, woman under umbrella buying something, woman working inside the booth, a man sitting behind, many signs advertising their food

view down a lane with large buildings on both sides

below: Snowmen?  This is “Born and Raised” designed by Studio How-to-See.

sculptures on sidewalk, snowmen, beside a new condo, one snowman has lost its head

below: The tallest snowman is 5 “snowballs” high, or 17 feet tall.    Oh no! The snowman in the middle has lost its head.  What would Olaf say?

tall snowman sculpture on sidewalk beside glass and steel condo, with people walking past

below:  Of course early September means TIFF.  King Street West closed and many people were walking or hanging out there trying their hand at celebrity spotting.  We are all groupies during TIFF.

two young people working in a red booth for bubly drinks, both smiling and one is giving a thumbs up

below: I wouldn’t know a famous actor or director, or anything like that, if they came up to talk to me.    My attempts to follow the crowd to get celebrity pics weren’t very successful. This is the kind of photo that I ended up with –  The eye belongs someone called Jason who is taking a selfie with a father and daughter.    I didn’t linger long on King Street.

someone is talking a selfie with a girl in a green jacket who is being held up by her father, a pro photographer is also taking their picture

below: Having King Street closed didn’t help the traffic on nearby streets.  Mind you, this is normal for Toronto especially around rush hour.  Stand at any intersection downtown and you’ll find many instances where cars block traffic when the traffic lights change.

a man walks his bike across the street, between cars who are blocking traffic, also a woman with an umbrella gets ready to start across the street too

below:  The driver knew I was there taking pictures.  It didn’t make much difference.

a woman crosses the street on a green light, traffic is jammed because a car has got stuck in the intersection on a red light

a young black woman with pink dreadlocks and a lot of rings on her fingers is on her phone as she passes by, in the background is a couple standing on the sidewalk having a conversation, the woman is holding a bouquet of flowers

below: Paste ups on Richmond Street.   I find these mesmerizing.  I love the positioning of the eye and the way that it is staring at you .

2 paper paste ups on a wall, both are the same, in grey tones, the lower part of a face with one eye beside it

below: And my last stop that day, a quiet charcoal drawing by Olexander Wlasenko at the Arbozzo Gallery at 410 Richmond Street.

a charcoal drawing of a woman by Olexander Wlasenko on the wall of an art gallery

Now, all that’s left is the pink umbrella that I bought, still unused.

love, peace, and creativity

Posted: July 11, 2019 in landmarks, locations
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…along with coloured doors,  very big aliens, and a photography exhibit, all outside at the Distillery District.

below: “What’s That?” by Parer Studios. One of three ginormous inflatable aliens that have taken over the Distillery District but apparently they come with messages of peace, love, and creativity. Together they form the “fantastic Planet” series.

large white inflatable alien creature that appears to be getting from a crawling position, distillery district

below: “Over”.  At night they are illuminated from within.

large white inflatable alien creature, leaning over the rooftop of a building and looking down at a blue door

In the recent past, all of the doors in the Distillery were dark green (like most of the door and window frames still are).  A while ago, they were transformed with colour.  Many different colours in fact, and perhaps you could say a rainbow of doors.

a purple door on a grey limestone wall, distillery district

below: One of many photographs that adorn the brick walls of the Distillery District that showcase the works of photographers from around the world.  Collectively they are, “Pride at the Distillery, More than Just Rainbows”.

a large picture pasted to a brick wall, the backs of 6 drag queens each in a different colour outfit, making a rainbow when seen from the back

a large fake sunflower

pictures on a brick wall, above a table with empty chairs, outdoors,

below: I am not sure of the title of this one.  What I do know is that the alien’s hand is the perfect height to pat people on the head as they take selfies.  Check instagram for examples?  I noticed on instagram that there were photos of the aliens without the barricades.  My timing was wrong?

large white inflatable alien creature, lying down

below: Yellow doors (at least on the outside)

open double doors, yellow on the exterior and white on the interior

bright lime green window with dark green window frame, brick wall

a father and daughter playing a piano, outside, piano is painted bright yellow and the words Once you choose hope anything is possible

distillery district, brick building with doors painted in light green and light blue

large peace symbol outside as public art, with bright coloured artificial flowers attached to it

below: “Gay Pride Parade Participant in Costume, 1983”, New York City.  Available on Getty Images, where the large resolution image will set you back $575 (at least it’s in Canadian dollars).   All the Pride theme photos on display at the Distillery were purchased through Getty Images.

a large picture attached to a brick exterior wall, a person in lavender coloured dress and big grey wig holds a sign that says God save American queens

double doors, painted pink, with planters full of bright colour flowers outside the doors.

I will fudge it a bit and claim that this is a “Thursday Door” blog post.  It’s Thursday and there are a few doors included, right?  If you’ve been following this blog, you might know that I am but one of many bloggers who share door photos and stories.  For more door posts, see Norm 2.0’s Thursday Doors (with more door posts linked in his comments section).

the brains are back, 2019 edition

Posted: July 10, 2019 in events, locations
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This is the fourth year of the Brain Project.  Forty five sculptures in the shape of a brain have been decorated by different artists. They are on display at Nathan Phillips Square for the month of July.

brain shaped sculptures on display, with the 3 D Toronto sign and Toronto city hall in the background

below:  “Silver Bloom” by Carson Teal.  Complex, random, and fragmented.

a brain shaped 2 dimensional sculpture by Carson Teal, with white chicken eggs, broken mirrors, three fingers, crystals, and other random objects

five brain shaped sculptures in plexiglass display boxes standing in the pool at Nathan Phillips Square

a girl and her mother, looking at brain shaped art sculptures on display at Nathan Phillips Square

below: Here, pac man from the 1980’s arcade & video game, gobbles up yellow dots that represent brain cells.   It is artist Orit Fuchs’s way of illustrating the destruction of brain cells in Alzheimers.

a brain shaped 2 dimensional sculpture, red, made to look like a pac man arcade game, yellow pac man gobbling up yellow dots by Orit Fuchs

2 girls and a man looking at sculptures shaped like brains

brain sculptures on display at Nathan Phillips

below:  Brand Emsley’s “From Making to Thinking”, from the Brain Project website: “Toronto’s unprecedented building boom is reflective of the economic shift from the manufacturing economy to the knowledge economy. It is particularly acute in the area known as the railway lands and surrounding area.”

a brain shaped 2 dimensional sculpture, covered with realistic, detailed, drawing of Toronto railway lands with CN tower by Brad Emsley

below: On the left, “The Routine Ride” by Antonio Caballero and on the right, “Beautiful Mind” by Romero Britto

two brains on display, public art, sculptures, one by Antonio Acabbero and the other by Romero Britto

A description of all the brains, plus information about the artists, can be found on The Brain Project website.
#noblankbrains

Winter Stations 2019

Posted: February 19, 2019 in events, waterfront
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panorama of Woodbine Beach on a February day, art installation in yellows and oranges, lots of people, snow on the ground, winter clothes, Lake Ontario, blue sky with one wispy cloud

This year there were five installations at Woodbine Beach for the annual ‘Winter Stations’ event.   Yesterday, February 18th, was the opening day.  It was also a holiday Monday, Family Day, and lots of people were at the beach.

below: Forest of Butterflies by Luis Enrique Hernandez of Mexico.

close up of orange and yellow shapes that make Firest of Butterflies

part of 'Forest of Butterflies' sculpture in the foreground, along with two boys who are looking at it In the background, standing on a hill of snow, is a man taking a selfie with his golden lab dog

below: The lake was very wavy and rough on Family Day. There was lots of water spraying onto the piles of snow and ice as the waves crashed against the shore.

standing on the snow and ice covered beach in February, wavy day, waves crashing against shore producing spray , people standing and watching

below: ‘Above the Wall’ designed by Americans Joshua Carel and Adelle York.  Climb the stairs and meet people on the platform at the top.

two wooden staircases meet at the top, above an old rusty corrugated metal wall, platform at the top for people to meet

below: ‘Chairavan’ by a team from Sheridan College.

red metal chairs that look like lifeguard stations, part of Winter Stations 2019 at Woodbine Beach,

a woman in a red parka is climbing onto an elevated red metal seat

a young woman in pink snow pants is kneeling on a red metal structure, outdoors, snow,

below: ‘Mind Station’, designed by Tomasz Piotrowski and Łukasz Chaberka from Poland.

the circular art installation 'Mind Station', wood, on the beach beside Lake Ontario on a winter day, two men walking towards it, trees in the distance

below: Interior view – stand on the stumps to look out holes in the roof.

three wood stumps stand upright on the ground, interior of art installation

below: One of the views from the roof.

looking out of a hole in the roof of 'Mind Station' art installation, towards Lake Ontario, other circular holes in the roof

a woman in a tartan scarf walks past 'Mind Station', an art installation at Woodbine Beach made of plywood

below: ‘Cavalcade’, designed by a group from Toronto: Victor Perez-Amado, John Nguyen, Anton Skorishchenko, Abubaker Bajaman + Stephen Seunwon Baik

cavalcadde art installation at Woodbine beach, cutouts of people walking

a man and his shadow and many life size cut out figures of people in bright colours

below: The construction phase

constructing an art installation on the beach in the winter, Woodbine Beach, Winter Stations, colourful life size plywood cutouts of people

man riding on a small machine that digs holes in the ground

 

Apparently, this was the 5th year for ‘Winter Stations’.  Previous years ‘Winter Stations’ blog posts:

Flotsam and Jetsam and others (2017)

Warming with everyone and their dog – almost (2018)

 

snow and ice accumulations along the shore of Lake Ontario, waves crashing into the shore

LightFest 2019

Posted: February 8, 2019 in events, locations, public art
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Once again, the Distillery District is lighting up the cold winter nights with their LightFest featuring a number of lit art installations.

 

blue lights shine against an exterior brick wall of a restaurant, window - looking in the window you can seen people sitting at a table. A large art installation of a woman's face outline in blue light hovers above the window.

below: The LOVE locks have been enhanced with a cursive band of colour.

a band of blue light writes the word love in cursive, laid on top of a LOVE sign that is covered with locks.

below: There is no fire breathing dragon like there was last year, but there is an enormous 35 foot polar bear standing outside Balzacs.  Apparently it gets lit up later in the evening (or any other time except when I was there?).   He is made from the hoods of old cars and is the creation of Don Kennel.

a sculpture of a very large polar bear standing on its hind feet, in white, with black claws and facial features, distillery district, evening

below: Well, duh, of course it is!  LOL.  There is no context to this picture so you can’t tell that it’s like a large hockey puck, about 4 feet (about 1.2 metres) high if my memory is correct (i.e. it could be a bit higher).

a round white light with words written on it in capital letters, black, Centre of the Universe

below: Some of the installations are just for show (like the rods here) but some are more interactive.  For instance, the ring of orange and yellow lights that you can see in the background are large enough for people to walk through.

below: Another interactive installation is this little stained glass and acrylic enclosure by Taylor Dean Harrison.  When you are inside it looks like you are surrounded by stained glass.  Or, as I overheard one boy call it, lizard skin.

light art installation at Distillery District, like a small tent or hut that you can go inside, tiny triangle of colour, by artist Taylor Dean Harrison, looks like stained glass

artwork featuring tiny triangle of colour, by artist Taylor Dean Harrison, looks like stained glass. Close up detail shot

As usual, this is only a taste of what it there.  You can explore the works of 30 different artists at the Distillery District until the 3rd of March.

 

past under present

Posted: September 29, 2018 in graffiti and street art, intersections
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From the monochrome past to the coloured present – there’s a new mural on the corner of St. Clair West and Spring Grove painted by Christiano De Araujo.    Old black and white photos of the area and its people provide the background for a group of ten very modern and diverse people.

looking diagonally across the intersection of St. Clair West and Spring Grove Rd to a new mural that has just been finished on the side a building, painted by Christiano De Araujo.

painting of two young women, one blond and one withshort curly bright red hair, on top of painting of black and white vintage photos

painting of a black and white photo from 1930 of a woman holding a baby

below: The top photo is 1732 St. Clair West in 1911.

painting, in colour, of a group of people standing in front of paintings of some old monochrome historical pictures of the St. Clair area

below: On the top, very left corner, the black and white photo is a street scene – It’s St Clair Ave looking east from Prescott Avenue, under the railway bridge and beyond.  The bridge was built in 1931 and the photo was taken shortly after that.

new mural on the side of a 2 storey building, a series of vintage black and white photos of the area and people, with paintings of 8 modern people in colour

This is a StART (StreetARToronto) project

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