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Toronto Through My Lens

Category: Street Art (Page 2 of 3)

“Optik” at Yonge-Dundas Square

March 21, 2023 / / 1 Comment

The last couple of times I’ve passed through Yonge-Dundas Sqaure I’ve noticed these odd gyroscope things, with people spinning them around. It turns out this is a project entitled Optik.

Optik is an interactive installation that incorporates sound, light, and touch to create a multi-sensory experience. The installation features 10 gyroscope-like displays that produce various rhythmic sounds and cascades of colour when manipulated in a spinning motion.

It’s a bit of a multimedia experience: users spin and rotate the disks to reveal a spectacle of colour. No matter the time of day, the dichroic film built into the centre of each display reflects rays of lights. There is also sound: you can hear notes of 10 different instruments that sing out as the user manipulates the forms to create unique sounds and rhythms. The sounds match the speed the discs are spun – fast, slow or in harmony with another.

The Creation Team

Optik was created by The Urban Conga team in collaboration with Serge Maheu

Click here if you’d like to learn a little more about the project in Yonge-Dundas Square.

Magic on Sumach Street

January 30, 2023 / / 1 Comment

Walking down Queen Street East this past weekend on my way to photograph Riverside, I passed Sumach Street; the colour of these interesting pieces caught my eye and drew me in.

At 60 Sumach Street sits The Magic Building. I’m not sure exactly what goes on at said building, and I couldn’t find much on the Web, so I guess it’s open to interpretation:

Above the door an annoyed-looking witch casts a weary eye on any interlopers…

… while a figure not unlike Metallica’s James Hetfield broods quietly on each side of the door…

Elicser on the Magic Building

BUT!… the best part of this location is the massive, impressive canvas by Elicser, wrapping around the corner of the Magic Building:

On the other side of Sumach Street at the corner of Queen Street East, is this utility box – unmistakably Elicser:

Elicser is one of Toronto’s best street artists who has helped define our cityscape. In photographing Toronto over the years, I’ve encountered a lot of Elicser’s work, all of it impressive and distinctive. You can read more about him here and here.

Here’s a short video on the man himself:

Leaving the magic behind and heading a little further east across Queen Street, I encountered these in an alley beside a building at 533 Queen Street East:

Quite good, actually. The only identification on the mural was a little inscription on the one side: Not Art by @ITSMAHYAR. After some minor Googling, I found a little bit more here about the Not Art Gallery and the artist Mahyar Amir.

I’m not sure if this mural on the opposite wall was by Mahyar Amir as well, but I thought the scales of justice were particularly well rendered.

So, all in all, it was an interesting little diversion that day on Queen Street East.

Street Art on College Street

September 24, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I recently walked College Street from end to end; here’s some of the street art I encountered along the way.

Mural by Young Jarus
On wall of LALA Contemporary Art Gallery, Lansdowne Avenue and Dundas Street West
Overgrown Mural
Northwest Corner of College Street and Lansdowne Avenue
“College West” Mural
At College Street & St. Clarens Avenue
Utility Box
On the corner of Margueretta Street & College Street
The Gaze
On College Street, near Delaware Avenue
Mural at Lullaboo Nursery & Childcare Centre
Corner of College Street & Concord Avenue
“College Promenade” Mural
Corner of College Street & Ossington Avenue
Mural by John Kuna
Portuguese Pioneers Parkette

Galipo Brothers Lane

Across the street from the Portuguese Pioneers Parkette, Galipo Brothers Lane is a small laneway north of College Street connecting Crawford Street and Montrose Avenue. The mural pays tribute to the four Galipo brothers – Natale, Aurelio, Francesco and Giuseppe. They were master ice cream makers from Capo D’Olando, Sicily who established one of Little Italy’s oldest landmarks, the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe.

“Little Italy” Mural
719 College Street. This mural is by Just Sum Artist. Apparently it was badly tagged almost as soon as the artist finished the mural, though the mural has been repaired recently. It is difficult to get a good shot of the mural; it’s in the parking lot of an auto mechanic and there’s so many cars in the way!
Looks Like Sophie Loren to Me…
Mural on north side of College Street in Little Italy, between Crawford Street and Montrose Avenue
Utility Box
Corner of College Street and Manning Avenue
Mural on Domino’s Pizza Building
On College Street, near Lippincott Street

On Croft Street, Just Off College Street

Elicser Mural On Croft Street
“City is burning… Protect your energy”
Borden Street near College Street
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Sherbourne Street Murals

September 21, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Sherbourne Street, a depressing street at the best of times, is not normally known for its murals and/or artistic sensibility. I don’t how long they’ve been there but I recently discovered four new (to me) murals that appeared since I was last down this street.

“Everything You Can Imagine Is Real”
Quote from Pablo Picasso, on side of building at 194 Sherbourne Street
“Dare To Dream”
On side of building at 192 Sherbourne Street
By Artists Birdo+Tenso
On side of building at 194 Sherbourne Street
Mural At 188 Sherbourne Street
By En Masse. En Masse is a multi-artist collaborative drawing project who create bold black-and-white works of public art.

Grange Park

September 13, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I have passed through the Grange Park many times but have never stopped to photograph it… until now. Grange Park is located south of the Art Gallery of Ontario, next to the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU) and north of University Settlement House, at the north end of John Street. The Park lends its name to the Grange Park neighbourhood in the vicinity of the park. Historically, the park was the backyard of The Grange, a manor that was later expanded and became the Art Gallery of Ontario.

St. George by the Grange Anglican Church (background)
Flowers In Remembrance of Queen Elizabeth
Left on the plaque for the Queen Elizabeth II Rose Garden in Grange Park
St. George by the Grange Anglican Church
St. George by the Grange Anglican Church
Sidewalk Poem
Gwendolyn MacEwen
“Peace Not Pieces”
by TheKaunArtist, Grange Park
“Large Two Forms” by Henry Moore, 1966-1969
In the summer of 2017, “Large Two Forms” made the move from the corner of McCaul and Dundas Streets – where it lived since 1974 – to Grange Park. The sensuous curves of this larger-than-life sculpture invite visitors to interact with and explore the bronze giant.
“Aquaverde” by William Pye
The W. Garfield Weston Foundation commissioned Aquaverde for the redesigned Grange Park adjacent to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. This water sculpture resulted from a limited competition to design an artwork for the circular area at the end of a curved wall carrying a rill of water across the park. The design is a mirror polished stainless steel bowl which receives the water from the rill, with seven spouts delivering laminar flowing water into cups. The cups break the flow and create animation of the water that can be seen from a distance. LED lights are set below the cups to provide a programme of colour changing lighting at night. The park was reopened and Aquaverde inaugurated on July 8, 2017 by Mr. and Mrs. Galen Weston.
Rear of Art Gallery of Ontario
“The Grange” in foreground
Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD University)
Underneath the Sharp Centre for Design, 100 McCaul Street
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A Little Street Art

September 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Urban Art Encountered On Today’s Walk

Polaris Prize Winner: Backxwash
On Yonge Street below College. Poster created by Illustrator Sam Island. Zambian born, Backxwash is the stage name of Ashanti Mutinta, the first transgender woman to win the Polaris Music Prize. The Polaris’s penchant for reaching beyond the mainstream in choosing Canada’s best album of the year continues with its $50,000 annual award going to Montreal-based artist Backxwash for her album, “God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It”. The album uses distorted samples of Ozzy Osbourne performing in Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and In Heaven a song from David Lynch’s film Eraserhead, alongside pointed words about her life experiences.
Utility Box
Bay Street at the corner of Richmond Street West

Big City Blooms by Alanna Cavanagh

Commerce Court West, on the Bay Street side.

The Original 6 Nations Peace Treaty by Quentin “Que Rock” Commanda

The mural appears on the side of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. The orange background represents the missing/murdered peoples of Turtle Island. The mural is meant to be a visual healing experience.
Old Town Toronto
Utility box in Berczy Park
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Kensington Market Street Art

August 28, 2022 / / 0 Comments

There’s fantastic street art to be found while wandering Kensington Market. I was there recently for one of the Market’s Pedestrian-only Sundays, so I checked out some of the street art. I know there’s still much more to be discovered there, so a second trip is definitely in the works.

Alleyway artwork off Augusta Avenue
Alleyway artwork off Augusta Avenue
Alleyway artwork off Augusta Avenue
Alleyway artwork off Augusta Avenue
CLICK HERE TO BROWSE ALL THE SHOTS FROM THIS WALK
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