July 20/10: Subway Art

July 20/10: Subway Art, originally uploaded by susanvg.

We took the subway up to meet Paul's father for dinner. At the Bayview station we came upon some interesting art work. At first it looked like splotches of black on the tiles. Viewed from the right spot the splotches formed images – a dog, an insect, a ladder.... The work is by Panya Clark Espinal. According to a plaque, 24 images were projected onto the architecture. Viewed from the spot at which they were originally projected, you can see the form; viewed from another angle – just playful splotches.

The distorted image on the right is the dog.

Perspective is everything.

City smells – traffic and smog and other malodours. The sky wears a hazy coat. The fresh Arctic air is beckoning – not long now.

Day 280: Urban Art

Day 280: Urban Art, originally uploaded by susanvg.

So often, driving in the city, I see walls spray painted with graffiti. While some of it is creative, most of it is just tagging, which to me is a totally self-centered activity. I always love to come across a mural painted on the side of a building; this is a new one for me.

In my youth, the only wall murals were giant advertisements. I photographed one several months ago. Now there are a variety of murals around the city, some, like this one, conceived as a whole and others done by talented graffiti artists. They do add life to the city.