TO Cityscapes

Toronto Through My Lens

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“Dreaming”

April 12, 2023 / / 3 Comments

Installed in 2020, Dreaming is a fairly new creation residing at the Richmond-Adelaide Centre, 100 Adelaide Street West. Spanish artist Jaume Plensa is known for creating large-scale public art installations in major cities, including New York, London, Singapore, Tokyo, and now Toronto.

Dreaming is 3 storeys high and was commissioned by the Oxford Properties Group Inc. in 2016. The artwork alters the area’s streetscape and anchors a reimagined public plaza called The Terrace at Oxford’s Richmond-Adelaide Centre. The piece is a cast stone portrait created with white marble and resin, installed on top of a base that serves as a public bench to encourage the public to enjoy the outdoor public space.

This portrait of a young girl with her eyes closed in quiet contemplation was created with the intention of passersby looking inward. Plensa’s vision is for the art to act as a metaphor for humanity’s dreams for the future and for a shared human experience; a concept needed now more than ever before.

As you circle the piece, an optical sensation occurs and the effect messes with your mind and visual senses. Seen from the viewer’s left, the work’s proportions and dimension seem as they should be. As you circle around your right side Dreaming seems to suddenly narrow and it becomes evident how flat the work is in actuality. Viewed directly from the back, Dreaming appears as a small sliver of material.

Dreaming, as it appears from the rear

Here is a short video of the artist speaking about his vision and creation of Dreaming, and the efforts to install the work in the Richmond-Adelaide Centre:

Click here if you’d like to visit the artist’s web page.

Identity Crisis

April 10, 2023 / / 1 Comment

I discovered this poster on a utility box outside of Ryerson… errrrr… excuse me, Toronto Metropolitan University, and couldn’t decide who it is.

Utility box outside Ryerson

I’ll put it to a vote and you can decide. Is this:

Go back

Your message has been sent

The votes are in… survey sez: Nicholas Cage!

“Lovebot”

April 9, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This mural is entitled Lovebot, by artist Mathew Del Degan. It’s located on Mutual Street, just below Dundas Street East, on the side of the Purple Haze cannabis shop.

The panel on the side of the mural reads:

Lovebot lovingly disrupts our robotic routines to remind us that there is love in our cities and kindness around every corner. Lovebot reiterates the fact that we all have the privilege of being human, and that we are not restricted to the algorithms and programming of our tech driven counterparts. Even though many of us work like robots in concrete jungles, we all have capacity to share love and kindness with one another each day.

I painted this mural for my son and for all that enjoy it – Lovebot

I found a little more on the artist and his project courtesy of Wikipedia:

The Lovebot character was created by Toronto artist and designer Matthew Del Degan, consisting of a geometric, faceless robot with a red heart logo (called the “hero heart”) on its torso. The character is used as a symbol for the “Love Invasion,” a movement that aims to share love and kindness globally. He invented the idea for the campaign and character after moving to Toronto and noting the uninspired actions of city subway passengers and realizing he personally felt that people needed to express more compassion.

Del Degan chose to add the heart to the robot’s design to signify that people of the city have ability to love and be kind to one another. He decided to use concrete as the Lovebot’s artistic medium, which he felt referenced Toronto’s urban architecture and history.

The campaign was initially created as a street sticker art campaign but Del Degan and his team eventually chose to also create more than 100, 2 foot concrete statues, each weighing 200 pounds which they placed throughout Toronto. Each robot sculpture was made by hand in his backyard with over 30 volunteers. Each robot is now dedicated to a person who has made a difference in some way and is intended to inspire others into performing additional acts of kindness. In 2013 the campaign took off with a great deal of press coverage, like the Toronto Star, MTV and The Grid (which gave Del Degan a Mensch Award for his work with the Lovebot character and named him one of fifty individuals that had “made Toronto a better place this year”).

Lovebot is now a brand owned and operated by Matthew Del Degan. Together the company offers Lovebot merchandise and a toy design that was crowd funded through Kickstarter. In addition, the Lovebot continues to be a vital part of Del Degan’s artistic practice in street art and design. Those volunteering for Lovebot continue to work together under the name “The Lovebot Leaders.” The group has doubled since its conception has plans for global outreach. The Lovebot Leaders also emphasize work with charitable initiatives while continuing to build and distribute Lovebot sculptures.

If you’re interested in learning more about the artist Mathew Del Degan and his Lovebot project, click here.

Good Friday Procession

April 7, 2023 / / 3 Comments

The annual Good Friday Procession is a Toronto tradition which has been held every Good Friday for the last 70 years. After three dormant years due to COVID-19 the Procession, which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, has returned to take over the streets of Toronto’s Little Italy on Good Friday.

The Good Friday Procession starts on Good Friday at 3 PM at St. Francis of Assisi Church (Mansfield Ave & Grace St), and goes through the Little Italy neighbourhood, before circling back to the church. The Procession includes religious statues, bands and people representing different characters associated with the Passion of Christ.

The Good Friday Procession follows this route:

Assembling The Procession

I’ve attended the Good Friday Procession once, in 2018, to photograph the spectacle. The most interesting shots are the ones in which the participants assemble at St. Francis of Assisi Church prior to the actual procession through Little Italy:

The Good Friday Procession Across College Street

The procession is a mile-long march re-enacting the fourteen Stations of the Cross (Jesus on his way to his crucifixion):

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The Cottages of St. Nicholas Street

April 3, 2023 / / 3 Comments

On the charming little downtown street known as St. Nicholas Street, house numbers 45 to 63 are known as “The Cottages”.

In 1883, The Scottish Ontario and Manitoba Land Company built ten row houses on the east side of St. Nicholas Street and named each cottage after a tree: Beach, Birch, Spruce, Hazel, Rose, Maple, Ash, Ivy, Elm and Oak.  The properties were occupied by tenants, with occupations ranging from Saloon Keeper to Minister. The style of construction was Bay-N-Gable on a 18′ 10″ wide lot. These buildings have been designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.  A little alley called Cottage Lane provides access to the rear of the houses.

45 St. Nicholas Street
Beech Cottage and Birch Cottage
49-51 St. Nicholas Street
Spruce Cottage and Hazel Cottage
53-55 St. Nicholas Street
Rose Cottage and Maple Cottage
57-59 St. Nicholas Street
Ash Cottage and Ivy Cottage
61-63 St. Nicholas Street
Elm Cottage and Oak Cottage

A rare example of a surviving Victorian terraced row, 45-63 St. Nicholas Street is unique to say the least. The street sits just several hundred metres from Yonge and Bloor Streets, yet feels like a quaint neighbourhood block. St. Nicholas Street was, in fact, originally an alley lane before the row was constructed in 1884.

International Pillow Fight Day!

April 1, 2023 / / 4 Comments

Say what?

That’s right… across the world today – April 1, 2023 – it’s International Pillow Fight Day. What’s it all about you may ask? Today, massive public pillow fights took place in cities around the world including London, New York, Rotterdam, Seattle… and Toronto, of course!

The first World Pillow Fight day took place in March 2008, and since then the movement has grown with pillow fighting flash mobs fighting it out in more and more cities every year, all just in the name of fun. It’s simply a good way to relieve stress and have some fun; much needed these days.

The rules are fairly simple:

  • Swing lightly
  • Do not swing at people without pillows
  • Do not swing at people with cameras (hello!)
  • Soft pillows only!
  • Bring a bag to help with clean up after the event

International Pillow Fight Day has been on hiatus a long time in Toronto but has finally returned, post-COVID. This year I literally stumbled upon it as I passed through Nathan Phillips Square on my weekend photowalk. I grabbed some shots of the fun, and also caught a couple of gentle clouts to the head from a badly aimed rogue pillow.

Here’s how it all went down:

And… a few shots (literally):

Safe to say, a good time was had by all…

“The Water Guardians”

March 31, 2023 / / 3 Comments

On the Front Street Promenade in the Canary district there resides an interesting sculpture entitled The Water Guardians. Created by Toronto artists Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins, the painted steel and concrete piece was installed in 2015.

The Water Guardians is an integrated artwork, landscape design and play project. It depicts three towering abstract figures, keeping watch over a stylized river made of recycled rubberized play surface, which flows underneath them. The riverway runs on the same axis as Front Street (east to west within the artwork site) and is punctuated by green mounds of rubberized play surface.

Statues & Monuments of Queen’s Park

March 29, 2023 / / 1 Comment

It was a sunny Sunday (finally!) this past weekend, so I opted for a little wander through Queen’s Park to shoot a few of the statues, monuments and memorials there.

Tribute to Salome Bey, Canada’s Queen of the Blues

Not in Queen’s Park but this utility box on my way there caught my eye. In front of 2 Grosvenor Street, west of Yonge Street is “Tribute to Salome Bey, Canada’s Queen of the Blues” by Adrian Hayles, mounted in 2021. If the style looks familiar, this DJ/artist/muralist has done numerous murals in the city. In 2016, Adrian took 8 weeks to paint a 22 storey Downtown Yonge BIA music mural on the north wall of 423 Yonge Street, just south of College Street. The next year, he painted the south wall of the same building, continuing the musical theme. Adrian also painted a substantial mural on Reggae Lane in the Oakwood Avenue/Eglinton Avenue West area.

Hours of the Day Monument
Whitney Plaza, 23 Queens Park Crescent East

In 2018, Paul Raff Studios designed a sculpture flanked by granite benches as a way to honour the passage of time, reflecting the hours of service by correctional workers in the justice system, as well as in their communities. Each year, a Ceremony of Remembrance acknowledges correctional workers who have paid the ultimate price in their service.

Ontario Police Memorial
Whitney Plaza, 23 Queen’s Park Crescent East

In 2000, two bronze statues featuring a 1950’s male officer and modern era female office were unveiled atop a 30,000 pound granite pedestal base. There are 8 cascading granite walls known as the “Wall of Honour” that recognize the names of Ontario Police Officers who died in the line of duty.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe Monument

Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe 1752-1806, First Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, 1791-1796. Founder of the City of Toronto July 30th 1793.

Northwest Rebellion Monument

By Walter S. Allward. The monument commemorates the Northwest Rebellion of 1894-1896.

Ontario Veteran’s Memorial
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

​In 2006, a black granite wall was designed by the landscape architect Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg to recognize the service of Canada’s military. It measures 8′ 6″ high and 100′ long. The wall features Canada’s military actions since 1867 and words from poet Jane Urquhart and military historian Professor Jack Granatstein.

Afghanistan Memorial
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

Adjacent to the Ontario Veteran’s Memorial, a companion memorial was installed in 2020 to recognize the 40,000+ Canadian soldiers who served in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. One part is a bronze ribbon inspired by the Afghanistan mountains. Another part is a piece of granite from an Inukshuk built by Canadian soldiers at Kandahar Airfield.

Danger

Someone at Queen’s Park has a sense of humour

Robert Raikes

This bronze statue of Robert Raikes was executed by the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock in 1930. Raikes was often regarded as being the founder of Sunday schools. This statue was first erected in Great Britain in July 1880 and replicas where installed in Gloucester (1929) and then in Toronto.

Dr. Norman Bethune
1890-1939

Dr. Bethune was a Canadian surgeon who graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School. He first gained fame as a doctor for the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War, and then for providing medical services to the communist-led Eighth Army during the second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930’s.

The statue shows Dr. Bethune seated, dressed in a doctor’s apron, taking field notes. The following quote is inscribed on his apron: “I am content. I am doing what I want to do. Why shouldn’t I be happy – see what my riches consist of. First I have important work that fully occupies every minute of my time… I am needed.” At the bottom of the statue is inscribed, in English and Cantonese: “The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto proudly celebrates its shared history with Dr. Norman Bethune and China, and its ongoing research and education collaborations with China.”

Cannons at the Legislative Assembly

At the entrance to the Legislature there are two Russian cannons that were captured by the British during the Crimean war and sent to Toronto as a gift.

Queen Victoria Monument
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

Installed in 1902, this bronze statue of Queen Victoria on a stone pedestal was designed by Mario Raggi.

Post One Monument
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

To celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967, a bronze map of the country was installed. It features surveyor tools and a time capsule to be opened in 2067.

Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion Monument

This monument to the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, erected on the grounds of the Ontario provincial legislature in Toronto in 1995, was the first to commemorate Canadian involvement in International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. Approximately 1500 Canadians volunteered to fight for the Republican cause, many out of ideological motives and class convictions underpinned by the experience of the Great Depression. They were often forced to make the long and arduous journey to Spain independently, since in 1937 the Canadian government had forbidden the involvement of its citizens in the Spanish Civil War through the passing of the Foreign Enlistment Act. Initially a number volunteered with the American Abraham Lincoln Brigade, but the substantial number of Canadian volunteers would ultimately lead to the formation of a separate battalion, named after two leaders of the unsuccessful Canadian rebellions against the British Crown in 1837-38.

Makeshift Memorial

Pairs of shoes have been placed in front of Queen’s Park as part of a makeshift memorial in response to the discovery of 215 children whose remains were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Plaque: King George V’s Silver Jubilee

Installed in 1935, this plaque commemorates the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Time and tide have taken its toll on the inscription and it’s difficult to see, but the text reads: “This tree was planted by James Simpson, Esq., Mayor of Toronto, on the occasion of the celebration of the Twenty-Fifth anniversary of the accession of King George the Fifth to the throne. May 6th 1935”.

Whatever…

Mural outside the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus at Queen’s Park Crescent and College Street.
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“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.

“Still Dancing”

March 18, 2023 / / 1 Comment

Is it a whiskey still? A droplet of liquid? A man and woman dancing?

Myself, I’ll go with the idea of a whiskey still. The sculpture in question – Still Dancing – is by artist and creator Dennis Oppenheim. He describes Still Dancing as a “combination of sculpture, architecture and theatre”.

Installed in the Distillery District in 2009, the piece seems to be an acknowledgement of the Distillery’s brewing/distilling past (if you go with the interpretation of the piece as a whiskey still, that is).

The installation is quite large – the top of the copper apparatus reaches almost 40 feet in height.

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