This probably the most famous and the best mural in Toronto. The "FlatIron Mural" is found appropriately on the back of the Flat Iron building and was created by Canadian artist Derek Besant in 1980 after a competition run by the city. Although it incorporates a few of the windows from the building itself, the facade it depicts is actually that of the Perkins Building across the road on Front St E. I love it!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click here for more murals.
This wonderful Rococo style building located at Yonge and Front Streets has been home to the Hockey Hall Of Fame since 1993. Designed by architects Darling & Curry and built in 1885 for the Bank Of Montreal it remained in use as a bank until 1982 before undergoing a $27 million renovation which also restored some of the beautiful original features of the building including the huge stained glass dome above the central banking hall. Today it is a shrine to hockey in a town that loves hockey and its Maple Leafs despite their horrible record for the last 47 years.
This suitcase is actually not a suitcase but is instead another work in clay found at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics. The artist for this piece was Marilyn Levine, a Canadian who was a long-time California resident and who was part of the explosion of studio pottery that took place in the 70s. Her specialty was imitating leather in clay and that included suitcases, shoes and especially leather jackets. It was hard to get a good pic with all the reflections on the glass case in the museum but to see her work in real-life is amazing. I have seen several of the jackets and it is hard to believe they are clay - everything down to the 'metal' buckles etc is made of clay!
While wandering around downtown last weekend I caught this obviously very tired gentleman napping by a fountain, oblivious to all around him. He was soon joined by his family who woke him up!
There are 3 staircases in the Artscape Youngplace building which I showed you yesterday. Each has been given over to an individual artist for the installation of work. This central stairway has 5 access points and was given to Melissa Fisher who decorated from top to bottom with a wonderful array of shapes and forms each cut out of vinyl. I particularly liked this piece, made up from different elements, which was on the top landing but as you can see she also ran shapes along all the railings and above the baseboards. The whole staircase was like a magical place as you ascended!
Artscape is "a not-for-profit organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities" by transforming underutilized spaces and buildings into areas for artists and last week they had an open house and artist market at one of their newest projects. Artscape Youngplace is located in the old Shaw Street School which had been empty since 2000 after serving the West Queen Street West community from 1914 until then. Artscape spent millions of dollars converting the 75,000 sq ft building into a community cultural hub containing galleries, studios, and art organizations - some own their own spaces while others rent at below market rates. This enables artists to stay in this rapidly gentrifying expensive area downtown.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click here for more signs.
These colourful glass pieces are by Canadian artist Don McClennen and are part of his "Urban/Suburban"series which is on display now at the Craft Ontario Shop (formerly the Guild Shop) on Cumberland Ave in Yorkville. Each individual building is made of multiple layers of glass which have been cut to shape and then fused together in a kiln and then carefully cooled. I love them!
