Posts Tagged ‘public art’

geology lesson

Posted: February 21, 2015 in public art
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Time Cone
by Brad Golden and Lynn Eichenberg, 1996.
With help from Christopher Dewdney, poet.

In front of 25 Sheppard Ave West on the SE corner of Sheppard and Beecroft.

A tall bluish coloured glass building takes up the background. A tall conical shaped sculpture is in front of it.

A 15 cm stainless steel ribbon, supported by four steel beams, winds its way up to the cone at the top.   Cut out of the steel are words that pertain to the geology of  the area.  ‘Precambrian’ is the bottom word.  Other words include Pleistocene Glaciation, Gull River Limestone, Cenozic, Don, and Thorncliffe Till.

Looking up inside a sculpture that is a ribbon of stainless steel that winds up a conical hape, supported on 4 sides by stainless steel bars.

extra: In geology, ’till’ is unsorted unstratified material deposited directly by glacial ice.

warming up to art

Posted: February 20, 2015 in public art, waterfront
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5 lifeguard posts
5 art installations
5 places to sit and/or get out of the wind

All in one place – along the waterfront at Kew & Balmy Beaches
until 20 March 2015

1. Snowcone by Lily Jeon and Diana Koncan

Art installation that looks like a giant white pinecone on the beach in winter. The inside of the parts of the cone are bright translucent coloured plexiglass

Looking from inside a dome shaped structure that is made of geometric shapes of coloured plastic, looking to the bright blue sky, with snow on some of the pieces of plastic. Lots of bright colours.

From the inside of the Snowcone, looking up through the center.

 metal frame of a lifeguard stand surrounded by brightly coloured shapes of translucent plastic
2. Driftwood Throne by Daniel Madeiros

Beach in winter, snow, snow fence and lots of blue sky. There is a wooden art installation that is also seating for those who want to sit and look out over the cold lake.

Lifeguard station that has been partially enclosed by a wooden structure. Two people are sitting on the lifeguard chair with their backs to the camera

3. Sling Swing by Ed Butler, Daniel Wiltshire and Frances McGeown

The art installation, Sling Swing, in the breeze on a frozen snow covered beach. It consists of large pieces of orange fabric slings hanging from a metal frame. One can use the slings as swings.

Two women sitting on the orange sling swings on a cold winter day at the beach

orange lovebot sticker inside an orange life ring on a lifeguard chair. Pieces of orange fabric are draped around the chair.

4.  Wing Back by Tim Olson

Wooden structure on a winter beach between a snow fence and the lake

wooden structure on the beach in winter. Part in painted red. It is supposed to be a large chair, semi-circle, can seat a number of people.

5. Hot Box by Michaela MacLeod and Nicholas Croft

A large black box on a winter beach. The box is large enough to fit several people inside it.

This one feels creepy inside. No windows. Interior walls form narrow passageways.

article 13

Posted: February 18, 2015 in graffiti and street art, history, locations
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Amnesty International Toronto Organization is a group that works in the to raise public awareness of human rights issues. One of the projects that it supports is  Urban Canvas.  Thirty murals were planned, each based on one of the thirty articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Art Alley Mural Project produced by Arts Etobicoke in 2010 was designed by  Susan Rowe Harrison and painted by William Lazos.  It incorporates a poem by Dionne Brand, Toronto’s Poet Laureate  in 2010 that is based on Article 13.   This article states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.”

A narrow lane, or pedestrian walkway, between two buildings. On the left hand side wall there is a mural with a black and white background, and red letters. The words are a poem about freedom of movement as stated in article 13 of the Declaration of Human Rights.

The mural is on the wall of 4893A Dundas St. West, alongside a narrow pedestrian walkway.

 

See also a previous post on two of Urban Canvas project murals at Parma Court 

Also, a mural celebrating education, article 26.

Bathhouse raids mural

Posted: February 12, 2015 in graffiti and street art, history, locations
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The Bathhouse Raids by Christiano De Araujo is a mural on Church Street just south of Carlton.
Completed in the fall of 2013, it was the largest of the Church St. Mural Project pieces commissioned for WorldPride 2014.

The following photos were taken with a very wide angle lens
because of the size of the mural and because there are always cars parked in front of it.

large mural on the side of a building. A number of cars are parked in front of it. The mural depicts the bathhouse raids, an event in Toronto's history where police raided gay bath house and arrested those they found inside. A yellow Toronto police car, a fire truck with its lights on are both in the picture. An oversized person is in the center, hands held over her/his head.

On the 5th of February, 1981, Toronto police raided four bathhouses in what was known as ‘Operation Soap’.
Around 300 men were arrested.  Most charges connected to the incident were eventually dropped or discharged, although some bathhouse owners were fined.

part of a large mural showing a yellow Toronto police car from the 1980's, a couple of policemen and a crowd of men standing just back of the police car

part of a large mural showing a yellow Toronto police car from the 1980's, a couple of policemen and a crowd of men standing just back of the police car

The event marked a major turning point in the history of the LGBT community in Canada.
The raids led to protests – the night after the raids, 3,000 people marched on 52 Division police headquarters and on Queen’s Park, smashing car windows and setting fires.  That spring the city held its first Pride Parade.

right hand side of the bathhouse raid mural on Church St. showing a firetruck with its red flashing lights on

Four-D

Posted: December 9, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Four-D, a mural on Woodfield at Gerrard East in Little India
by artists Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson, October 2013
supported by the city of Toronto and Gerrard India Bazaar

 mural on the side of a one storey building showing 4 brightly coloured panels. Turquoise in the background. Each panel shows an archway between pillars. Each of the 4 has a brightly coloured pattern

part of a mural, one of four panels painted to look like a yellow and red arch. under the arch is a bright multicoloured pattern reminiscent of South Asian fabrics and embroidery

part of a mural, one of four panels painted to look like a yellow and red arch. under the arch is a bright multicoloured pattern reminiscent of South Asian fabrics and embroidery

part of a mural, one of four panels painted to look like a yellow and red arch. under the arch is a bright multicoloured pattern reminiscent of South Asian fabrics and embroidery

part of a mural, one of four panels painted to look like a yellow and red arch. under the arch is a bright multicoloured pattern reminiscent of South Asian fabrics and embroidery

lovebot invasion

Posted: December 4, 2014 in graffiti and street art
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Lovebot, the robot, can be spotted all over the city!

These are just a few of the places that I have seen him.

A very large lovebot on a brick wall. He looks like he is walking away from a restaurant patio with its black round tables and bright orange chairs.

Walking away from the table, on Queen St. West.

 

Lovebot on a red brick wall with his arms out stretched as he releases a box into the air. The box is being lifted upwards by balloons.

Releasing love with balloons, between Brigden Place and Queen St. East.

 

lovebot playing card on a wall. In front of it are some orange and black traffic cones along with an orange construction sign on its side.

Seemingly stuck behind construction on Church St.

 

Lovebot now looks like he's been made into the king of hearts on a playingcard. On a brick wall.

A more evolved king of hearts lovebot. This one is near Bathurst subway station.  There is an identical card on Mill St., just west of Trinity.

 

small concrete lovebot standing in a small patch of garden behind a low black wood fence.

3D lovebot behind a fence on Church St.  Seen just before Hallowe’en, hence the chains and “spider webs”.

 

Lovebot in the shape of an old gameboy, up on a brick wall, with tags below him.

Gameboy lovebot.

 

Wheatpaste lovebot up high on a concrete wall. There are some black and white tags below him.

On a wall seen from Queen St. East, south side, between Ontario and Sherbourne streets.

 

A lovebot on a red brick wall. A small white oval shaped figure is with him.

Near Harbord and Bathurst.  This lovebot looks like he’s ready to take on a construction crew.

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A small concrete lovebot stands in the doorway of a childrens book store called Mabels Fables.

A lovebot lives outside of Mabels Fables on Mt. Pleasant.

for more information – Lovebot website

Ultra Church

Posted: October 17, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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A mural near Church and Wellesley

A picture of most of the mural. There are many colourful characters on a wall that is about 8 feet long. The mural is close to 20 feet long.

Most of the mural.

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detail from mural - three people, black woman, white woman with blond hair and glittery ear rings and necklace, and a man in the right hand corner
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detail from mural - group of people in flamboyant clothes lounging around

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detail from mural - close up of woman with white hair and long eye lashes. She is wearing blue and silver sparkly er rings .

detail on mural - man in cowboy hat with a red & white striped guitar, amongst other people
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detail from mural - a bearded man in a pink dress, a woman in purple and two people sharing the same red & white polka dot dress
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detail from mural - a very pink woman in fish net top and wearing a sparkly pink eye mask
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detail from mural - close up of woman with black and white striped top, glittering neacklace and ear rings.

blog_ultra_group

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detail of mural - two women, one in black low cut dress and silver sparkly crown and the other in a bejeweled black dress and white fur boa. .

woman with long arms and hands, wearing 2 bracelets as well as necklace and long droopy ear rings.

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detail from mural - chicken pecking at some nuts (corn?) on the ground beside legs wearing yellow high heel shoes
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A picture of a man in drag - blue dress as well as long hair and horns on head, is behind a real tree

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sign painted beside the mural that says "Ultra Church 50 VIP part people 1948 to 2014"

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nuit blanche 3

Posted: October 13, 2014 in events
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Manifesto, in an alley, appropriately enough.

graffiti covered cardboard boxes put together in a robot shape. The face (or head) is a white light. It's an alley.

“You can’t silence my thoughts”

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manifesto cardboard box graffiti covered robot like structure in an alley at night

faces on both sides

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blog_snb_squat

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cardboard box robots in the alley, manifesto for nuit blanche

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