Posts Tagged ‘watching’

there’s always something at Yonge & Dundas!

Posted: May 24, 2023 in locations, people
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TTC streetcars on Dundas at Yonge street

two men talking, one holding a large white banner with blue chinese writing on it. Some English words, Heaven will soon eliminate the CCP, secret china .com and epoch times,

small group watching a street performer at yonge and dundas, one black man is holding a guitar, a woman with a phone, another man putting a coin into a can

four men standing on the sidewalk watching a street performer

sign on Comics Cafe, store now closed, with C in Cafe missing, a picture of superman

a woman in a red jacket stands in the doorway of a double decker tour bus as a man walks past

woman in short shorts and fuzzy brown slippers waits for a bus

man yelling in Japanese, wearing black outfit and a head band with large red dot on it, beside sign that says

people looking at comic books tht are lined up on a cloth on the sidewalk, for sale

man standing on sidewalk with dog on a leash, looking at his phone

a garbageman in orange t shirt and large black bag walks past intersection of Yonge and Dundas, cyclist waiting for the traffic light to change

two young women smiling as they watch street performer

a woman wearing a blue dress and a hat walks past a store window with many reflections

two men talking together, one has a long white beard and white hair

an older black man is sticking his hand in a fountain at Yonge and Dundas

Pride Parade 2022

Posted: June 27, 2022 in events, people
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little colourful plastic windmill attached to mirror of firetruck, also 2 yellow balloons and 1 green balloon

Dancing in the streets.  Pride 2022.

Toronto Pride Parade 2022, start of route, man in long pink gloves posing with woman in hat with flowers on it

people sitting on scaffolding over sidewalk by construction site to watch pride parade, two have rainbow flags

person in costume at pride parade, hair wig made of ribbons, big puffy skirt, ribbons in curls as collar

group cheering and blowing whistles, arms up, getting ready for pride parade, TD canada trust group in green t shirts with rainbows on them

stuffed tiger with rainbow garland around it, on front of a motorcycle

group dancing, choreography, with pink puffs in each hand, practising before the pride parade

group dancing, choreography, with pink puffs in each hand, practising before the pride parade

young girl helping to hold white banner, marching with pride, other hands holding the banner too, toronto pride parade 2022

face painted person, with sparkles on face too, holding a sign with all the colours of the LGBQT flag, with words be proud, born this way

man in grey hair, silver crown, bending over to talk closely to woman in hat covered with multi coloured flowers, start of pride parade

rainbow striped ankle socks, and running shoes with red, yellow, and blue on them, standing on a sidewalk box to get a better look at passing pride parade

young woman tying orange balloons to a pride parade float, NDP float, she's wearing orange too

marilyn munro air kissing, under rainbow umbrella, white dress and gloves and sparkly silver purse

kids playing in bubbles while a man in a yellow t shirt walks past, on a street,

it gets better canada on purple t shirts, holding hands, people, pride parade

placard at pride parade that says protect bipoc queer kids

great dane dog with a group getting ready to walk in pride parade

large letters S and I made of balloons in a pride parade, held by a man in yellow with white hat

3 teenage girls plus another woman standing on side of street watching pride parade, temporary tattoos on their legs,

three young people holding a rainbow type flag over their heads as they watch pride parade

two men in pink at pride parade

two wagons full of trojan condom packages

two people at pride parade, one in rainbow striped shirt and the other in rainbow netting outfit with stickers over nipples, thong underwear under neath

member of skule university of toronto engineering school in pride parade

people with signs at pride parade, pflag group, totally rad mum and dad, labels are for canned soup, love is love

women cheering and taking photos while watching pride parade

some members of triggerfish in their speedo suits, dancing with red fans

plastic fuzzy garlands on front of a fire truck

man with rainbow bandana around head, and scarf on back as well as many bracelets, holding small Canadian flag, dances in the street for pride parade

crowds on scaffolding, many levels up, at Yonge and Bloor

policeman and crowd at pride, lots of bubbles in the air

a boy holding a Canadian rainbow flag, small girl beside him with sunglasses lowered

woman in magenta glasses and cowboy hat laughing with woman with rainbow bandana over her head

getting ready for pride parade, man with gold collar and not much else, woman in red sari, tattoos, drinking from bottle

people up on scaffolding to get above street level to watch pride parade

woman watching pride parade is holding a small dog with a rainbow bandana around its neck

back view of two people hugging, one in a plaid shirt and the other in a rainbow t shirt

Toronto Pride Parade, person with tattoo on upper arm holding an orange sign that says we love trans youth. Tattoo says In a dream you saw a way to survive and you were full of joy

little plastic windmills in different colours with little pride flags as decorations on a float in pride parade

Photos from Dyke March 2022

Immersion in Van Gogh

Posted: September 6, 2020 in events, galleries
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Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit at the old Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge Street.

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - large faces of Van Gogh projected on the wall, from self portrait paintings

Images from paintings by Vincent Van Gogh were projected on all four walls plus the floor of a very large space. The installation includes his work the Mangeurs de pommes de terre (The Potato Eaters, 1885) to the Nuit étoilée (Starry Night, 1889), Les Tournesols (Sunflowers, 1888), and La Chambre à coucher (The Bedroom, 1889).  It was a slow moving video that was about 35 minutes long.

vincent Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit, 4 people, turquoise flowers, 2 men standing, one person sitting on a bench

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - person sitting on floor, taking aphoto with camera, starry starry night

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - a middle aged couple sitting on floor, a baby stroller sitting by the exit

There were circles on the floor in which you had to stand/sit but you could move from circle to circle if there was an empty one.

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - crooked tree with white blossoms on a turquoise background

The most interesting portraits were those of people dressed in white.

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - a woman in a long white dress crouches beside the wall, images project onto her and her dress, pinks and purples

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - a woman stands beside the wall, orange colours all around her including the floor, green images of windows and shutters too

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit

Mirrors were placed around any structures that were in the way.

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - people sitting and standing

Vincent Van Gogh Immersive exhibit - people sitting on the floor with projections of images of inside of house with tables and chairs in orange and yellow tones

Link for more information on the exhibit
which continues at least until the end of October

#VanGoghTO

Kensington never disappoints

Posted: June 11, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations
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murals in Kensington, Mona Lisa with fruit, and Poser bunnies,

Here you will find a few random things that I found the last time I wandered through Kensington, some large and some small, but most new to me including this wonderful dinosaur mural by Nick Sweetman.

on a Kensington wall, a large mural of dinosaur on a black background it's wearing a small gold crown with 3 points,

below: Kids for sale.   Perhaps they mean goats?  Hmmm……

sign in a store window that says kids for sale

below: She needs a better makeup artist.

head of a mannequin with large brim hat, shoulder length blond hair, red sunglasses, lipstick

below: An exhibit: petrified skull and horn of a Shoasaur, approx 1.4 million years old, right?

tacked to a wood fence is an old wood shoe form that someone has turned into an exhibit of a fossilized skull and horn, complete with drawings of the animal that it came from

below: A profane glove

one single glove with a face drawn on it and fuk you written on it, stuck on the top of a wood fence post

below: Pasted, ripped, and painted…. an abstract in the making.

posters on a window that have been partially ripped and streaks of red paint sprayed on them, also white spray paint

below: Soap ghost has some good advice

a small paste up on a green fence that is soap ghost, words say wash your hands

below: Two witches grace a door –  XVIII The Full Moon Witch and XVI The Hell Hath No Fury Witch

two cars stuck into the crack formed between a door and a wall, two witch cards,

below: Urban ninja guy has grown a mustache!

three stickers and paste ups on a metal post, urban ninja warrior on the top, with a black mustache, and a pink and blue bunny face on the bottom

below: Spanish graffiti says “Estamos solas pero nos tenemos todos” which equals “We are alone but we have all (everybody)”.

black and white paste up on a wall, Spansih words that say estamos solas pero nos tenemos todos

below: Weed the bored as a play on We the North.  So many Raptors references around the city these days!

chalk drawing on a sidewalk that says weed the bored

below: A candle to light Death’s way.

painting on a fence of death with his scythe and holding a candle

below: Watching the street, or has that orange cone caught his eye?

mural of a large face with eyes looking outward, looking onto the street where there are people passing by, Kensington storefront

Keep your eyes open!

29 July – another Pedestrian Sunday

Posted: July 30, 2018 in events, people
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People watching at Kensington Pedestrian Sunday

a woman in white sleeveless top and with very red dyed very curly hair, carrying a bottle of ginger beer,

a young black man in black wide brimmed hat sings in front of a microphone, part of a band performing ouside in front of a mural on a wall

below: The Spontaneous Poet, poet 4 hire

woman with green felt hat with floppy brim, smoking a cigarette, sitting at a small table and typing on an old Smith Corona typewriter. She has a sign on the table that says, poet for hite, the spontaneous poet.

older man with white beard and mustache, wearing sunglasses and teal baseball cap, leans on a garbage can while smoking a cigarette

a young black woman with long dreadlocks has a large snake on her forearm, she's smiling. A man with grey grey beard and moustache watches her.

man standing in an alley with street art on one wall, holding a guitar, he has just finished playing and singing, a man is behind him on a bike

balding black man with the Queen of hearts playing card stuck on his head makes a muscle man stance with fists clenched, he's performing magic tricks while people watch him

below: #whatsvictorupto painting the word ‘together’ on the sidewalk.

victor painting on the sidewalk in Kensington. He's wearing a shiny sparkly mask over the top of his head. people are walking past #whatsvictorupto

an older man in tweed jacket and cap with long white beard and mustache, black rim glasses, white plastic bag over one arm, walks down the street

young black man dancing on the street, part of a group, Pedestrian Sunday afternoon at Kensington, people in the background watching

young Asian womanin a straw coloured wide brimmed hat, smiling as she dances, she is holding the brim of her hat with both hands so it doesn't fall off

a male mime, black hamburg hat, lime green shirt, black suspenders and red carnation on the suspenders, beckoning to the crowd, outside, street festival, pedestrian sunday at kensington

a black man dances on the street, slow dance, with an older blond woman,

two women dancing, one with long hair on the top but shaved on the sides, wearing an intricate black necklace, double, one woman in focus in the front, the other slightly out of focus, purple and black sleeveless tops, close up of head and shoulders and one hand with grey fingernails

woman in short velvet close fitting top, large necklace, and holding a white parasol walks down a street in a crowd of people

young girl in Minnie Mouse tshirt and frilly pink skirt, pacifier in mouth, sits on the street beside a bike while she watched a performer, summer afternoon,

black woman with very short hair, round sunglasses and white top, wearing many strands of beads, sitting on a bench on her phone

a man wearing a purple vest and white hat, stands on stilts with long trousers covering, juggling 4 different coloured bats (or pins?) shaped a bit like bowling pins, two in his hands and two in the air. outside on the street

 

St. Patricks day parade

Posted: March 12, 2018 in events, people
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The St. Patricks Day parade in Toronto is usually just a small parade – certainly not as big and crazy in places like Boston or New York City.  Part of the problem might be the fact that the weather is usually cold.  This year the parade was 6 days before St. Patricks Day.  I’m not sure when it started or how it happened, but Toronto’s parade is on the Sunday before the actual day.    At least the sun was shining this year.  It may be a small parade but those who show up, either to watch or to participate, seem to have a good time.   A few photos from this year’s parade:

 

below: Police on horseback led the parade.  Here they are passing the TV cameras.

three toronto policemen on horseback at the front of a parade, as theypass by the press and a large microphone boom

below: Carlton, the Toronto Maple Leafs mascot, was there. Once upon a time, the Maple Leafs were known as the St. Pats and they wore green uniforms.

Carlton, the Maple Leafs hockey team mascot in a St. Pats jersey waiting for the parade to start, working the crowd.

below: 32 flags, one from each of Ireland’s 32 counties.  The GAA is the Gaelic Athletic Association. 

A group of young people walking in the St. Patricks day parade, holding a banner and everyone is holding a flag from a Irish county. GAA Colour Party, 32 county flags.

below: Five Deloreans (cars) parked by the flags for the parade, before joining it at the end.  This is directly across Bloor Street from where the TV cameras were.   Deloreans were made near Belfast but for only a short time in the early 1980’s (1981- 1983).   About 9200 cars were produced.  The Delorean company went bankrupt in December 1982.

a man stands on a sidewalk, leaning on a barricade, lots of large Irish flags, a delorean car with its door open is across the street

below: Carrying Donegal County flags

three men carrying flags in the St. Patricks day parade, walk past a church, many people on the sidewalk, pavement, watching the parade go by

below: Doug Ford, now the leader of the Ontario PC party joined the parade.

Doug Ford, St. Patricks day parade, wakls towaards the people on the sidewalk to shake hands, politician, politics,

below: That’s quite the hair – he insisted that it was natural but I think it’s because of the green beer…..

two people sitting on the sidewalk watching the St. Patricks Day parade, a red head woman with long hair and a man with a curly bright green wig, both are smiling, both dressed for cold weather,

three teenagers selling candy at the parade, all dressed in green hats and other St. Patricks day stuff,

three kids sitting on little plastic stools watching a parade,

below: Maybe it’s true,  maybe everyone is Irish on St. Patricks day.

5 Asian women (Korean?) watching St. Patricks day parade, posing for the camera, all with shamrock green things aon their heads so only their faces stick out, the word Irish is written on each shamrock

 

below: What would St. Patricks day be without a leprechaun or two?

a man in a leprechauin costume walking in a parade.

a group of people sitting on the sidewalk as a parade passes by on Bloor Street in Toronto

distress at Union Station

Posted: July 16, 2015 in locations, public art
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A while back, I posted some photos of ‘Zones of Immersion’,  Stuart Reid’s art installation at Union Station.   Now that it is completed, I decided to revisit it.  There has been some talk about how depressing it is.
I’ll let you decide whether it is depressing or not.

If you are on the ‘northbound to Finch’ platform you get a clear view of all the panels.
If you are on the ‘northbound to Downsview’ platform you can only see some of the glass panels.

I’ve now been back a number of times and this is what I saw:
1) Of the figures with discernible gender, 12 or 13 were male.
2) The males are of different ages and shapes.
3) The number of females outnumber males by at least 2:1.
4) Almost all (or even all?) of the women are young.  They are all thin, if not gaunt.
5) There is one child…. with a finger up his/her nose.
6) Only two or three figures are smiling.

 

Part of an art installation at Union Station, paint on glass panels - a rough drawing, black outline with some grey shading of a couple

paintings on glass panels, Union Station art installation, two women. One on the left looks very sad, like she's been crying. The other woman is painted very dark grey with a few red highlights.

Looking along a subway platform at Union Station, the far wall is an art installation, paintings on glass panels of people

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels,

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a woman's head in dark blues and blacks, heavy paint around the eyes

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a large face in red
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part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, three men sitting on a subway

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, on the left are white words on blue background, on the right are two women in profile

“the way we settle into a seat
the way we stretch when the train is empty
and retract as it fills
the way we deflect a glance and simultaneously present
language of the body claiming, relinquishing and balancing
personal space in the interstitial realm
halfway between the worlds of here and there”

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a woman in yellow on a green and blue background, a man is waiting for the subway and his reflection is in the photo

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, woman standining

The panels that can be seen on the ‘northbound to Downsview’ platform are seen as the reverse of those viewed from the other platform.

black and white painting on glass of a woman holding a mobile phone

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, upper part of a man sitting and reading, in profile, on the left is the reflection of a woman waiting for the subway
“slicing through the clay of the earth’s first skin
steel rails and electric lines
going from      going to
slicing through time and distance
darkness and light
station by station
releasing us into the city’s fabric
stop by stop
after a days labour
taking us home”

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, four women sitting on the subway

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a group of people standing. The word because is also visible in the picture

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, a woman sitting on the subway with a child on her lap. The child has a finger up its nose

part of an art installation, paintings on glass panels, on the left side is a man on blue and on the right is a woman's head drawn in blue

painting on glass panels, two women, on the left is standing, on the right is pointing to the left.

(added in October) I got off the subway at Union Station today.  There were three guys in front of me.  One of them stopped and pointed to the nearest painting which happened to be the one above.  As he pointed he said “See what I mean, if that doesn’t make you want to jump… “.

 

I’m happy to be corrected if you can prove me wrong.

 

under the tracks at Bathurst

Posted: November 28, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Murals painted by Elicser in 2014, under the railway bridge on Bathurst St., just north of Dupont.

It is difficult to do justice to the paintings with a camera because of the structure of the bridge.   The following images are ones that I took yesterday.  Yes, there are many!

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - taken from across the street, The picture is of 4 people who seem to be looking at the camera.

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - a man on a red bike who is cycling towards a woman with outstretched arms

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - a woman sitting cross legged on the ground beside a miniature city

mural under a bridge

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - a man's hand reaching towards a miniature city. roads, houses, tall buildings and hydro wires

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - a man with a football helmet on and green triangles in his hand

A man in a blue winter coat is walking under a bridge, beside a mural that is painted on the wall of the bridge.

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - a pair of legs with sneakers on flying past a man's head.

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - a man with a red baseball cap on backwards

A man sitting on a bench who is looking down into a bag that is on the ground. A face in profile is beside him

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - Two large people in the mural. A woman is walking past on the sidewalk. The picture is taken from across the street so bridge supports are also in the picture.

part of a mural beside the walkway under a railway bridge - the triangular part of the wall of the bridge at the end, showing a woman in yellow coat and hat.

woman holding baby, man behind her making rabbit ears with his fingers

rusty metal railway bridge over a city street. There is a mural painted on the wall beside the walkway on the far side of the bridge.

mural street art painting of a man's face. He has a moustache. He is looking at the camera

 

dyke march

Posted: June 29, 2014 in events, people
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The march finally got underway…..

Here is the first  sample of the photos that I took as it passed by.

A crowd of people are watching the parade from the sidewalk. Some are sitting on the kerb and some are standing behind.
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Three girls are walking in the parade
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Two women are walking in the parade. Both are holding signs. One says End Transmysogyny. The other says Some Dykes have Dicks.

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A woman, wearing a sash that says Ms. International Leather is running towards the camera. She is holding a flag that is white and blue. A few other women are walking behind. There are crowds lined along the sidewalk.
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In the foreground of the photo is the back of a woman's head. She has long wavy reddish hair and she is wearing a garland of flowers in her hair. In the background are motorcycles in the parade.
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A group of men is standing beside the street, watching the parade. One is using his phone to take a photo. One is leaning his head back and laughing.
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Two women on a red motorcycle. The one in front is topless and wearing a black helmet. She has her fist in the air.
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A crowd is watching the parade from the sidewalk. Motorcycles are passing by
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A woman with a camera around her neck and carrying a yellow umbrella is walking down the street

******

all steamed up

Posted: November 19, 2013 in general Toronto
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Just a little playing around on the streets

Yonge Street, at Melinda Street, had been closed off for the Santa Claus parade…but I think that some people had as much fun playing in the  warm steam that was pouring out of this vent.

They played –

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games and photo ops

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jumping and dancing

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warily watching

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careful observation and investigation

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... and they laughed

running and laughing……

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