Remembering the Secret Swing
In the summer of 2005 I showed my brother and my cousin the Secret Swing, which was installed by artist Corwyn Lund in a wedge between two buildings, available from Graffiti Alley behind Queen Street West about a block an a half west of Spadina.
Neither of them knew anything about the swing. I pretended that we were just going to check out the graffiti, and then had the pleasure of surprising them with the swing.
A little bit more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Swing
I can’t be the only one bothered by the fact that “Triangle Park” will be a rectangle.
408 Queen St W | Sept 2011
A new mural by John Abrams is underway, replacing his previous ‘living’ mural. The building required structural repairs and the previous murals did not survive.
Earlier:
408 Queen St W | July 2011
410 & 408 Queen St W | January 2011
408 Queen St W | March 2006
Queen St W, Vanauley to Cameron | June 2010
1153 Queen St W | August 2011
The final destruction of 48 Abell will be… EPIC!
portraitsofqueenwest: 1172 & 1170 Queen St W | June 2011
“After 12 years Fly Gallery is packing it in. Our mandate has been to keep art accessible and contribute to the cultural life of the street. Since 1999 the development of this stretch of Queen St. has changed the dynamic of that culture. One may call this development ‘Gentrification’. Often associated with negative connotations it is a reality of many urban neighbourhoods. Whether the development is a good or bad thing, it is a factor in why Fly is leaving Queen West. Is this Paradise Lost or a new beginning? The spirit of Fly will live on and we have invited artists to say goodbye with us.”
paradisenow.ca/?p=165
Hey, look, it’s Joey Devilla!
I was walking home after taking some pictures along Queen West and saw the familiar silhouette of Accordion Guy Joey Devilla working away in a window seat at Cloud Free Agent Espresso Bar.
Joey says: www.joeydevilla.com/2011/01/27/yesterdays-coffee-and-code…
1184-1154 Queen St W | June 2010
1184-1154 Queen St W | June 2007 & May 2008
I’m enjoying the renewed interest in GIF animations, especially the careful limited animations seen at If We Don’t, Remember Me, so I made this one.
984 Queen St W
portraitsofqueenwest: Queen St W at Bathurst Ave. May 31, 2010
What once was a Mr. Sub is a Starbucks. What once was a donut shop is a Mr. Sub. What once was a smoke shop now sells poutine. I guess that’s par for the course.
What once was a transit shelter with four walls has been replaced by a single wall that is mostly street facing advertising. That’s what Toronto gets for free.
Queen St W at Jameson Avenue, May 30, 2010
More old storefronts with painted or three dimensional signage are replaced by quickie franchise desktop published branding. ¶ The city loses resolution to become more like video game cities, flat surfaces and simple texture maps churned out by junior designers.
