Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’

animals and birdo birds in Roncey

Posted: March 18, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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On Queen St. West, just before it meets Roncesvalles Ave., is the Corona Restaurant and Nightclub.  Along the wall of this building are a number of pieces of street art.   Only a small section is visible from the street.

Two pieces of street art along the upper floor of a brick building. In front, closest to the street is a young woman's head. The other is a colourful stylized bird by the street artist Birdo. The words "Birdo Wales" are written in white letter between the two pieces. The Corona Restaurant with a yellow awning is on the right and James Dys Antiques and Collectibles is on the left. is on the left.

Close up of Two pieces of street art along the upper floor of a brick building. In front, closest to the street is a young woman's head. The other is a colourful stylized bird by the street artist Birdo. The words "Birdo Wales" are written in white letter between the two pieces.

If you follow the alley that runs behind Queen St., you will find more street art alongside the same building.

Destination Mammals Cabana mural,
The back part is a mural entitled ‘Destination Mammal Cabana’ by Birdo, Spudbomb and SKE1.  It was painted in 2012.

Destination Mammals Cabana mural,

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, middle part, large baboon wearing a party hat, a giraffe, a crazy looking zebra and a green turtle, street art on a wall.

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, purple ostrich, screaming baboon and a giraffe,

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, hairy creature with mouth wide open and wearing suglasses and a rhino by a beach umbrella, street art, graffiti,

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, upright yellow tiger, antelope wearing yellow and green stripe beach wear and some other hairy creature with sunglasses on.

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On the north wall of the same building…..

metal stairs to a small landing outside a door on the second storey of a concrete brick building. The walls of the bottom floor are covered with graffiti. Immediately behind the stairs is a large blue letter Z.

If you look closely at the above picture, on the right hand side metal pole supporting the landing, is a sticker.  Below, that sticker up close.

A small yellow bird on a small sticker. It is an Uber 5000 bird, wearing glasses and holding a red book. He's on a metal pole.
three murals on alley walls

mural by birdo, red background, a man's head and an creature with an animal face and a body that looks like a blue checked sweater

a mural by birdo, a small black and grey bird that is holding a geometric shape in blue and white diamond shaped sections.

Looking west along the alley towards Roncesvalles Ave.

looking west along an alley in late winter. Street art on the walls on the left, garage doors on the right. Buildings on Roncesvalles can be seen at the end of the alley which is about a block long.

but if you walk slightly west, away from Roncesvalles, you will encounter two more pieces by Birdo.  The ‘Dreamer’ is on the same building as the Destination Mammal Cabana that is pictured above.

A street art piece painted in a small stairwell, down from alley level. The door way is the head of a woman and her arms extend over part of the stairwell walls. She is dressed in red and blue including a birdo hat.

A birdo mural on a dirty light grey wall of a stylized bird and the word "dreamer" written in large black letters.

the Great Wall of Chinatown

Posted: March 18, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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In an alley to the southeast of Huron St. and  Dundas West is a mural of the Great Wall of China.  It is 147 feet long (almost 45 m) and 12 feet high.

large mural of the great wall of China in an alley, wide angle view with two people walking in front of it

part of large mural of the great wall of China in an alley with a telephone pole in front of it.

part large mural of the great wall of China in an alley, the street end of the alley with part of the mural, the back door of a shop on the other side of the alley is also in view

part of large mural of the great wall of China in an alley, painting of a few people walking towards a building on the great wall

the signature part of a mural, Chinatown BIA, Chinese lettering and the names of the artists.

Chinatown BIA.
Mural painted by Blinc Studios artists: Allan Bender, John Nobrega, Rick Sauve,  Brian Broders, Jesse McQuaig and Ming Lau.
Painted in the summer of 2013.

Irish for a day

Posted: March 16, 2015 in events, people
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St. Patricks Day, 17th March

Watching people watching the parade in downtown Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

A couple watching a St. Patricks Day parade. He is wearing big shamrock shaped glasses. They are both wearing green hats. He is waving to the camera.

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A woman walking a dog that is all dressed in frilly green. It's also wearing a hat that says "Kiss me I'm Irish".

A heavyset man wearing long green robe and carrying a plastic snake. He is supposed to be St. patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who drove the snakes out of Ireland many centuries ago.

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A man dressed in green, green pants, green shirt, big green bowtie, green shunglasses, and a big green hat, and he's wearing a shamrock around his neck.

A group of Irish setters with green bandanas around their necks. They are part of the parade. One of them is being hugged by a girl spectator along the edge of the parade route.

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Regent Park hoardings

Posted: March 13, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
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Located at the northwest corner of Regent Park Blvd and St. David St.,
(which is south of Dundas East and east of Sackville)
painted on the wood hoardings around a construction site.

 This wall was painted as part of The Patch Project
PATCH = “Public Art Through Construction Hoarding”

Unfortunately, one photo that is missing is one of the section of the wall that is a large section that says “Conquer Adversity with Diversity”, the title of this work.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Scenes of people and faces, kids on bikes, activities. The word Welcome is written in red cursive. Two apartment buildings are in thebackground.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. The words Regent Park are written in large blue & purple cursive writing. An entrance to the construction site is between the two words.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. A woman's head and three men's faces in profile. They are all under the same pink head covering.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. A large woman in head scarf with her eyes closed, people on bikes riding on a path

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site.Young man in blue baseball cap

graffiti people. One of whom has there hands over their mouth.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Six stylized hands in a row, on blue background. Highrise apartment building is in the background.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Large blue boy's face with a large bird taking flight beside him

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Street art of six stylized hands on a blue background.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Two men punching, one is punching while the other stands beside him with fists clenched

Street art painting of two guys on a wall around a construction site. There are words in the picture. The first word ends with e n c h I think. The other words are Generation Rising Still

More information on The Patch Project

winter trees

Posted: March 10, 2015 in general Toronto, nature
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Bare branches, snow, and sometimes blue sky –
things that usually only come together in winter.

Views that are hidden behind summer leaves are revealed in winter’s barrenness.

A very large tree in winter in front of three semi detached two stroey houses on the beach.

A street scene - row houses, some red brick and some painted in green, with two very tall trees in front of them.

Trees take on a different character when they have no leaves

An interesting shaped tree with many large branches in a snow covered alley with garages along both sides of the alley.

and they cast a different shadow.

The lower part of a tree, mostly the tree trunk, beside a pale grey fence, in the snow. The shadow on the fence shows a lot of the upper tree branches as well.

Toronto is a city of trees.  They are everywhere, and a surprising number of them are large, mature trees. 

A large tree with bare branches in front of row houses from the 19602 or 1970s. red brick with contrasting white siding, black mansard roofs. Don Mills.

An alley with a wood fence on the right and a brick building on the left. A car is parked at the end and just beyond the car is a large tree. Winter time. snow.

A view from a snow covered park. Two large trees, the one farther away is a birch tree. A black metal fence is between the park and the sidewalk. Single family houses are across the street from the park but there are large apartment buildings in the distance.

Regent park housing slated for demolition, in the snow with trees,

A tree in front of an old brick house.

When we think of trees we usually think of shade on a hot day, or maybe the joy that spring buds bring, or maybe the rustle of fallen leaves in the autumn.   The winter tree is often overlooked but they too add to the character of this city. 

A large gold sparkly treble clef hangs from a tree branch. A decoration in winter.

watching it come down

Posted: March 9, 2015 in history, locations
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Along with many other people, I have been watching the demolition on the southeast corner of Dundas & Sumach streets, part of the Regent Park redevelopment.  This 14 storey apartment building was designed by Peter Dickinson; it was built in the late 1950s.

 

January 31st, 2015

I first saw this building being demolished on a grey day at the end of January.
I’m not sure when the demolition actually started.

A large 14 storey brick clad apartment building in the initial stages of being demolished.

Looking north up Sumach Street.

 

View of the interior of some of the apartments that were exposed when the exterior brick was removed. Some of the rooms are painted in bright colours, purples, pinks and greens.

The colours of past lives.

 

 3 February

A workman dressed in orange coveralls works on the street in front of a building being demolished

It would have been a cold job, working outside during the coldest February on record.

 

Part of a 14 stprey apartment building that is being demolished. The exterior walls have been removed and some of the interior walls are buckling.

In the midst of demolition.

 

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10 February

Two very large cranes are being used to demolish a large apartment building on the corner of Dundas and Sumach streets. Some men in bright yellow vests are directing traffic as some of the debris is falling towards Sumach street.

Looking across the intersection of Dundas and Sumach.

 

A purple and yellow sign against a metal fence that says Regent Park Revitalization Phase 3 has started. Demolition of an apartment in the background.

A view from the south.

 

Hydraulic crane and truck and other machinery used in the demolition of the building.

Looking west from River Street.

 

Vacant lot in the forground with demolition of a building in the middle. In the background are the new buildings that have been built in that area

Another view from River Street.

 

12 February

Two large cranes are demolishing an apartment building.

 

17 February

A lot of rubble, concrete, metal and brick, from the demolition of a building lies in front of the partially demolished building.

Looking into the remains of a partially demolished building. The pipes that used to run between the walls vertically are now exposed.

 

23 February

Machinery is being used to sift through the debris and rubble from a building demolition

27 February

A man is taking a picture of a demolition in progress of an apartment building.

There were always a number of people taking pictures whenever I was there.

 

As part of the upper stories of an apartment are brought down, a cloud of dust forms as the debris hits the ground.

dust storm in the sunlight

 

28 February

vacant lot, truck, and remains of a building being demolished

… after 5 weeks, 6 March

A large hole in the ground where a building once stood, vacant land is around it. A street of houses in the distance, machinery to one side.

Just another hole in the ground.

Hendon palms

Posted: March 6, 2015 in locations, public art
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The other day I was driving near Yonge and Finch when I made a wrong turn.  I found myself driving on some streets that I don’t think I’ve ever been on before.  Getting lost can have its rewards….
I discovered pink and blue palm trees in Hendon Park!

 

A park in winter with some large trees including a willow tree. Some picnic benches are covered in snow, there are apartment buildings in the background. There are also 5 fake palm trees with tall skinny magenta trucks and bright blue, almost turquoise, palms. Art in the park.

A park in winter with some large trees including a willow tree. Some picnic benches are covered in snow, there are apartment buildings in the background. There are also 5 fake palm trees with tall skinny magenta trucks and bright blue, almost turquoise, palms. Art in the park. Close up photo of the group of palm trees.

no competition

Posted: March 5, 2015 in galleries
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Florence has ‘David’ and Toronto has ???

Three sculptures in a museum. The one on the left is a naked man from mid-thigh to the top of the head, although the arms are only stumps. The middle statue is also a naked man but he is all there. He is composed of pieces of different men all put together. The last sculpture is more abstract and it is hard to see in this photograph

left:  ‘Torso of a Young Man’ c1993 by German artist Gertrud Mohwald.
A collage of earthenware, porcelain and broken pieces of glass amongst other things.

center:  ‘Mith’ 1994 by American artist Doug Jeck.
A “fractured assemblage”.

Gardiner Museum

Chinatown mural

Posted: February 27, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Chinatown Mural
2011 by Alexa Hatanaka and Aaron Li-Hill
Commissioned by the Chinatown BIA & located in an alley near Dundas & Spadina.
The mural is based on scenes from everyday life in Toronto’s Chinatown.

Part of a mural on an alley wall. There are two parts of the mural visible in this photograph. An older man is riding a bicycle in one part and twp people are sharing an umrella and walking away from the viewer in the other part

fish eye lens photo of the mural, taken from the left hand side, older man on bicycle is the closest picture on the mural, next are the two people sharing an umbrella. The remaining parts of the mural are more difficult to discern. There is a car parked in the alley

mural showing three people, a child, the head of a middle aged man with a brimmed hat in profile, and an older man sitting

fish eye pens photo of the whole Chinatown mural

part of the Chinatown mural

Part of the Chinatown mural - an older woman is with a small child

Right end of the Chinatown mural, the end that is closest to Dundas St. The shop that is next to the alley in which the mural is painted can be seen in the photo.

A bike is leaning against a wall of an alley, there is snow on the ground. On the wall is the right hand end of a long mural

gumhead revisited

Posted: February 24, 2015 in locations, public art
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On the 4th of February I posted some photos and information on Douglas Coupland’s ‘Gumhead’.  This is the installation where people are meant to interact with a large head by sticking chewed gum to it.  The plain black head gets transformed into something new (a sticky mess?).  At that point, the head been inside Holts for Men for about two weeks.  One of the photos from early in February is this one:

A large (about 6 foot tall) black head sits in the front of a menswear store. People have been encouraged to add chewed wads of gum to the head. It is about one third covered.

Yesterday, almost three weeks later, I revisited it and this is the photo that I took:

Douglas Coupland's 'Gumhead' inside Holts For Men store in Toronto. It is a very large black sculpture of a man's head to which people have been attaching gobs of chewed gum.

I was expecting to see more gum on the head.  After all, a similar piece in Vancouver was totally covered by the time the exhibit finished.   As I stood there in my winter walking clothes, i.e. not dressed for shopping at Holts, I thought of a few things.

The Vancouver ‘Gumhead’ was outside with easy access to all.

Although this ‘Gumhead’ is visible from the street, it doesn’t invite people to come inside and interact with it.   Unless they have heard about the exhibit, passersby may not realize that they have the option of sticking their own wad of chewed gum on some guy’s big face.  In addition, inside a store is not really a public place.  It would be interesting to know how many people came in off the street to take a closer look at it.  By ‘people’ I mean non-customers with no prior knowledge of ‘Gumhead’.

And anyway,  it’s ugly.  That’s my two cents worth.

You have until March 9th if you want to get yourself to Bloor and Bellair  (near Bloor & Yonge) to participate.  Gum is provided.

 

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