A
|
|
|
G
ganjavih
Guest
Very cool. Any addition of public art is welcome.
S
spmarshall
Guest
I can't believe there needs to be an EA for something like this.
Saying that, the concept looks good. Good idea to make use of the space behind the courts and Osgoode Hall.
Saying that, the concept looks good. Good idea to make use of the space behind the courts and Osgoode Hall.
U
unimaginative2
Guest
Wow. We need a hundred thousand dollar study to determine the environmental impact of a garden.
Looks good, though. I'll be happy to see it built. I wish the connection between University and City Hall were better.
Looks good, though. I'll be happy to see it built. I wish the connection between University and City Hall were better.
T
tudararms
Guest
More gardens please!!!
A
andreapalladio
Guest
It is odd that they are doing the EA now, seeing as it's been under construciton since last year.
B
building babel
Guest
Let's hope this won't be an excuse for rich rogue benefactors to unload piles of second rate figurative "sculpture" and clutter up that rather nice walkway - a Gumby-goes-to-heaven-esque bronze of "Steven Truscott born to freedom on the wings of the Chief Justice of Ontario" or the like.
Art lover Roy McMurtry is a Sunday painter, specializing in cheerful landscapes in a Group of Seven meets Paint by Numbers style. I suspect he did the rendering for the a-Ha condo on Charles Street West that has been variously attributed to Trish Romance and Thomas Kinkade.
Art lover Roy McMurtry is a Sunday painter, specializing in cheerful landscapes in a Group of Seven meets Paint by Numbers style. I suspect he did the rendering for the a-Ha condo on Charles Street West that has been variously attributed to Trish Romance and Thomas Kinkade.
B
Bogtrotter
Guest
"Group of Seven meets Paint by Numbers style"
That's way too generous. Anything that involves gardens in that area can never be too bad.
That's way too generous. Anything that involves gardens in that area can never be too bad.
F
FutureMayor
Guest
I love this walkway. I use to take this path when walking to work to Queen's Park. It was a nice connection between NPS and University Ave. I was sad to see a lot of mature trees taken down.
I think a stronger connection to/from NPS is needed. Without signage, most people wouldn't know it was there.
Louroz
I think a stronger connection to/from NPS is needed. Without signage, most people wouldn't know it was there.
Louroz
A
AlvinofDiaspar
Guest
From the Star, by Hume:
Reflecting on the law
Feb 23, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume
Given some of the sculpture installed on the streets of Toronto, some might argue there ought to be a law against public art.
If such a law did exist, the McMurtry Gardens of Justice would be innocent until proven guilty.
The $1.8 million project, which will open next June, won't be complete for several years.
Named in honour of soon-to-retire Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, the gardens will occupy the pedestrian area on the east side of University Ave., just north of Queen St.
By the time it's finished – no one's sure exactly when – it will comprise up to 10 artworks.
The first piece to be commissioned is Edwina Sandys' Pillars of Justice.
The English artist, who also happens to be the granddaughter of Winston Churchill, created a large, 4.5-metre tall, outdoor work that feels both appropriate and accessible. It consists of a traditional classical pediment – architecturally reminiscent of a courthouse – supported by columns shaped in human form.
"There are 11 columns as opposed to the usual 12," Sandys explained at the unveiling of the maquette yesterday.
"The viewer becomes the twelfth."
In other words, justice is human, after all, not just an abstract set of ideas about which lawyers like to split legal hairs.
Sandys' sculpture is now being fabricated of steel plate in Windsor and will be officially opened in June.
"It's going to be such a great asset to Toronto," said former premier Bill Davis, who named McMurtry Ontario attorney general in 1975.
Davis also warned all those present at the Osgoode Hall event that if there were any problems completing the gardens, he would be happy to arrange for them to be moved to the courthouse in Brampton, where he lives.
Toronto Mayor David Miller, also on hand for the occasion, praised the project.
It is, he argued, "a way to remind people about justice" and an opportunity to beautify the city. Toronto, he said, "is undergoing a renaissance."
Indeed, just last Tuesday, the submissions of the four finalists in the competition to redesign Nathan Phillips Square went on display at City Hall. Though the Justice Gardens and the civic square occupy different sites, the one leads directly to the other.
Eventually, the gardens will extend from University east to the edge of Nathan Phillips Square. Both form part of the designated civic precinct of the city and the heart of Toronto. But it is an area that has suffered a certain amount of neglect in recent years and could use some attention.
The $40 million Nathan Phillips redesign, which was launched last year, is the most visible sign yet that city council recognizes that the deterioration must be stopped.
Still, neither the province, which owns the land the gardens will occupy, nor the city have contributed funds to the project. Instead, organizers have had to rely on the generosity of private donors and the legal industry. So far, they have raised half the $1.8 million required.
After that, the organizers' big task will be to find another eight or nine artworks that address the issues of justice.
"Getting great pieces won't be easy," admitted Seymour Epstein, lawyer and chair of the Law Gardens Inc.
"We looked around and found very little art relating to justice. We have to develop a list of themes and set up a selection committee."
As for the man himself, McMurtry seemed alternately overwhelmed and bemused. Naturally, he was "honoured" not surprisingly, it was a day he "will never forget." And, as an enthusiastic Sunday painter, he's well aware of the allure of the visual arts.
Unlike justice, which is blind, art always has its eyes wide open.
AoD
Reflecting on the law
Feb 23, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume
Given some of the sculpture installed on the streets of Toronto, some might argue there ought to be a law against public art.
If such a law did exist, the McMurtry Gardens of Justice would be innocent until proven guilty.
The $1.8 million project, which will open next June, won't be complete for several years.
Named in honour of soon-to-retire Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, the gardens will occupy the pedestrian area on the east side of University Ave., just north of Queen St.
By the time it's finished – no one's sure exactly when – it will comprise up to 10 artworks.
The first piece to be commissioned is Edwina Sandys' Pillars of Justice.
The English artist, who also happens to be the granddaughter of Winston Churchill, created a large, 4.5-metre tall, outdoor work that feels both appropriate and accessible. It consists of a traditional classical pediment – architecturally reminiscent of a courthouse – supported by columns shaped in human form.
"There are 11 columns as opposed to the usual 12," Sandys explained at the unveiling of the maquette yesterday.
"The viewer becomes the twelfth."
In other words, justice is human, after all, not just an abstract set of ideas about which lawyers like to split legal hairs.
Sandys' sculpture is now being fabricated of steel plate in Windsor and will be officially opened in June.
"It's going to be such a great asset to Toronto," said former premier Bill Davis, who named McMurtry Ontario attorney general in 1975.
Davis also warned all those present at the Osgoode Hall event that if there were any problems completing the gardens, he would be happy to arrange for them to be moved to the courthouse in Brampton, where he lives.
Toronto Mayor David Miller, also on hand for the occasion, praised the project.
It is, he argued, "a way to remind people about justice" and an opportunity to beautify the city. Toronto, he said, "is undergoing a renaissance."
Indeed, just last Tuesday, the submissions of the four finalists in the competition to redesign Nathan Phillips Square went on display at City Hall. Though the Justice Gardens and the civic square occupy different sites, the one leads directly to the other.
Eventually, the gardens will extend from University east to the edge of Nathan Phillips Square. Both form part of the designated civic precinct of the city and the heart of Toronto. But it is an area that has suffered a certain amount of neglect in recent years and could use some attention.
The $40 million Nathan Phillips redesign, which was launched last year, is the most visible sign yet that city council recognizes that the deterioration must be stopped.
Still, neither the province, which owns the land the gardens will occupy, nor the city have contributed funds to the project. Instead, organizers have had to rely on the generosity of private donors and the legal industry. So far, they have raised half the $1.8 million required.
After that, the organizers' big task will be to find another eight or nine artworks that address the issues of justice.
"Getting great pieces won't be easy," admitted Seymour Epstein, lawyer and chair of the Law Gardens Inc.
"We looked around and found very little art relating to justice. We have to develop a list of themes and set up a selection committee."
As for the man himself, McMurtry seemed alternately overwhelmed and bemused. Naturally, he was "honoured" not surprisingly, it was a day he "will never forget." And, as an enthusiastic Sunday painter, he's well aware of the allure of the visual arts.
Unlike justice, which is blind, art always has its eyes wide open.
AoD
A
AlvinofDiaspar
Guest
And the Globe:
Chief Justice to be honoured with sculpture
JAMES RUSK
A group of Ontario lawyers unveiled a plan yesterday to turn one of the most sterile public spaces in downtown Toronto into a sculpture garden honouring the province's Chief Justice, Roy McMurtry.
The first sculpture in the $1.8-million garden, The Pillars of Justice by British artist Edwina Sandys, will be installed in front of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at 361 University Ave. this summer, a few weeks after Chief Justice McMurtry retires in May.
A maquette (a sculptor's preliminary model) of the 10-tonne steel sculpture was shown publicly for the first time in the rotunda of Osgoode Hall at a ceremony at which former premier William Davis, for whom Mr. McMurtry was attorney-general, offered to put the sculpture in Brampton if Toronto did not want it.
Ms. Sandys, a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill, said she had first thought of modelling a work on the statue of Blind Justice at The Old Bailey in London, but on realizing the concept of blind justice could be misconstrued, chose a different design.
The 4.5-metre-high statue is a stylized façade of a classical court building in which pillars in the shape of human figures hold up the roof of the justice system.
The figures represent the 12 members of a jury, but there are only 11 of them. One space is left blank, so people who see the sculpture can put themselves in as the 12th juror.
"The people are the pillars of justice," Ms. Sandys said.
Law Gardens Inc., a charity formed by members of the legal community, is sponsoring the project.
On completion of the L-shaped garden formed in the space between the courthouse and University Avenue and the walkway from University to Nathan Phillips Square that runs between the court and Osgoode Hall is finished, it could hold as many as 10 statues depicting justice-related themes, the organizers said.
Asked what she thought of the prospect that the statue of her grandfather might be moved when Nathan Phillips Square is reconstructed, Ms. Sandys refused to be drawn into the issue.
"I don't know whether that should be done or not. It is one of the fabulous statues of my grandfather, done by a wonderful artist. . . . It's a great sculpture," she said.
AoD
Chief Justice to be honoured with sculpture
JAMES RUSK
A group of Ontario lawyers unveiled a plan yesterday to turn one of the most sterile public spaces in downtown Toronto into a sculpture garden honouring the province's Chief Justice, Roy McMurtry.
The first sculpture in the $1.8-million garden, The Pillars of Justice by British artist Edwina Sandys, will be installed in front of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at 361 University Ave. this summer, a few weeks after Chief Justice McMurtry retires in May.
A maquette (a sculptor's preliminary model) of the 10-tonne steel sculpture was shown publicly for the first time in the rotunda of Osgoode Hall at a ceremony at which former premier William Davis, for whom Mr. McMurtry was attorney-general, offered to put the sculpture in Brampton if Toronto did not want it.
Ms. Sandys, a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill, said she had first thought of modelling a work on the statue of Blind Justice at The Old Bailey in London, but on realizing the concept of blind justice could be misconstrued, chose a different design.
The 4.5-metre-high statue is a stylized façade of a classical court building in which pillars in the shape of human figures hold up the roof of the justice system.
The figures represent the 12 members of a jury, but there are only 11 of them. One space is left blank, so people who see the sculpture can put themselves in as the 12th juror.
"The people are the pillars of justice," Ms. Sandys said.
Law Gardens Inc., a charity formed by members of the legal community, is sponsoring the project.
On completion of the L-shaped garden formed in the space between the courthouse and University Avenue and the walkway from University to Nathan Phillips Square that runs between the court and Osgoode Hall is finished, it could hold as many as 10 statues depicting justice-related themes, the organizers said.
Asked what she thought of the prospect that the statue of her grandfather might be moved when Nathan Phillips Square is reconstructed, Ms. Sandys refused to be drawn into the issue.
"I don't know whether that should be done or not. It is one of the fabulous statues of my grandfather, done by a wonderful artist. . . . It's a great sculpture," she said.
AoD
B
building babel
Guest
Considering the columned building that once stood near there, an appropriate use of caryatids. And a bit Micheal Snow-ish in a Walking Woman sort of way.
N
nicetommy2002
Guest
A
adma
Guest
Boy, McMurtry looks evil.
T
tudararms
Guest
Wouldn't it be nice if this turned out really well and became a monument/gardens that would be truly embraced and loved by the people. Such a shame that the governments are not participating.