artblog.ptoone.com

University Avenue, Toronto

2008-01-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

A typical Toronto House and Shop

2008-01-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

A typical Toronto House and Shop painting

“Harry” An illustrated poem

2008-01-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

Harry...A compelling story of a thoughtful and conscientious doorman who reluctantly gave his job up in the blink of an eye for what turned out to be a mistake, he hoped he would live to regret. Learn why Harry leave’s the city in this enterprisingly artistic work by Perry Toone.
With the help of a piece of squirrel hair and a mouse, Perry painted a mural of the poetic story of “Harry” in a downtown Toronto gallery. “Harry” has now made the big screen and entered the optical storage of a PDF.

The Rock Garden of Chandigarh

2007-12-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

The Rock Garden of Chandigarh

Nek Chand moved to Chandifarh, India with his family in 1947 during the partition, The area was set to be the first planned city in India, visualized as a modern utopia by French/Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

Chand began working there as a roads inspector by day. Come nightfall, Chand began collecting disregarded building materials and in 1957 he began what would become he's own utopia. A vision of a divine kingdom rooted from his belief in ultimate goodness. The Rock Garden was a project that spanned 18 years and saw the creation of hundreds, more likely thousands of life-sized figures, both animal and human. Created with a uniformed alignment by just one man. The hand made construction of each structure grants them an individual distinction.

Although Chand lacked political permission to unused land, developers and diggers were moving closer to the site. After having kept The Rock Garden a secret for over eighteen years, it must have difficult when the site covered a forty acre area. Subsequently discovered by authorities in 1975. It's days then seemed numbered, but with an abundance of public support the work was protected from destruction.

The immense public support forced the government to re-evaluate it's decision and realize the cultural importance of the work. In time they granted Nek Chand a salary, a team of 50 men and collection points for recycled materials around the city, in hopes that he would continue his ground breaking work.

When Chand left India in 1996 for a lecture tour, the government withdrew funding and The Rock Garden was vandalized. The administration and upkeep of the works have now been taken over by The Rock Garden Society and now welcomes over five thousand people every day.

Lighthouse, Port Credit, On

2007-11-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

The lighthouse of Port Credit, a small harbor 10km from downtown Toronto.

College Street, Toronto

2007-11-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

College between Ossington and Bathurst was once a greater representation of community it is still known as, 'Little Italy.' With the major transformations of the last few decades, College St is now lined with bars, clubs and restaurants that overflow with people when the moon comes out.

Queen/Sherbourne intersection downtown Toronto

2007-10-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

A Streetcar passes on this warm fall day in 2007.

Queen Street, downtown Toronto

2007-10-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

Few historic buildings has survived Toronto's transition, you can see subtle evidence of a rich past by looking at the building's on Queen street for instance. Many developments have been made over the years to disguise what happened in the past. By entering the basement of many buildings along Queen street you can see a an old brick wall with bricked in windows, due to the street level being raised in height over the years.

Recently strict laws have been passed to prevent changes to historic buildings, a new law has prevented building restorers from removing a brick and placing anywhere else other than the exact spot where it originally came from. A major influence of this law had a lot to do with the type of brick in question, the 'London Stock Brick.' These bricks were made in England's east London up until the early 1900's. During the 18th and 19th centuries, boats brought shipments of these bricks to Canada to build what is now know as the 'Distillery district.' Back in London, wars and bombs have destroyed many building where the bricks were used. This then opened a reclaimed brick market as the bricks are too valuable to be used for rubble. After demolition they are cleaned and chiseled by hand to remove cement and resold to reclaimed architectural dealers. You can expect to pay £1 to £3 per brick ($2.50 to $7.00). Here in Toronto the the value of these bricks overseas has added to an awareness of protecting its rich history.

Coe Hill, Kawartha Lakes, Canada

2007-10-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

This red tractor made it possible to travel the snow covered unmade roads in the deepest of snowstorm's. The scene is from the summer of 2006. Coe Hill, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario.

China Town, New York city

2007-10-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Sole trader businessmen in the the largest north American China town. New York city, Fall 1998.

Toronto Pride festival

2007-10-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

A scene where a group of youths came across a prime view point for the festival. After about 15 minutes they were asked to get down from the bus stop by authorities.

Capel Street, Dublin, Ireland

2007-10-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

An early Sunday morning in the early summer of 2007, on this downtown Dublin street. The 'Soho' shop front reflects on the discreet presence of a few adult only shop's on the street. I have decided to utilize advertising space in public areas by placing an advert for a previous art project that was made into a short film, 'Harry.'