Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’

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

Posted: April 29, 2016 in galleries, public art
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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.

textiles and curios

Posted: April 26, 2016 in stores
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First, a big thank you for being welcomed into Gadabout to explore and take pictures.  Gadabout is a store on Queen St East and it is home to “vintage clothing, nostalgia, ephemera, textiles and curios.”  It is packed full of old things.  Interesting things.

Exterior of the Gadabout store on Queen St East showing the window display and entrance. The window is full of things for sale and there are also a few things sitting outside the store that are also for sale - old glamour magazine, old men's skates, a teddy bear, a crocheted coat,

below: And when I say packed, I mean it!  Floor to ceiling.

Against a wall in Gadabout store, shelves with small cubbyholes all filled with small items, curios, b=vintage, treasures, such as old producs, toys, figurines, household items,

below: Who could resist a watering can purse?  In pink even.

a pink purse in the shape of a watering can hangs from a hook on a wall. A pair of beige gloves hangs below it. Folded fabric items are on the shelves beside the bag and gloves. Blankets or sweaters.

A small doll with a very lifelike face is looking towards a shelf filled with small ceramic and porcelain items such as vases and figurines

below: Containers and packaging for Mennen baby powder, 40 cents for J.R. for Athlete’s Foot, Silvo silver polish, a tire repair kit, 6-12 insect repellent, and wintergreen oil.  The latter is used topically to relieve muscle aches and pains.  It’s labelled as a poison as it is easy to overdose on it if ingested.

A small section of shelf in a store selling vintage items, on this shelf are old drug store and household products such as wintergreen oil, silvo silver polish, baby powder, athletes foot treatment,

below: Knights Templar black bicorne hat with feather along with matching cuff.

An old black military hat with a white feather in it sits on a head mannequin. Beside it is another mannequin wearing a tartan kilt and a white shirt. The shirt has a brownish leather cuff with a red cross on it.

below: All those drawers are filled with old photographs.

old wooden drawers filled with old photographs, a mirror, and an old chair with a vinyl watermelon print fabric on it.

old photograph of a man in uniform, a front page of the Daily Mirror newspaper, more drawers, all in a store filled with vintage items.

below: Vintage clothing

sleeves of colourful shirts and blouses hanging on a rack. Orange polka dots, red poppies, wild prints, all vintage clothing

a teddybear sites in a can with a painting of flowers on it. An old Glamour magazine with a yellow cover
Old pins (buttons) in the foreground with beaded necklaces in the background.

below:  Fancy handbags and shoes.

items in a vintage store on Queen St East in Toronto, on the wall there are some small handbags, as well as some high heeled shoes. Some of the bags are beaded and one is a shiny gold colour.

Gadabout website

Sackville Street murals

Posted: April 6, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Sackville Street, just south of Dundas, is right in the midst of the Regent Park renewal project.  It is also the site of two murals.  First, there is bright and colourful mural which is painted on the side of a new apartment building.

mural painted by Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky in Regent park Toronto, showing a brightly coloured woman;s face, with a flower in her hair and her body (from the shoulders up) made of buildings in a jumble as well as a blue owl (large bird) in flight, passing in front of the sun that is represented by circles of orange and red radiating out from the bright yellow center. A green hand is reaching up towards the sun

A man with a dog an a leash is walking by a mural of a brightly coloured woman;s face, with a flower in her hair and her body (from the shoulders up) made of buildings in a jumble. Painted by Shalak Attack in Regent Park

close up of a mural by Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky of a blue owl (large bird) in flight, passing in front of the sun that is represented by circles of orange and red radiating out from the bright yellow center. A green hand is reaching up towards the sun

The other mural is a painting by elicser on hoardings around a building under construction.

a long mural by elicser painted on hoardings around a building under construction. People flying past in the mural

below: With the ubiquitous Timmie’s cup on the ground.

the end of a mural, a man is sideways, arm above his head, painted on a mural, a large orange concrete block is in front of the wall, an empty Tim Hortons cup (Timmies cup) is on the ground.
part of a mural of flying people by elicser, a woman in a light purple dress and head scarf as well s a boy in beige Tshirt and blue shorts

Two people painted flying sideways on a mural, a brown man with no shirt on and a much smaller person below him with a yellow T-shirt. An orange concrete block is on the sidewalk in front of the mural along with an orange and white traffic cone

people flying sideways on a mural by elicser, including a girl in a pink dress

people flying sideways on a mural by elicser, including a woman in a blue dress and a man with a red hat.

flying people mural by elicser

the words Regent Park are written in pink paint on a light blue background, painted on wooden hoardings around a construction site.

P.K., a newcomer to the alley?

Posted: April 2, 2016 in graffiti and street art
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I took a short walk through the graffiti alleys behind Queen St. West yesterday.  I found four new face/skull paintings by artist P.K. (which is short for?) all close together on Rush Lane, and all near 530 Richmond St. West.

alley laneway streetart by artist PK of a stylized face, or could be a skull - intricate black line drawing of skull and facial features on teal background

alley laneway streetart by artist PK of a stylized face, or could be a skull - black outlines of top of skull, eyes, nose holes, and sort of teeth, on red background

below: A turtlecaps paste-up from last year is still on the wall.

alley laneway streetart by artist PK of a stylized face, or could be a skull - black spray paint outlines of features on multicoloured background - on a brick wall between two windows, small turtlecaps paste up also in the picture

alley laneway streetart by artist PK of a stylized face, or could be a skull - red and yellow drippy blobs on a black background

a community of wardrobes

Posted: April 1, 2016 in galleries
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Wisdom of the Poor: Communal Courtyard,
an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong,
Art Gallery of Ontario

This installation is made from parts of 100 old wardrobes collected from traditional Beijing neighbourhoods, or hutongs, like the one in which Song Dong grew up in.  These neighbourhoods, and their communal way of life, are disappearing.

 

 

part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections
The pieces of the wardrobes are arranged with the backside towards the viewer.  The arrangement is such that you can not see the front side of most of the wardrobes.

part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections
There are two circles of wardrobes that you can enter – where you can now stand in the courtyard so to speak.   The wardrobes become stand-ins for the fronts of houses that once faced onto courtyards in the old hutongs of Beijing.

part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections of a foot in one of the mirrors
A wardrobe was one of the items that the Chinese government provide to all families.  They are all similar yet different.  All have mirrors.  Most are made of the same colour wood and most have green curtains.  They all have little legs and they are all about the same height.
part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections
Wardrobes are personal articles and former owners have left their marks on many of them…. a different fabric in the window or a picture glued onto the wood.
part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections, door handles, key holes and a curtain that is a blue and white plaid and has musical notes on it.

part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections, wardrobes arranged in a curved shape
part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections

This installation also appeared in the Venice biennale in 2011 although the wardrobes were arranged differently.  For the exhibit at the AGO, there are a number of items that appear within the ‘courtyards’ created by the wardrobes.  For the viewer, these items can only be viewed through the windows of the wardrobes.  One of the items, below, is a series of three paintings of the Canadian ballerina Karen Kain.

part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections. through one of the windows there is a painting of Karen Kain on the wall

In another, bikes

part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections, through two of the windows there is a bike

part of an art installation by Chinese artist Song Dong using vintage wooden wardrobe doors with mirrors and curtains, reflections, door knobs and frosted glass and a white curtain

This installation remains at the AGO until 17 July 2016

Rob Ford, funeral procession

Posted: March 30, 2016 in events, people
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Rob Ford 
City councillor and former Mayor of Toronto
May 1969 – March 2016,
Funeral procession from City Hall to St. James Cathedral, 30 March

 below: For two days Rob Ford lay in repose at City Hall where people could pay their respects.  And many did.  Yesterday, the line up wound around the corner of City Hall as people waited their turn.  Some people loved him; some people hated him.  Possibly there were those who were indifferent.

The corner of Toronto City Hall with a long line up of people waiting to get inside.

This morning there was a short procession from City Hall to the noontime funeral at St. James Cathedral.

below: After arriving at City Hall, Doug Ford greets the crowd.

Doug Ford walks from a black limo to a crowd of people standing behind barricades in front of City Hall. They have their arms outstretched towards Ford, ready for a handshake and greeting.

Although the procession was scheduled to begin at 10:30, it didn’t start until close to 11:30.  A group of people waited at Nathan Phillips Square including some of Rob Ford’s supporters.  I overheard a conversation between two men who were discussing what they thought of politics and politicians, most of it negative.  At one point they declared that all career politicians should be kicked out of office.  I thought to myself, you mean guys like Rob Ford?  Wasn’t he a career politician?

A middle aged man holds a banner that reads Ford Mayor over his head, beside him is a woman also holding a Ford Mayor sign. On the back of her jacket are a number of stickers in support of Ford
A man walks up the concrete ramp at City Hall, beside him on the wall is written in chalk, Heavenbound. Thankyou. May God bless your family.
Two people in front of the Archer sculpture at Nathan Phillips Square, a man and a woman. The mans back is turned towards the camera. He is wearing a black jacket with the words 'Home is Toronto' in white letters.
About 20 or so people were holding a large flag made of a couple of  Canadian flags and all the provincial flags stitched together.   It was a very diverse group of people, diverse in age as well as in ethnic background.   They were joking about whether or not they were going to be on the front page of the ‘Sun’.   We shall see!

A large flag made up of the Canadian flag and the provincial flags all joined together, held around the edges by many people, view from under the flag, showing many legs and feet, and more of the crowd in the background.

A lone cameraman stands on the upper level at City Hall outside, taking pictures of the people below.

below: A woman finds a quiet place to sit and wait.

An older woman sits on a bench inside a TTC bus shelter. A fire truck is behind her.
below: The police were in position, ready to start, long before the procession began.  So was the media and it was a very large media presence indeed.

A young man holds a camera and microphone, aimed at the start of a parade.
below: The Toronto Fire Department had a large Canadian flag on display at Queen and Bay streets, near the beginning of the procession route.

A very large Canadian flag hangs from the cranes of two fire trucks at the corner of Queen and Bay streets in downtown Toronto

A fireman holds a rope that is attached to the corner of a very large Canadian flag. A firetruck is behind him

Three people stand on the sidewalk in front Hudsons Bay store windows. A man with a hard hat, a man with hands in his pockets, and a woman in long black coat. A couple of bikes are parked there too. The theme of the store windows is Inspired.

A funeral procession for Rob Ford passes along Queen Street on its way to St. James cathedral, photographers are in front, a police guard is walking beside it.

ceremonial firemen marching in a funeral procession in front of Hudsons Bay store in Toronto

a small group of people wait on the sidewalk, watching down the street, one man with a camera in hand.

a woman holding a ford nation sign above her head walks in a procession across King street

A funeral procession for Rob Ford passes along Queen Street on its way to St. James cathedral, photographers are in front, a police guard is walking beside it.

People walking in a procession including a man holding a Rob Ford mask

a small group of people wait on the sidewalk, watching down the street, one woman with a camera in hand.

A woman in hoodie and sunglasses holds two small Ford Nation flags as well as a bobble head doll of Rob Ford as she walks in his funeral procession down Yonge Street

An older woman waves a little Ford Nation flag while the man behind her has used Ford Nation signs in lieu of a scarf. He is wearing reflective sunglasses too.

A black man with beard and moustache turns to look back, three young men in work clothes stand against the storefront beside and behind him.

below: Trying to keep the people, most with cameras, off the streets.

A police man in a yellow jacket and on a bike is trying to get the crowd to stand back as he rides beside a hearse with police guard as it drives down the street.

below: This guy may have been filming the crowd (and me) but he didn’t look away from his phone.

A man and a woman are each holding the side of a Ford Nation banner as they walk with a group of people in the procession to Rob Ford's funeral

a woman wearing sunglasses and holding two things, a photo of Rob Ford, and a small Ford Nation flag

below: The crowd in front of St. James cathedral

The hearse carrying Rob Ford's body arrives at St. james cathedral and the casket is taken out and carried into the church with police honour guard

a woman holds a framed photo of a selfie of her and Rob Ford

An older man sits on a bench in front of St. James cathedral while other people stand around, watching the procession for Rob Ford's funeral

A man with two little white dogs on a leash stands in front of St. James cathedral along with a crowd of people there for Rob Ford's funeral

people behind a barricade, with a policeman in front. One of the people carries a sign that reads Peoples Mayor

a young person sits on the grass, resting against a tree while other people stand around

From King St., the view of St. James cathedral front doors, lots of people and police in yellow jackets in the picture as well as a man walking his bike

As I was walking away from the cathedral, a woman approached me.
She pointed towards the church asked me if I knew what was going on there.

added later:  I was going to discard this photo but then I noticed the man in the mask.
Who wears a mask to a funeral procession?

a man in a black and white mask stands behind some women waving ford nation flags.

mosaic people

Posted: November 20, 2015 in public art
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The other day I came across an interesting mosaic of which the picture below is just one part.  There is a plaque beside it which says “Seen at a disance the mosaic reveals a crowd of people sheering and clapping, people of all backgrounds, which is the unique mix of Toronto.  Up close, the images dissolve into abstract patterns of colour and light.”.

close up of a mural made of mosaic pieces, people seated in an arena is the subject of the mural

The mural is called ‘A Small Piece of Something Larger’ and it was designed by Stephen Andrews and fabricated in Montreal by Mosaika Art.  It is made of smalti (hand cut mosaic glass), gold tiles and hand glazed ceramic tiles.

close up of a mosaic by Stephen Andrews with his signature on it.

I’d love to show you a picture of the whole thing but I can’t.  The piece is located in the taxi drop off and valet parking area of the Trump International Hotel.   I dodged cars while I took these photos.   The wall that it is on looks cheap, especially with the dreary doorway that cuts into the mosaic.  Another strike against this piece is the very yellow nature of the lighting in this space. I played with the colour balance on the photo below to try to capture the true colour of the artwork.

mosiac art on a wall with a doorway in the middle of it

It really deserves a better location.

parking entrance and valet parking at Trump International Hotel in Toronto. A blue taxi has just pulled in, a yellowish hue in the interior of the space
The above picture was taken from the NE corner of Bay and Adelaide.
Just a few steps west on Adelaide is this mosiac (look up!):

Five vertical panels of mosaics above the entrance of a downtown building, much taller buildings are on either side of it and behind it. Bell Canada building on Adelaide West, mosaics by York Wilson, communication theme public art

It is above the entrance to the Bell Canada Building at 76 Adelaide West.  Five panels, each twenty feet tall and five feet high, of glass mosaic tile are embedded in the cement of the building.  It was designed by York Wilson and installed in 1965 when the building was constructed.

The theme of the piece is communication and each panel represents a different form of communication.   From left to right: writing, drawing, music, voice, and satellites.

five vertical panels of mosaic in bright colours on an exterior wall

Staying on Adelaide, walk east again but continue to Yonge Street.  Here you can find another hidden, almost secret, mosaic that many people have walked past and never seen.  Find the silly little entrance way to what is called the Dynamic Funds Tower on the SE corner of Yonge and Adelaide.  Stand outside the entrance but don’t go in.  Now look up.

glass mosaic ceiling that is almost circular, octagonal but the sides are not equal width.

Three very different mosaics all within a few steps of each other.

….and there’s one last stop on our mosaic tour.  It’s not a mosaic but looking at Stephen Andrews’ work at the Trump Hotel reminded me of a sculpture.  If you walk down Yonge Street, just south of the railway tracks you’ll find a bronze ‘Immigrant Family’ by Tom Otterness.

Immigrant Family, a sculpture by Tom Otterness, a father mother and baby in arms.
A roly poly mother, father and baby in arms.  A bit cartoonish but vague enough that they represent no one immigrant group.  They could be any piece in the mosaic that is Toronto.

close up of a sculpture by Tom Otterness of a family of three, mother, father and baby in arms. Father is carrying a suitcase. Title of sculpture is Immigrant Family

With a shoutout to Penny at Walking Woman since it was because of her blog post that I learned about the Otterness sculpture.

Other links:

 

elegiac contemplation of the quotidian

Posted: November 10, 2015 in galleries
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Invention, an installation at The Power Plant gallery, by Mark Lewis.

The main part of the exhibit consists of 3 short films shot in Toronto.
When I first saw it, I thought that the films were older, perhaps from the 60s or 70s.

below:  A short film begins with a pan over part of downtown Toronto.  It circles back to the Robarts Library and focuses on a woman standing in the window of one of the upper floors.  After zooming in on the woman, the film “enters” the room she’s in and turns back to focus on what her view out the window looks like.

Two women are standing in the semi darkness in a room in an art gallery, watching a black and white film that is showing on a large screen in front of them. The image on the screen is the back of the upper part of a woman as she stands in front of a window in the Robarts Library in Toronto. The scene outside the window is clearly visible, winter time, University of Torotno campus. She is holding a book in her hands.

below:  Another exhibit is a film comprised of segments filmed at a number of locations around City Hall this past winter.   The image below is shot from the upper ramp at Nathan Phillips Square, looking south.   Old City hall is on the left.   There are no people in the picture.  There are also no commercial images such as billboards or signs on the buildings.  Slow moving, quiet.

An older couple are sitting on a bench at an art gallery. They are watching a black and white film that is showing on a large screen in front of them. The image on the screen is a shot of the upper ramp at Nathan Phillips Square, looking south, in the winter with snow on the ground. There are no people in the picture on the screen.

It wasn’t until I looked more closely at the images that I realized that the films had to have been made recently… for example, the recently built stage area in Nathan Phillips Square.  So I watched the films again looking for details.

One of the images shown in an art installation on a large wall screen, a black and white picture overlooking Nathan Phillips Square in the winter.

A little perplexed, I tried to find out why Lewis made these films, and why they were considered to be “art”. It wasn’t easy; it was probably made more difficult by my love/hate relationship with contemporary art.  The title of this post comes from a paragraph I found on The Power Plant website description of this installation: “Together, the elements that make up Mark Lewis’ films culminate in a body of work that is as astute as it is elegiac in its contemplation of the quotidian, offering an experience of the flux of time that is as elating in its duration as it is haunting for its sense of passing.”  Well, um, okay.

It also wasn’t easy because of the scope of the questions that Lewis seems to be tackling.  One of his interest lies in discovering what it might have felt like when film revolutionized they way we looked at ourselves and at the world around us.   That’s a tough one.  We are a society that is immersed in moving images of all kinds. Movies and TV have been part of our lives for many generations.  Can anyone truly imagine what it might have been like to see a film for the first time?

As we all know, digital technology has put video production into the hands of anyone with a cellphone.   Even my three year old granddaughter asks me to make videos of her and I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s producing them.  And that leads to another question that Lewis is interested in examining – what are the implications of these technological changes?  Not only can see video, we can be in control of making our own whenever we want.

But that’s not all.  Lewis is also interested in architectural surfaces so walls, windows, pavements and reflective glass amongst others play a role in his films.   Urban architecture; urban landscapes.  Cinema made of the ordinary everyday life of living in the city and everyday life in the city is cinema.  24/7 movie making.  You are part of the cast; you are the camera.

What I have presented here are just three pictures and I’m not sure the pictures do the films justice.   If you want to see these films, they are at The Power Plant gallery until 3 Jan 2016.

#PPInvention

dia de muertos

Posted: November 9, 2015 in events, people
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Dia de Muertos, Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday where and friends come together to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.  It occurs at the end of October (31 Oct to 2 Nov).  Here in Toronto there was a Day of the Dead festival at Harbourfront this past weekend.

fabric hanging on a wall. There is a picture on the fabric of a woman's face painted white to look like a skull but with pink around the eys. Many orange roses surround her face

One of the traditions of Dia de Muertos is the making of ofrendas which are altars dedicated to the deceased person.  Jose Clemente Orozco was a Mexican painter (1883-1949).  He specialized in painting murals in frescoes and his work can be seen in Mexico and in the USA.

elaborate and colourful ofrenda with purple, blue and pink paper cut outs on the wall behind.
Another altar that was on display was one made by artist Alberto Cruz in honour of Pablo Picasso.

An ofrenda, or altar, in the memory of Pablo Picasso at a day of the dead festival. There is a photo of him surrounded by different objects and symbols representing his life and things that he did

The Casa Cultura Mexicana made an ofrenda to honour the Prehispanic indigenous people and warriors of Mexico.
The bottom part consisted of pictures made with coloured rice.

pictures made of coloured rice on an ofrenda dedicated to the indigenous people of Mexico

Food items such as rice, beans, and corns were an important part of the ofrenda.

a face shape made of dried beans and corn. red beans make a circle around the face, black beans make 6 rays coming out from the circle. The face is corn with bean features.

Ofrendas are decorated with sugar skulls and marigolds (or yellow and orange paper flowers) as well as candles, photos, momentos from the person’s life, and things that symbolize something about that person.  Sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical.

an ofrenda with a picture of a woman in a frame sitting on a table. One each side of her is an elaborately decorated skull. One of the skulls is wearing sunglasses and a wreath of yellow and orange flowers around the top of its head.

What would your friends and family put on an ofrenda in your memory?

objects on an ofrenda at a day of the dead celebration, decorated skulls, a small skeleton, some old photos of people, flowers, fruit,

There was also clay available if you wanted to make a small skull or other symbol for the occasion.

close up picture of a man putting details on a small clay skull with a toothpick

Two girls with day of the dead face paint on are making clay skulls. A young boy is also at the table making a skull, his mother is helping him.

A young man carefully adds tiny clay roses to a clay skull that he has made.

A small figurine made of a clay of a skeleton wearing a sombraro and playing a guitar is in the foreground, kids making clay skulls at a table are in the background.

skull painted white and then decorated with black, green, red and white

Rest in Peace.

ofrenda, altar, day of the dead celebration, woman's picture along with Virgin Mary candles and other pink cnadles, lots of orange flowers too

walking down McCaul Street

Posted: October 21, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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This post is the result of a search for street art while walking south of OCADU on McCaul Street past Grange Road and Stephanie Street on the way to Queen St West.

below: Part of a painting by Uber5000 on the ramp to Above Ground Art Supplies, OCADU on McCaul at Grange.

part of a mural by Uber5000 with birdie in paiter's beret holding a paint palette and painting a portrait of another bird who is posing on a table beside him.

below: On the SW corner of Grange and McCaul is this woman.  The building is 60 McCaul St., the Brinks Express Company of Canada building.

A picture of a woman in profile, with one knee raised, wearing a yellow and white striped top, picture on a wall. An older woman is walking on the sidewalk, approaching the camera.

below: On the south wall of the Brinks building is a mural.  It was painted in 2014 by Julia Dickens, Tara Dorey, Alexandra Mackenzie, Lido Pimienta, Peter Rahul and Diana Vander Meulen.
UPDATE: As of 4th Nov 2015 the lower right part of this mural has been tagged over unfortunately.

mural on the side of low building, beside w parking lot with one white car parked there.

below:  This building has a City of Toronto Development Proposal sign on it.  This sign says: “40-60 McCaul Street and 10 Stephanie Street.  An application has been filed to amend the Zoning By-law to permit a 14 storey residential building with 184 units and a below grade parking garage as well as a 3 storey building proposed to a private art gallery.  Statutory Public Meeting:  Information will be posted once meeting is scheduled.”

corner of a red brick building with a mural on one side and a standard city of Toronto black and white development proposal sign on the other.

below: The next building south on McCaul Street is 52 McCaul.  Dasic Fernandez and Uber5000 contributed this street art to the northwest corner of the building.   It is across the parking lot from the mural pictured above.

street art piece of a woman's face with eyes closed and a vague shape of a heart behind her, done in purples and yellows, by Dasic Fernandez, on the side of brick building, with a pay machine for a parking lot in front of it. Just above her is an UBER5000 birdie with a ghetto blaster

yellowish brown brick wall with a wheatpaste of a girl with long hair and eyes closed. Above her is a paper lace doillie in a heart shape. Part of a grey metal door is also in the picture

below: On the back of 52 McCaul (west side) is:

street art on the back of brick building. A male face is above an old door and an arm on either side of the door.

close up a street art face on a wall

wheatpaste of a girl holdinging something, with poppies behind her, on a brick wall, with decorative metal grilles on either side of her

below: There is a large mural on the south side of 52 McCaul.  It was painted by Francisco Rodrigues da Silva, a Brazilian street artist who goes by the name Nunca, in 2009 as part of that year’s Manifesto Festival.

large mural on an exterior wall beside a parking lot. A man is swimming away from hands holding booze and dice and towards hands holding flowers. There are a few fish in the water with him. Painted by street artist Nunca on a bulding on McCaul Street in Toronto

close up of bottom left of a mural showing 7 hands of different shades of brown and beige. One is holding a pair of dice (two sixes), one is holding a green bottle, presumably with alcohol in it, the other fingers are pointing to the right, towards the main part of the mural.

street art mural, close up of part of it, showing a man swimming in wavy water, he has short black hair, a shiny round ear ring, and his tongue is sticking out. his arms are at his side.

two big round grey fish with open mouths and big yellow eyes, part of a larger mural

part of a mural by Nunca, four hands of differing shades of brown and beige are pointing or holding a large orange flower

below:  A few little things spotted along the way.

on a rusty metal pole beside a brick wall, close up of a flower in a flower pot line drawing in white on brown paper with the word moter in white above it with an arrow pointing to the flower

street signs covered with stickers and slaps in front of OCAD University

More info on the two large murals pictured above.

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