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Statues, sculptures and public art in Toronto

AlbertC

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Hidden Toronto: Comfort Woman Statue

BY RICHARD LONGLEY

FEBRUARY 7, 2020 8:00 AM

Toronto bronze to commemorate the suffering of “comfort women” during the Second World War is a replica of the statue placed in protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in 2011

What Pyeonghwaui Sonyeosang, also known as the Comfort Woman Statue.

Where In front of the Korean Canadian Cultural Association Centre, 1133 Leslie.

When Sunday, February 2.

Why To commemorate the suffering of “comfort women.” Toronto’s bronze, which was unveiled in 2016, is a replica of the one created by husband-and-wife team Kim Woo-Sung and Kim Suh-Kyung and placed in protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in 2011. The bird on the statue’s shoulder represents freedom and peace, which is why the sculpture is sometimes referred to as the Statue of Peace.

Toronto was the third city outside Korea – and the first Canadian city – to erect the monument. Vancouver was originally slated to be the first to unveil the statue, but those plans were cancelled in the face of widespread Japanese community opposition.

 
Hidden Toronto: Monsters For Beauty, Permanence And Individuality

The Omaskêko Cree artist Duane Linklater found the inspiration for his sculptures in a panorama of Toronto buildings that were built of brick after the great fire of 1904

BY RICHARD LONGLEY

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

What Monsters For Beauty, Permanence And Individuality by Duane Linklater.

Where Lower Don River Valley Park between the river and the trail north of the Prince Edward Viaduct.


When Friday, January 24.

Why To represent the tsunami of destruction and renewal that’s swept through the city and Don River over two centuries. The Omaskêko Cree artist from Moose Cree First Nation found his inspiration for his sculptures in a panorama of Toronto buildings that were built of brick after the great fire of 1904 and featured in the book, Building for Beauty, Permanence and Individuality, that was published by the Don Valley Brick Works sometime in the 1920s. (The panorama is displayed on a wall at Evergreen Brick Works.)

 
Hidden Toronto: Monsters For Beauty, Permanence And Individuality

The Omaskêko Cree artist Duane Linklater found the inspiration for his sculptures in a panorama of Toronto buildings that were built of brick after the great fire of 1904

BY RICHARD LONGLEY

FEBRUARY 14, 2020



They are very similar to the "ruins" in Guildwood Park (though the Guildwood Park "ruins" are actual ruins from demolished buildings in downtown Toronto; the one in the Don Valley are inspired by said ruins (the ones in downtown Toronto)).
 
More architectural ruins in the city:

The Dufferin Grove Stones and the surprisingly winding trail to discover the origins of mysterious Toronto architectural ruins

AUGUST 12, 2020


 
A 500-pound statue by renowned artist stolen from Toronto neighbourhood

August 31, 2020

The piece popularly known as the Secret Bench of Knowledge, was allegedly stolen from the front yard of a home in Toronto’s Forest Hill neighbourhood during the wee hours of Thursday, Aug. 27.

Featuring a life-size bronze bench with Eve offering an apple to Adam, the sculpture was procured by Murray Goldman in 1986 for $150,000 which, according to Goldman, is worth an estimated $500,000 today. Other locations of this famous sculpture include various cities in Ontario (including Sarnia), as well as Montreal (where it was put up in June 1989); there is also one in New York City.

It is alleged that multiple suspects approached the sculpture in its Spadina Road and Strathearn Boulevard location — a little after midnight on August 27 — removed it from Goldman’s front lawn and sped off in a white utility van.

Investigators are working to extricate footage from local surveillance sources.




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Parkdale church devastated after statue of Virgin Mary 'decapitated'

From link.

CHURCH_79934242-scaled-e1598909018515.jpg

Father Walid El Khoury with a vandalized statue of Mother Mary in front of Our Lady of Lebanon Parish along Queen St. W. in the Parkdale neighbourhood in Toronto, Ont. on Monday August 31, 2020. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun/Postmedia

statue-cam1-e1598908702184.png

Toronto Police have released CCTV images of a suspect they believe may be responsible for the beheading of a Virgin Mary statue at a Parkdale church early Sunday morning. Photo by HANDOUT /TORONTO POLICEhttps://torontosun.com/news/world/e...ave/wcm/9edd1543-b43f-4134-8842-2793b3dfdb7f/
 
Parkdale church devastated after statue of Virgin Mary 'decapitated'

From link.

CHURCH_79934242-scaled-e1598909018515.jpg

Father Walid El Khoury with a vandalized statue of Mother Mary in front of Our Lady of Lebanon Parish along Queen St. W. in the Parkdale neighbourhood in Toronto, Ont. on Monday August 31, 2020. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun/Postmedia

statue-cam1-e1598908702184.png

Toronto Police have released CCTV images of a suspect they believe may be responsible for the beheading of a Virgin Mary statue at a Parkdale church early Sunday morning. Photo by HANDOUT /TORONTO POLICEhttps://torontosun.com/news/world/e...ave/wcm/9edd1543-b43f-4134-8842-2793b3dfdb7f/
Now's their chance to put up one of these
christ.jpg

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/buddy-christ
 
I'm not too familiar with the exact location but according to councilor Paula Fletcher, there's going to be an upcoming piece of public art at Lakeshore & Leslie:

This is on the south-east corner of Leslie & Lake Shore where the Martin Goodman turns east from Leslie toward the Beaches (or vice versa).. Just in front of the Leslie barns.
 

City of Toronto removes one monolith but a second remains


Two monoliths mysteriously appeared over New Year's along Humber Bay, attracting vandals and selfie seekers

Jan 2, 2021

 
I’m sure the usual forum suspects here know this well so this is for the memory-challenged (like me) or those who haven't wandered far from home. I do have a vague memory of hearing about it, but alas I’d forgotten. And I’ve been to L.A. a half dozen times (lived nearby for a 7 month stretch). But duh… never saw it.

Anyway, I was watching a charming Netflix rom-com series called “From Scratch” on Netflix when I finally stumbled upon this astonishing vision/installation somewhere in sprawling L.A.

I immediately forgot about the plot of course ;) and started taking screenshots lol. Then did some research:

Dug into this magical vision of 17 interconnected sculptural towers and discovered “The Watts Towers” were built by hand by Simon Rodia over 34 years. Rodia had no architectural or structural engineering background and no scaffolding.

Every day Rodia would leave work and scavenge for materials and just keeping building (including all weekends).

The tallest tower is 99.5 feet (nearly 10 storeys). In the 1950s, the city decided the structures were unsafe and ordered them demolished, but a stress test (10,000 pounds of lateral force) couldn’t budge them. The site was designated a California Historical Landmark in August 1990 and a U.S. National Historic Landmark later that year.

So now I have this nutso idea for the Lower Don Lands “art/sculpture” trail… that brings together both artists and anyone else, at any age (and some volunteer structural engineers ;-)… for our own giant folk art piece, that would tell an ever-changing tapestry of 1000s of stories (and unknown storeys).

It would never be finished... like Toronto.

Rodia-1.jpg

Rodia-1b.jpg

Rodia-2.jpg

Rodia-3.jpg


181004_WattsTower_040.jpg
discoverlosangeles
 
Toronto charity to honour Italian immigrants to Canada through tribute wall

I thought this is was a great tribute idea (more than half my friends have Italian heritage) to those who literally built (and paved) much of this city.

On a personal note, I got a nice suprise: a gentleman named Aldo Cundari is the sculptor associated with the project. Aldo has owned a large advertising/marketing for decades simply called Cundari who helped me produce a number of pro bono national campaigns to promote literacy in Canada.

I had no idea he was a sculptor!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/italian-immigrants-tribute-wall-villa-charities-1.6701956
CBC
 

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