shaunpierre's PhotoBlog

"Courante" in the Toronto Music Garden

2008-08-19T18:37:49Z

"Courante" in the Toronto music Garden From the city of Toronto website: "Originally an Italian and French Dance form, the Courante is an exuberant movement that is interpreted here as a huge, upward spiralling swirl through a lush field of grasses and brightly coloured perennials and attract birds and butterflies. At the top, a Maypole spins in the wind." "Julie Messervy designed the waterfront Music Garden in collaboration with landscape architects from the city's Parks and Recreation department. The garden design interprets in nature Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, with each dance movement within the suite corresponding to a different section in the garden. Two Canadian artists created special features for the Music Garden. Tom Tollefson, architectural blacksmith, fabricated the Music Pavilion, and Anne Roberts, Feir Mill Design Inc., designed the Maypole."

Monument to Multiculturalism by Francesco Perilli

2008-08-14T12:10:32Z

"This monument, a tribute to multiculturalism, was presented to the city of Toronto on the occasion of its sesquicentennial by the national congress of Italian Canadians on behalf of the Italian Canadian Community." "Unveiled on Canada Day, July 1st, 1985 by the mayor of the city of Toronto, Arthur Eggleton, In the presence of the Province of Ontario, David Peterson."

U.V. Ceti by Andrew Posa

2008-08-14T12:16:22Z

"Dedicated to Edward Isaac Richmond, architect 1908 - 1982. A kind man who shared his love of beauty."

Nuture Nature by Joe Fafard

2008-08-06T13:18:08Z

Cut Steel 1993 From Nouveaugallery.com : Joe Fafard was born in Ste. Marthe, Saskatchewan in 1942. He attended the University of Manitoba (BFA 1966) and Pennsylvania State University (MFA 1968). He was an instructor at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina from 1968-1974 and visiting lecturer at the University of California, Davis in 1980-1981. Recognized for his outstanding contribution to the arts in Canada, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981; awarded the Architectural Institute of Canada Allied Arts Award in 1987; and received an Honorary Degree from the University of Regina in 1989.

Al Purdy Memorial by Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales

2008-08-06T09:59:36Z

Memorial statue of Alfred Purdy, by Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales. 2008 Purdy, who died in 2000 at the age of 82, was a member of the Order of Canada and a two-time winner of the Governor General's Award for his collections of poetry.In 2001, husband-and-wife sculptors Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales of Highgate, Ont., were hired by art philanthropist Scott Griffin and poet Dennis Lee to create a statue. From Paul Vermeersch: "Al Purdy, the man widely regarded as Canada's first true national poet, died in April, National Poetry Month, in the year 2000. In a way, his death marked the end of a century in which the Canadian cultural identity – under pressure from separatist tensions, two world wars, the rapid development of the mass media and the sensation of being a young nation adrift between older colonial powers and our newer imperialist neighbour – experienced its most profound growing pains. No other poet was as resolute in addressing those pains as Alfred Wellington Purdy. He did so not only by writing about the issues head-on, but also by listening to the people around him, by writing a poetry rooted in the daily life of the people and places of the Canada he knew and loved, from sea to sea to sea. He was writing poems that were relevant to Canadians, and, for over forty years, Canadians listened."

"Consolation" by Joe Rosenthal

2008-07-17T13:54:02Z

Bronze 1996 From the City of Windsor website citywindsor.ca: "In Joe Rosenthal's art, the human figure is presented with impressive weight. The solid rounded shapes of Consolation display a substantial inner fortitude, what some critics have called enduring universal toughness. The artist does not portray the human form as fragile or teetering on the edge of collapse. Instead, Rosenthal's heavy sculpture seems able to hold its own ground against the chaos of conflicting forces."

"Untitled" by William McElcheran

2008-07-14T16:01:13Z

Bronze 1973 From the city of Calgary website: "McElcheran said his businessmen replace the classical hero. Instead of dealing with heroic imagery, he endeavoured to find his idea of the ‘larger-than-life’ in the non-hero. Conversation grew in his mind as he watched the ‘fat cats’ wheel and deal on the corner of Bay and King Streets in Toronto." "William McElcheran received a scholarship to attend the Ontario College of Art, where in 1948 he graduated at the top of his class and was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal." " In his earlier years as a woodworker, McElcheran focused on liturgical art as he began carving church furniture. He went on to become chief designer at Bruce Brown and Briesly architects where he helped co-ordinate the planning and designing of churches and university buildings." " His countless stations-of-the-cross, stained-glass windows, and bas-reliefs can be seen in churches in Toronto, Hamilton and Quebec. As he began to seek other clients, his work became more secularized, which led to the creation of his businessmen." "McElcheran is now internationally recognized for his bronze figures of portly businessmen, portraying these self-important men of trade in different settings and situations. His commissioned works can be found in churches, subways, and numerous public places worldwide." "Since his death in 1999, McElcheran forgeries have appeared on the market, which is indicative of how well regarded and widely accepted his works have become."

"Businessman on a Horse" by William McElcheran

2008-07-14T17:07:10Z

Bronze, 1989 From the city of Calgary website: "McElcheran said his businessmen replace the classical hero. Instead of dealing with heroic imagery, he endeavoured to find his idea of the ‘larger-than-life’ in the non-hero. Conversation grew in his mind as he watched the ‘fat cats’ wheel and deal on the corner of Bay and King Streets in Toronto." "William McElcheran received a scholarship to attend the Ontario College of Art, where in 1948 he graduated at the top of his class and was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal." " In his earlier years as a woodworker, McElcheran focused on liturgical art as he began carving church furniture. He went on to become chief designer at Bruce Brown and Briesly architects where he helped co-ordinate the planning and designing of churches and university buildings." " His countless stations-of-the-cross, stained-glass windows, and bas-reliefs can be seen in churches in Toronto, Hamilton and Quebec. As he began to seek other clients, his work became more secularized, which led to the creation of his businessmen." "McElcheran is now internationally recognized for his bronze figures of portly businessmen, portraying these self-important men of trade in different settings and situations. His commissioned works can be found in churches, subways, and numerous public places worldwide." "Since his death in 1999, McElcheran forgeries have appeared on the market, which is indicative of how well regarded and widely accepted his works have become."

"Out of the Blue" - by Shayne Dark

2008-07-09T10:24:46Z

Wood, 2005 From Shane Dark's website shaynedark.com: "Born 1952, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada Currently resides in Hartington, Ontario, Canada Shayne Dark has participated in numerous exhibitions in Canada and the United States since he began his artistic career in the mid 1980’s. Dark creates mainly sculptural works, taking a keen interest in every aspect of the process of art production, which he feels draws upon and focuses the physical and perceptual experience of the world. His works often evoke the contrasts between urban settings and the natural world, they are meant to stimulate a spiritual or visceral reaction in the viewer. Most recently Shayne's work was selected by an International Jury of art experts from 5 continents for exhibition in an International exhibition entitled ARTiade - Olympics of Visual Art. Shayne is one of 172 Artists from 78 nations chosen from more than 4,500 entries from 120 Nations in the competition. The exhibition, ARTiade - Olympics of Visual Art will run from 12 August to 29 September 2004, during the XXVIII Olympic Games 2004 in Athens. Shayne will be one of three Canadian artists representing Canada in Athens. Shayne was the recipient of a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc. in the fall of 2004. A documentary of Shayne's life & work entitled 'Artist in the Round: Shayne Dark' premiered on Discovery Channel HD Theater on Sunday, April 25, 2004 across the United States."

"Memorial to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada" by Eldon Garnet and Francis LeBouthillier

2008-06-26T10:41:10Z

"Dedicated to the Chinese railroad workers who helped construct the Canadian Pacific railway through the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia thus uniting Canada geographically and politically." "From 1880 to 1885 seventeen thousand men from the province of Kwangtung (Guangdong), China, came to work on the Western section of the railway through the treacherous terrain of the Canadian Rockies. Far from their families, amid hostile sentiments, these men labour long hours and made the completion of the railway physically and economically possible." "More than four thousand Chinese workers lost their during construction. With no means of going back to China when their labour was no longer needed, thousands drifted in near destitution along the completed track. All of them remained nameless in the history of Canada." "We erect this monument to remember them." September 1989