Graffiti Alley Toronto

Photos taken in October 2017

I walked up Spadina Avenue from the waterfront to Graffiti Alley in the Fashion District. That was quite a sight. There was a huge amount of artistic graffiti, more than I had ever seen in one place. People were in the alley taking photos, or on photo shoots. Artists were making graffiti. It was a lively scene, which continued out onto West Queen Street.

Graffiti art was first legalized in Graffiti Alley.  Legalization was promoted by the Queen Street West Business Improvement Association. Property owners in the area didn't want to be compelled by the city to remove graffiti art. The Business Improvement Association pointed to the cultural significance of Graffiti Alley & its popularity with tourists. All of Rush Lane south of Queen Street West from John Street to Bathurst Street was designated as an area of municipal significance in the Graffiti Management Plan adopted by Toronto City Council in 2011.

Graffiti art & graffiti vandalism are different things in Toronto. Individuals &  businesses must remove graffiti vandalism on their property.  Graffiti art is planned & does not need to be removed. The City of Toronto defines graffiti vandalism as "One or more letters, symbols, figures, etching, scratches, inscriptions, stains, or other markings that disfigure or deface a structure or thing, howsoever made or otherwise affixed on the structure or thing, but, for greater certainty, does not include an art mural." Graffiti art is a "mural for a designated surface and location that has been deliberately implemented for the purpose of beautifying the specific location."

Washington DC Sculpture Gardens

The Hirschhorn Museum is in the center background.

Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden (3 photos above)

National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden (2 photos above) These photos were taken in April 2016.

Click here for more photos of the sculpture gardens.

The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden & the Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden are across the street from each other at the National Mall in Washington DC. It's an engaging, pleasant, shaded stroll through the gardens, which are very much focused on the art. The Hirshhorn Museum & other buildings create an interesting backdrop. And of course, the museums themselves are very much worth visiting. The National Gallery of Art was given to the people of the United States by Andrew W. Mellon, a very wealthy man who served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932. The collection is mostly European & American art from the Renaissance to the present day, with loan exhibitions displaying art from other cultures & periods, The Hirshhorn Museum displays modern art from the period following World War II. It opened in 1974 with the endowment of the collection of another wealthy man, Joseph H. Hirshhorn. The building is an open cylinder set on four massive piers, with a large fountain in the central courtyard, sculptural in itself & controversial once completed.  Both sculpture gardens feature modern art pieces.

Olympic Sculpture Park

Photos were taken in September 2014.

The Olympic Sculpture Park is one of the finest gardens, public spaces & tourist sites in Seattle.  You can walk here fairly easily along the waterfront from the Seattle Aquarium, through Belltown from the Pike Place Market, or from Seattle Center.  It's about one mile from the market along Western Avenue, or from the aquarium along Alaskan Way & only half a mile from the Space Needle.  It features interesting sculptures, excellent native plant gardens, wonderful views of Elliott Bay, Puget Sound & the Olympic Mountains.  A charming part of the park is the pocket beach on Elliott Bay, which was created there, yet looks completely natural.  One of the most impressive sculptures is Wake by Richard Serra, consisting of 5 large rusted steel pieces, set in a small valley, creating a shaded micro-environment.  The Olympic Sculpture Park was created by the Seattle Art Museum, which can be found in Downtown Seattle on 1st Avenue at Union Street.  The park opened in January 2007.  It covers 9 acres & connects to Myrtle Edwards Park, which extends along the waterfront to the north.  The Olympic Sculpture Park is not gated & entry is free.  The park is open during daylight hours every day of the year.  There is pay parking available in the garage beneath the PACCAR Pavilion. 

Acclimatized: Heaven & Earth 5 at Carkeek Park

Spiritual Play Tower by Alan Fulle in September 2013

Tree Pods by Elizabeth Gahan in September 2013.  These are made from campaign signs.

As I walked with a friend through Carkeek Park on the beautiful 1st day of September 2013, I was surprised to find art strewn about.  I'd seen temporary art installations in parks before.  And in fact, this was the 5th year art had been presented in the park.  But it is always arresting to see art where usually there is none.  This outdoor art exhibition was orchestrated by the Center on Contemporary Art, better known as CoCA.  There were 14 artworks.  I found these 2 to be most attractive.  I want a gazebo like this in my garden.

Here is what CoCa has to say about this exhibition: In addition to the obvious reference to climate-change adaptation, Acclimatized: Heaven and Earth 5 hinges on the skill of 14 intrepid artists in placing various eco-artworks in the park that are designed to withstand the intensity of scrutiny by an estimated 100,000 summer visitors to the park. Acclimatized is one of the region's only venues for site-specific artwork in an urban forest setting where part of the exhibit includes a walking tour of an hour or more.

Olympic Sculpture Park

 Eagle by Alexander Calder, Olympic Sculpture Park April 2011

Love & Loss by Roy McMakin, Olympic Sculpture Park April 2011 

 Perre's Ventaglio III by Beverly Pepper, Olympic Sculpture Park April 2011

 Pocket beach, Olympic Sculpture Park April 2011

 Split by Roxy Paine, Olympic Sculpture Park April 2011

 Wake by Richard Serra, Olympic Sculpture Park April 2011

Wandering Rocks by Tony Smith, Olympic Sculpture Park April 2011

The Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle is a wonderful place.  There are views of  Puget Sound & the Olympic Mountains.  There is a remarkably realistic beach constructed in an area where the sea wall was removed.  There is sculpture.  There is an abundance of late 20th century & early 21st century architecture to be seen from the park.  There is a lot of open space divided into areas including a valley, meadows & a grove.  The grove is an excellent example of a traditional European bosque, with trees planted at equal distances with geometric precision.  These trees are native Populus tremuloides (Quaking Aspen) & quite a number of native forest plants grow in a natural fashion beneath them.  In fact, all the plants used in the Olympic Sculpture Park are native to Washington, making it the most impressive native plant garden in the state.  The Olympic Sculpture Park came about from a commitment by the Seattle Art Museum & the Trust for Public Land to preserve downtown Seattle's last undeveloped waterfront property. The museum purchased property on Seattle's central waterfront in 1999 with private and public funding.  92,986 cubic yards of dirt was removed from the site of SAM's downtown museum expansion project, and transported to the park for use as recycled fill in 2004. Construction of the Olympic Sculpture Park began in the summer of 2005 & was completed in 2006. The Olympic Sculpture Park opened to the public in January 2007.

Cougar Mountain: Overgrowth & Understory

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park covers 3,100 acres between between 1,000 and 1,595 feet above sea level near Issaquah.  It is the largest of the King County Parks, 6 times the size of Discovery Park, the largest park in the City of Seattle.  Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is connected to Squak Mountain State Park by the Cougar-Squak Corridor.  Together they cover an area of 5,000 acres.  The park is mostly forested, but also contains significant wetlands.  Overgrowth & Understory is a temporary outdoor sculpture exhibition at Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, which runs from July 10th through October 2nd, 2010.  16 artworks near the Sky Country and Anti-Aircraft Peak trailheads explore themes of art, nature, and land use.  This is collaboration between King County Parks and the Center on Contemporary Art.

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park August 2010.  Burnt Offering by Debra Harvey.  ‘Burnt Offering begins with the charred stump of a once large sheltering tree. Forged copper, rusty metal, rebar, semi-precious stones & glass mosaic combine to become part of the rebirth...the creation of the understory.’  Overgrowth & Understory

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park August 2010.  Retablo by Aaron Haba.  ‘Retablo is a response to the abandoned infrastructure on Anti-Aircraft Peak.  Drawing from the history of the site's use to deploy Nike missiles, I chose to work with simple geometric shapes.  These refer to boundaries, both physical & spiritual, & how over time these boundaries change, or in the case of the site become obsolete.  Through the use of ashes, flowers & chalk I hope to explore the need for boundariess & how we can dismantle those that keep us from seeing the world as a whole.’   Overgrowth & Understory

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park August 2010.  Mushroom growing along Anti-Aircraft Ridge Trail.

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park August 2010.  Alder (Alnus rubra) forest on Anti-Aircraft Ridge.

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park August 2010.  Que Viva El Sol / La Vida Del Sol by Miguel Edwards.  ‘The sun is massive...but also gaseous.  With this piece, I hoped to capture the essence of the duality with bold structure & geometry, as well as gesture & negative space.’  Overgrowth & Understory