Heech by Parviz Tanavoli

'Heech' sculpture by famous Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli outside Aga Khan Museum, Toronto.

Graffiti Alley

In most of the places, graffiti is considered a kind of vandalism; writing or drawing that is done without permission. But here in Toronto, it has morphed into something unique and beautiful. In 2011, it was legalized under certain conditions and now every year city invites applications under Street Art program. It is an ingenious solution to vandalism that not only makes streets beautiful but it also nurtures emerging talent and encourages budding artists.

The center of this artistic expression is located in a back alley between Queen and Richmond streets in the western part of downtown. However, since it is a back alley, you might encounter potholes and smelly trash cans too. On a rainy day, it can be a bit messy.

Murals and graffiti are usually done on the side walls but at one place, the whole building is covered with these murals.

In most of the places, it is actually quite chaotic. Various artists compete for artistic space and nothing seems permanent. Your creation has to be exceptionally good to stay for long.

Gulgee in ROM

In a little corner of South Asian section in the Royal Ontario Museum, there is a painting by Gulgee. It is titled:

Panchtan Paak
Gulgee (1926-2007)
Oil on canvas
Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1978

Its description says:

One of the most celebrated artists from present-day Pakistan, Gulgee was a self-taught artist who brought together abstract form, Islamic calligraphy, and American-style "action" painting. The artistic practice of calligraphy is a central part of Islamic art, combining image and text into a purely abstract form. Gulgee‘s interpretation of Islamic calligraphy into a gestural art that is at once both spontaneous and controlled, was meant to inspire awe. It brought together past and present, religious spirituality and a secular exploration of medium and form.

Silent Voices by Toronto Children's Chorus

Yesterday, I attended a TCC choir performance at the Church of the Redeemer in downtown Toronto. Its theme 'Silent Voices', was about welcoming spring and celebrating the many voices that have been silenced throughout time.

It was my first time to a choir ensemble. I never expected it to be such a moving experience. Besides traditional choir pieces, the group performed several songs from around the world. It included Inuit, Samoan, Irish, Catalan, Venezuelan, Dari, and Maori melodies.

The talent and the skills of the group that included teenagers and younger children, were astounding. I am looking forward to attending more of their concerts.

Photography and recordings were not allowed at the event but here are a couple of links to the group's older performances from YouTube.

Friday Afternoons (Cuckoo)

Chamber Choir - Tundra (Ola Gjeilo)

It's full of stars!

The above image of Globular cluster Messier 3, contains around half of million stars. It is one of the largest and brightest ever discovered. Located at 34,000 light-years from Earth, it is part of our milky way galaxy. 

And these stars are ancient. At eight billion years of age, they make our sun rather a young sibling. These are densely packed too. All within a radius of just 90 light-years.

I keep looking at this picture and try to absorb the knowledge that each one of these stars has the potential to harbor planets. Some caring like Earth, nurturing and protecting life. Other hostile and harsh beyond our imagination.  

What strange life forms might have risen and blended into the dust again during the immensity of this time. How many are still there, we don’t know. Some tied to their day-to-day existence. Some capable of higher thoughts. Some even looking upwards and wondering about the nature of the points of light in their night skies. Others, capable of technologies that are even opaque to our mind’s eye. 

What bizarre societies, cultures, and civilizations might be out there. What beliefs, theologies, and philosophies they might have dreamt and practiced. What ethics, values, and morals they might be teaching to their young ones. What languages, literature, and works of arts they might be capable of creating and absorbing through their senses.

…. And this is just one little patch of sky, not even visible to our naked eyes. Our galaxy, among billions upon billions in the universe, is hundreds of thousands of times greater than this meager blotch. 

Will we ever be able to cross the abyss of space and visit such wonderful worlds? Communicate with such fantastic creatures, learn, cooperate and explore together. 

This is still all part of science fiction and fantasy but the potential is out there. Someday these dreams will be realized. It will take time but our future is full of stars. I am certain of that.

Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope

(NASA/ESA released this image of Messier 3 on April 8, 2019)

Aga Khan Museum

Aga Khan Museum is a museum of Islamic art and culture in Toronto. Its collection includes artifacts from Iranian, Turkish, Moorish Spain, North African and Muslim-Indian civilizations. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions on current themes and performing arts programs throughout the year.

Qur'an - 11th century Iran - Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper

Kalmat e Dimashtanus (Demosthenes) from the manuscript of ‘Al-Kalima al-Ruhaniya wa al-Hikma al-Yunaniya' (The spiritual Word and Greek Philosophy) from 13th century Iraq. Demosthenes was a 4th century BC orator and statesman from Greece.

There seems to be no aversion to the human images and figures in such books from the earlier Muslim period. In some cases, even holy personalities were depicted in pictorial form.

The constellation Cancer from ‘Kitab Suwar al-Kawakib al-Thabita (Book of the Images of Fixed Stars) by ‘Abd-al-Rahman al Sufi’ (d. 986) from Iran 1625-50.

Fountain - Syria 16th century

Box - Spain 16th century

Wood panel from 15th century Iran. The inscription belongs to a section of a ghazal by Persian poet Hafiz (d. 1390).

Revetment Tiles from 15th century Syria

Hunter's Horn or Oliphant - Sicily 12th century

A (very rich!) beggar’s bowl or ‘Khaskul’ from 16th century Iran. These were used by Muslim mystics to collect donations of food and money.

Shell - 17th century India

That celestial orb called Moon. A five-meter sphere by Luke Jerram, part of 'The Moon: Voyage Through Time' exhibition.

Graffiti at Victoria Park and Kingston

Cool graffiti mural at the intersection of Victoria Park and Kingston Roads by Uber5000.

TD Gallery of Inuit Art

Inuit are the indigenous peoples of the Arctic regions of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. In the past, the term 'Eskimo' was used for these people by the earlier European explorers and settlers but now it is considered somewhat offensive. On the other hand, 'Inuit' simply means 'the people' in their local language. Inuit is a small community and it numbers around 150 thousand worldwide most of which are living in the Canadian north. 

The gallery is located on the ground and mezzanine floors of TD bank building in downtown Toronto and is open to the public. The works are mainly made of stone, antler, and bone.

Every art is rooted in its culture and so are these works of art. The themes revolve around the society and traditions of Inuit people. However, there is also something unique and different about these sculptures. It seems that they belong to a dreamland or fantasy world. 

Hunter by Isa Smiler (Pre 1965)

The Migration by Joe Talirunili (1964)

Owl and owlet by Kananginak Pootoogook (1972)

Man stretching skin by Thomasee Echalook (Pre 1966)

Carved walrus tusk by Charlie Sivuarapik (1962)

Bear by Pauta Saila (1964)

Eskimo hunting by Pierre Karlik (1965)

Family group by Alain Iyerak (1964)

Scarborough Historic Museum

This Museum is about the lives of common people and their dwellings in the 19th century rural Scarborough. It consists of four structures which were moved here in the 1960s and 70s by the Scarborough Historical Society for preservation.

The bigger structure is Cornell House, which was built in 1858 and was in use until 1961. It is furnished in the late 19th-century style of rural dwellings.

Cornell House - exterior, plaques, and the living room

Dining and Kitchen

The house also has a wooden wall-mounted telephone from late 19th or early 20th century. Its manufacturer is inscribed as “Northern Electric and Manufacturing Company Limited” which remained in business from 1895 to 1914.

On the subject of old telephones, few people know that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in Canada. He was Scottish-born and later moved to the USA but his invention was brought to life in 1874, while he was residing at his parent’s farm near Brantford, Ontario.

Adjacent to Cornell house is Kennedy Gallery which was formally a small farm outbuilding. It now a multipurpose room and displays some works of art along with a high wheeler 'Penny-farthing' bicycle from the 1870s.

'Farthing' was British coin at the time which was equal to a quarter of a penny. The bicycle resembles a penny leading a farthing from the side view; hence the unusual name.

Another structure is a log cabin which was built in 1830 and was moved here in 1974. It is a much humble and simpler dwelling than the Cornell house.

McCowan Log House

Log House Interior

Hough Carriage Works houses a collection of artisans tools from the same era.

Hough Carriage Works

Carriage Works Interior

Gardiner Museum

Gardiner is Canada's national ceramic museum that houses ancient American, classic European, Japanese, Chinese and modern collections along with a contemporary exhibition gallery. At the time of the visit, a special exhibition of Ai Weiwei's work was on display.

The museum also offers clay classes for adults and children plus lectures and other related programs throughout the year.

Earthware from the classic Maya period

Deity Effigy Funerary Urn (AD 500-700), Zapotec Civilization, Mexico and Bat Effigy Vessel (AD 1000-1500), Tairrona culture, Colombia.

The Renaissance Pharmacy - European Gallery

The Monkey Orchestra (Germany 1765 AD)

Chestnut Basket (England 1768-70)

Sugar and Porcelain sculpture for the desert - European Porcelain Gallery

Above is an 18th-century dessert table recreation by renowned food historian Ivan Day in the style of great Italian chef (and scholar) Vincenzo Corrado. Everything is made out of sugar-paste (a mixture of powdered sugar and a natural edible gum). Such elegant banquets were once all the rage in his native Naples.

Japanese Porcelain Section

Porcelain originated in China and remained a secret of the Far East until the early 18th century. Its main ingredient is Kaolin, which is a white clay mineral.

Heaven and Earth (Japan 1680-1700)

In the modern era, ceramics are mainly a medium of sculptural expression.

Horse with baggage by Jean-Pierre Larocque (2005-06) 

Goblin Orchid by Shary Boyle - 2010

Lady Cat and Monk by Sergei Isupov (2012) and Janet Macpherson (2014) respectively.