When infrastructure becomes art

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Cities like Toronto are finding a way to bring to life everything from walls to waste bins as placeholders for that next great work of art

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Riddle me this: what do building walls, outdoor steps, stoplight switching boxes, public waste bins and highway underpasses have in common? Answer: with a bit of creativity, they can all serve as canvasses for public art.

Fall is traditionally a time for what some describe as ‘leaf peeping’… a chance to enjoy the changing colour of the leaves. In fact according to ToDo Ontario, October is deemed to be “the absolute best time” to see the colours in this province and undoubtedly in the rest of the country as well.

This brings me back to those building walls, outdoor stairs, stoplight switching boxes, public waste bins and highway underpasses. For decades now, North American cities have made extensive use of such materials as concrete, glass, steel and asphalt as they continue to expand and densify – in other words – lifeless, uninspiring surfaces bereft of colour.

But thanks to some creative rethinking of how we use public space along with no shortage of local artists who welcome the opportunity to display their work, cities like Toronto are finding a way to bring to life everything from walls to waste bins as placeholders for that next great work.

If you Google “Toronto Public Art” the www.toronto.ca site will appear at or near the top of the list on which hundreds of works of public art throughout the city are listed, comprised of everything from sculptures to murals, monuments and even public gardens done with artistic flair.

For the latter, Mist Gardens adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel & Residences which is part greenspace, part maze readily comes to mind.

The supporting map for the above-mentioned art can be found on Street ARToronto (www.streetartoronto.ca) which includes a legend that describes in general terms what type of art you will find.

The cleverly described Outside the Box icons show you where you can discover the more than 350 traffic signal switch boxes that have been transformed into works of art.

For instance at the College and Elizabeth street intersection you will find a switchbox painted by artist Jaqueline Comrie called “the March of Suffragettes” which celebrates the Victorian movement that ultimately won women the long overdue right to vote.

In terms of look elsewhere for inspiration, the Bentway in Toronto is a unique not-for-profit organization that transformed areas under the city’s Gardiner Expressway, turning once barren space into a platform for showcasing not only public art installations, but seasonal and special exhibitions, theatre and musical performances, festivals and a creative marketplace.

This month only running through to October 30th the Bentway and Exhibition Place have teamed up to create a new large-scale art commission called Confluence set inside a massive storage chamber… (right under the Gardiner Expressway adjacent to Exhibition Place).

Created by the Maine-based artist duo known as Striped Canary visitors will discover what the Bentway website describes as “a play on the picnic table, a familiar fixture in parks across the city that contorts into a dynamic sculptural installation; twirling, cascading, and cresting to evoke Toronto’s buried, lost rivers… as guests wander the artwork’s fluid streams, visitors will be guided by an immersive sound field by Toronto composer/artist Anne Bourne.”

Remarkably, what the city has managed to accomplish with this project is to create a unique experience that combines sculpture and music that animates what in normal circumstances would be a setting that is gloomy and unwelcoming. Note: you can register free at www.thebentway.ca/must, but are asked to do so prior to visiting.

So whether you live in Toronto, or plan to visit, make a point of venturing out and take advantage of some prime examples of public art at its finest. It’s yet another way to add colour to your world this fall.

Mark Wessel lives in Ridgeway, Ont. and is a passionate advocate for living more sustainably at home and in the greater community. Visit www.markdouglaswessel.com.