Author: Marvin Job (Page 20 of 32)

“Uniform, Measure, Stack”

January 15, 2023 / Marvin Job / 3 Comments

At 438 Richmond Street West, on the northwest corner of Spadina Avenue and Richmond Street West, there is an intriguing bronze sculpture by artist Stephen Cruise. Created in 1997, the piece is entitled Uniform, Measure, Stack. The sculpture consists of a thimble, buttons and markings of a tape measure which wraps around the northwest corner of Richmond Street West and Spadina Avenue (please ignore the vandal tagging and snow on the artwork!).

The sculpture was created to commemorate the surrounding area of the city that was once the textile factory district. Even with the Toronto Eaton Centre just blocks away, this area once housed a majority of the textile factories that would produce products for the mega-distributor. As textile production moved out of the city, these factory spaces were re-purposed into artist studios. Now, the neighbourhood has transformed again and condo developments dominate the area.

The piece’s artist, Stephen Cruise, has this to say about his creation:

Spadina has an incredible history that goes back to when workers walked out of Eaton’s in 1905 I believe, on strike for better conditions. And they decided to reorganize themselves and they moved out and moved in and along Spadina Avenue.

So, I guess in thinking about some of the research, it did direct me to what it was that could make up the components of this sculpture. And that is to keep it very simple. And what making a garment is all about draws back to one’s hands. It’s… it’s not so much even the machine, it’s choosing the thimble and choosing the buttons and hand sewing. It’s something that would draw you back to more the personal aspect of it so – I tried to keep the tools as simple as possible and…

Unfortunately, I think, it was a beginning of a foothold for so many people who moved on and with the competitive nature and pressures from offshore it’s become next to impossible to be able to provide that opportunity. And as much as the street signs have the additional text to them, saying “fashion district,” in another short period of time it’s going to be just a memory. So the stacking of the buttons and placing the thimble atop it, trying to create some kind of setting with trees that would mature over time, there still was very much this thought that I was creating something as a memory. So it’s evidence of what once was a colourful past, but at the same time it’s what something once was.

Gibraltar Point Lighthouse

January 14, 2023 / Marvin Job / 3 Comments

For today’s TOcityscapes we’ll go outside the city just a bit – out to the Toronto Islands, specifically, to take a look at the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse.

The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse was Toronto’s first lighthouse. It was built in 1808, was originally 52 feet tall, and had a fixed white light that burned sperm oil. In 1832, the lighthouse was raised an additional 30 feet to bring the total height to 82 feet. At this point, an improved lighting system was installed. After 1863, coal oil was used to light the tower.

John P. Rademuller was hired as the first keeper of the lighthouse. He served there until he met a tragic end, as reported in the January 14, 1815 edition of the York Gazette:

Died on the evening of the 2nd of January, J.P. Rademuller, keeper of the lighthouse on Gibraltar Point. From circumstances there is moral proof of his having been murdered. If the horrid crime admits of aggravation when the inoffensive and benevolent character of the unfortunate sufferer are considered, his murder will be pronounced most barbarous and inhuman. The parties lost with him are the proposed perpetrators and are in prison.

Three months later, the Gazette reported: No conviction of the supposed murderers of the late J.P. Rademuller. Though the details of what happened that night in January 1815 have been lost, legend has it that soldiers from the York Garrison visited Gibraltar Point that night to obtain beer from Lighthouse Keeper Rademuller. Some accounts say the Keeper refused to sell to the soldiers, and others claim he overcharged them, but all agree that the soldiers became enraged, killed the Keeper, and disposed of his body.

James Durnan and his son George, who between them kept the light from 1832 to 1905, were both known to talk about the murder of the lighthouse’s first Keeper, and in 1893, George Durnan uncovered a jaw bone on the point. Due to the mystery surrounding the demise of Keeper J.P. Rademuller, rumours persist to this day that Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is haunted.

The lighthouse was electrified during the winter of 1916–1917 and Blake Matthews, the light’s last official Keeper, left the following year.

The characteristic of the automated lighthouse was changed in 1945 from flashing white to fixed green, and it retained this latter signature until it was deactivated in 1959 and replaced by a nearby tripod tower that displayed a flashing red light.

Metro Parks took over lighthouse operations and made renovations in 1961-62. Currently unused, the lighthouse is occasionally open for public tours, including the annual Doors Open Toronto weekend.

“Rising”

January 13, 2023 / Marvin Job / 2 Comments

Outside the Toronto Shangri-La Hotel at 188 University Avenue, there is a curious sculpture constructed of stainless steel. This piece is entitled Rising by Shanghai-based artist Zhang Huan, and was unveiled in May 2012.

Zhang Huan conceived Rising as a philosophical reflection of the world around us. The polished stainless-steel sculpture consists of countless doves, the international symbol of world peace, and a twisted tree branch that resembles the body of a dragon.

The sculpture draws an analogy to the fragile conditions facing our planet. Zhang Huan seeks to convey the message that humans can exist in harmony with nature, and that, if this delicate balance is struck, our cities will become better places to live. The artist remarks:

… through the monster-shaped tree, I would like to advocate the protection of ecology, and the harmonious relationship between humans and nature. The doves in the tree symbolize the peace of the world and my wish is for beautiful city life to be shared by mankind and nature.

Realized in two parts, the large-scale exterior sculpture permanently resides at the entrance to the hotel and a second component extends indoors, gracing the walls of the hotel’s lobby. Rising took Zhang Huan two years to complete in his studio in Shanghai. The sculpture is his first public art commission in Canada.

The Cube House

January 12, 2023 / Marvin Job / 6 Comments

I’ve known about the so-called “Cube House” for several years and have always wanted to get some shots of it. I finally paid a visit to the building this past weekend.

The Cube House is located at 1 Sumach Street beside the busy Adelaide Street East and Richmond Street East overpasses, which is kind of an odd location. Sumach Street is strangely laid out near the Cube House – it ends in a stubby dead end with a second Sumach Street running parallel to the first, then the two streets pick up as one on the north side of the Richmond Street East overpass:

I remember the Cube House being very popular years ago during the Doors Open Toronto events. Sadly, this unique piece of Toronto architecture is now abandoned and derelict. This being Toronto, where we don’t preserve our past or any interesting structures, there is a move to demolish the building to construct – wait for it – more condos.

The Cube House was built in 1996 by Canadian architect Ben Kutner and his partner Jeff Brown. When the architects designed their cube home, they modelled it after Dutch architect Piet Blom’s cube houses in Rotterdam which were built in the 1970s:

**Piet Blom’s cube houses in Rotterdam, Netherlands**
This photo courtesy of blogto.com

The Canadian architects intended to use the home as a solution for affordable housing on unusable parcels of land and originally planned to construct more. The architects envisioned that the Cube House would be moved around to different locations across its lifespan rather than permanently staying in its current location.

I found some interesting facts about the Cube House:

It took architect Ben Kutner 10 years to get permission from the city to get the plans approved.
The ownership of the property became a legal battle for over a year because the cubes were built on land that was not owned by the architect. As a result, the cubes were deemed the property of the landowner.
Eventually, in the early 2000s, the land and structure were sold to Coffee Time founder Tom Michalopoulos for $265,000; he utilized the cubes as billboards for his coffee business.

In May 2016, the property was purchased by commercial real estate expert Taso Boussoulas and real estate developer Jeff Craig for $2,750,000.

I’m glad I got these shots when I did; the Cube House’s future is very uncertain. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens to it down the road.

From The Vaults: “The Nindinawemaaganidok / All My Relations” Mural Project

January 10, 2023 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

It’s time for another installment of what I’ve dubbed From The Vaults, which are TOcityscapes from several years past. These shots are from January 12, 2013 so I think they qualify as Vaults material.

For about 4 years in the early 2010s, there was a huge wooden hoarding/fence on the south side of Allan Gardens. The hoarding surrounded the main construction site of the Gerrard Watermain Replacement Project. Allegedly the size of 2 football fields (719 feet), the hoarding served as a massive art canvas for Toronto Aboriginal community artists.

Entitled The Nindinawemaaganidok/All My Relations Mural Project, the artwork was a visual representation of First Nations life and culture in Toronto. Led by nationally recognized and award winning artists Tannis Nielsen and Philip Cote, 21 artists from the First Nations community came together to design and paint the mural.

The mural depicted 5 different topics combined with Aboriginal history in the city of Toronto:

Aboriginal women who have been murdered or have gone missing across Canada
A time line of the creation story to present day
The North and South Indigenous nations coming together
Indigenous teachings
The importance of water

Here’s how it looked:

I couldn’t find any further history as to what happened to the mural after it was dismantled. At one point I heard it was to be auctioned off during the Pan Am games when they were hosted in Toronto a few years; I don’t know if that ever came to pass, though. At any rate, it proved to be an inspiring and beautiful mural for a number of years in Allan Gardens.

Harbourfront + Union Station in Black & White

January 8, 2023 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

A little photowalk capturing Harbourfront, York Street and Union Station in glorious Black & White.

Harbourfront

The View From York Street

Maple Leaf Square, Outside the Scotiabank Arena
(formerly the Air Canada Centre)

This installation in Maple Leaf Square is entitled Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light, created by John McEwan and unveiled in 1999. The 3-column steel sculpture is inspired by a quote from author Louis Untermeyer: God, if you wish for our love, Fling us a handful of stars.

The surface of each column has been extensively perforated with holes in the shape of five-pointed stars that glow when lit from within like celestial search beacons in the night. The effect is most immediately associated with the search beams that call attention to entertainment spectacles such as those that take place in the adjacent Scotiabank Arena.

Art critics of the sculpture say that the telescopic shape of the columns and the starry lights suggest a connection between the earth and sky; between the infinite cosmos and the depth of the human imagination.

Union Station

Entering via Bremner Boulevard:

Taken while Union Station was still under renovation

“Garden Of Future Follies”

January 6, 2023 / Marvin Job / 3 Comments

On the Front Street Promenade (Front Street & Bayview Avenue) near the new Canary District/Corktown Common area, there is a curious sculpture set of 7 pieces by artists Hadley+Maxwell.

The Garden of Future Follies (2016) is a bronze sculpture garden bringing together elements from over 80 existing public sculptures and architectural details from around the City of Toronto. To create the garden, fragments of existing Toronto sculpture were cast using a Cinefoil casting technique – pressing material directly onto a sculpted surface – to generate over 150 unique impressions that were subsequently cast in bronze.

A Little About the Artists

Hadley+Maxwell (Hadley Howes, Maxwell Stephens) are a Canadian artist duo formed in Vancouver in 1997 and now based in Berlin. Their body of work includes installations, performances and writings that employ a diverse array of media to rework iconic images and traditional forms as they are expressed in pop-cultural, artistic, and political movements.

A Broadview Walk

January 4, 2023 / Marvin Job / 3 Comments

COVID-19 was raging in the middle of 2020 when I took these shots. For this photowalk I did a mini-tour of Broadview Avenue from the Danforth up to Mortimer Avenue, then back again. The street was deserted – I didn’t encounter a soul on this little jaunt; definitely a sign of the times.

**Empty Streetcars**
Broadview TTC Station

**Tony’s Barber Shop**
910 Broadview Avenue

On the side of the Rosicrucian Regional Cultural Centre
835 Broadview Avenue

**Definitely Retro**
850 Broadview Avenue

**Decrepit Doorway**
Somewhere on Broadview Avenue

Untitled Murals on Broadview Avenue

**BikeShare Toronto**
On Broadview Avenue

“Businessman On A Horse”

January 2, 2023 / Marvin Job / 2 Comments

This 1989 bronze sculpture by William McElcheran is somewhat tricky to find. It is tucked into a small square in St. Michael’s College at U of T.

The artist has remarked that the businessman replaces the classical hero. Instead of dealing with heroic imagery, McElcheran endeavours to find his idea of the “larger-than-life” non-hero. Inspiration for the piece grew as he watched the “fat cats” wheel and deal on the corner of Bay and King Streets.

There are more works by McElcheran around Toronto, which I endeavour to find for future TOcityscapes posts.

Bonus!

Although technically not a TOcityscape, there is another of William McElcheran ‘s sculptures located in Calgary on Stephen Avenue at 1st Street S.W. This one is called Conversation, and was presented to the City of Calgary by Norcen Energy Resources Limited in 1981. Vince and I were in Calgary in the fall of 2019, which is when I grabbed this shot:

William McElcheran is now internationally recognized for his bronze figures of portly businessmen, portraying these self-important men of trade in different settings and situations. His commissioned works can be found in churches, subways, and numerous public places worldwide. Since his death in 1999, McElcheran forgeries have appeared on the market, which is indicative of how well regarded and widely accepted his works have become.

“Rune”

December 31, 2022 / Marvin Job / 2 Comments

At 7 Hart House Circle in the University of Toronto sits a bronze sculpture entitled Rune. Placed in 2001, the piece was created by artists Randy Gledhill and Berenicci Hershorn.

What exactly is a “rune”? Merriam-Webster defines rune as: any of the characters of any of several alphabets used by the Germanic peoples from about the 3rd to the 13th centuries. As applied here I would imagine rune refers to information/education as provided by a university.