Posts Tagged ‘Toronto skyline’

sweet sweat bee

Posted: January 20, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

A few months ago I blogged about a large mural that Nick Sweetman painted on Queen Street East (Riverside Pollinator mural), a mural that featured a large bee.  That mural was actually Sweetman’s second gigantic bee in Toronto.  The first was at Bloor and Howland and it was painted in honour of National Pollinator Week back in June 2016.

large mural of a honey bee on a big pink flower hibiscus, with other yellow flowers growing, also a black skyline of Toronto, a large tee grows in front of the building and a van and a truck are parked close by. Photo taken from across the street.

The buzz of a green sweat bee (Agapostemon), covered in pollen as it fits itself into the center of a bright pink flower.

part of a mural, a large colourful bee covered with pollen, sits or flies in the middle of a big pink flower with pollen covered stamens

below: If you look closely, part of the globe is in its eye.  North America and the top part of South America with the blue of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

close up of a bee's eye in aa mural. A picture of part of the globe is in its eye - north america and the top part of south america.

below: The city of Toronto silhouetted against a  star filled sunset sky.

skyline of Toronto with the CN tower painted as a silhouette on a sunset sky, with some yellow flowers in the foreground of the mural.

part of a larger mural, yellow daisy like flowers growing on a black background with a large yellow, orange and red circle in the background.

Aude Moreau, sky, city, and a bit of a rant.

Posted: April 29, 2016 in galleries, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

I usually take a dim view of conceptual art largely because the importance given to the “words on the wall” has eclipsed the consideration given to the artwork itself.   Mediocrity in technique or creativity hides behind big jargon words and convoluted language in the artist statement.  Often the concept that the artist claims to be exploring is at odds with the end product.

When the art doesn’t live up to words that sound learned and meaningful then it degrades the work and makes the artist, and those curating the exhibit, seem pompous and out of touch.

For example, if you read that certain videos by an artist “cast a hitherto unexampled light on the conventional North American city”,  what would you expect to see?  Would you expect to see a video shot from a helicopter as it circled a city at night?  A video that looks familiar to anyone who has flown over a city after dark.   That’s what you get with Aude Moreau’s ‘The End in the Background of Hollywood 2015’ now showing at The Power Plant gallery.   I don’t have a photo of it but I do have a picture of three of her other photographs also on display.

below: From left to right (discounting the small picture farthest from the camera): 1. ‘Untitled (Hollywood Sign)’ 2015, 2. ‘LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department)’ 2015.  It’s a picture of a tiny helicopter in a large grey sky.  and 3. ‘Waiting for Landing’, airplanes lined up as they approach LAX airport.   Unfortunately, the words on the wall then go on to say, about these three images, “These demonstrate visual strategies that act upon the symbolic representation of the city and the spectacular dimension of the film industry.”  Oh my.

4 pictures hanging in a contemporary art gallery. One is a picture of the Hollywood sign taken just after dark, the next is a grey sky with a tiny dot of a helicopter in the middle, the third is too far away to discern, and the last is a picture of Los Angeles at night taken from a helicopter

And with that I left The Power Plant gallery.  Growling silently to myself and shaking my head with a mix of disdain and and frustration.   Imagine my surprise when once outside I encountered another of Moreau’s photographs.  A very lovely one.

below:  A picture of the Toronto skyline by Aude Moreau mounted on an exterior wall at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.  A picture with visual impact.

A photograph by Aude Moreau of the Toronto skyline as the sun starts to set, sunlight reflected off the buildings, darkening blue sky. The picture is mounted on an exterior wall and there is a tree in front of it as well as a couple of picnic tables

below:   You can play “spot the building” and test your knowledge of Toronto geography.   You can line up the DBRS building, the Hilton Hotel and the Canada Life building on University Avenue along with the Sheraton Hotel on Queen street.   The blue addition on the AGO is farther north on Dundas.  Can you think of where the photo was taken?  Apparently, it was taken from Toronto Fire Station 315 at College Street and Bellevue Avenue.  It was taken just after sunset but when there was still enough light in the sky to reflect off the taller buildings.   Moreau makes the city sparkle.

A photograph by Aude Moreau of the Toronto skyline as the sun starts to set, sunlight reflected off the buildings, darkening blue sky. The picture is mounted on an exterior wall and there is a tree in front of it

I must have seen this picture very shortly after it was installed.  It is part of the CONTACT photography festival that starts this weekend but there was no accompanying sign, no words that attempted to a explain the image.  Perhaps that was for the best.  In fact, I now have the CONTACT catalogue with their description of the artwork but I think I won’t read them.  I’d rather enjoy the picture just the way it is.