Time
In the early 1970’s, members of the Kingston community suggested the city erect a sculpture in between the Queen’s smokestack and the water purification plant. In honour of Kingston’s Tercentenary (300th birthday), Ontario, Quebec and the federal government all made donations of about $50,000 each which was used to commission three sculptures. The first of them was Time . Read more
Sakkarah
Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt which features the world’s oldest step pyramid. Artist Victor Tolgesy used this idea to name his large scale sculpture found on Queen’s campus. The work was commissioned in 1971 by the Department of Mathematics and was originally placed in the sunken courtyard on the east side of the building.
Tolgesy, who was born in Hungary and emigrated to Canada in 1951, chose to make the work in the form of a pyramid to avoid any potential distortion of perspective when viewed from the building above. Sakkarah illustrates the intersection of the sphere and the pyramid and does so with a lyrical visual flow. The steel work, commonly referred to by students as “the big orange triangle” can now be found on the plaza west of Jeffery Hall, kiddie corner to Harrison-LeCaine and Mac-Corry. I have yet to see it from above myself but will certainly have a look when I one day check to see if Harrison-LeCaine really does look like a piano from above.
Busking Enjoyed by a Few…
So I can finally say I’ve been to the Buskers Rendezvous. I enjoyed it. I really did. But it wasn’t quite what I envisioned. For one, I thought there would be way more people there. Now, this was a tricky weekend weather-wise, so unless you have somewhere to hang out during the rain, it might not be your first choice to spend the day downtown. For me it was an easy decision since I live downtown. Read more
Ground Outline
This week’s featured outdoor art is a piece that has had Queen’s students and faculty, community members, and tourists baffled for years. I remember when I was at Queen’s and I had no idea this was even a piece of art. Many students just assumed it was left over from some structure that had once been there. It wasn’t until I began this project and spoke with some people about art in Kingston that I understood this strange white box on the front lawn of Theological Hall. Read more
The Buskers Are Coming
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Kingston’s “special” event calendar is rather sparse, and during certain parts of the year it is downright embarrassing. To clarify, today’s post won’t focus on the new under-used K-Rock Centre, as I’m more concerned with the other big crowd pleaser’s that attract people to the heart of the city. Shortcomings aside, downtown diamonds in the rough include Feb Fest, the Blues Festival and this weekend’s Buskers Rendezvous. Buskers has been a summer staple for many years, which has allowed it to grow in popularity, and attract a very sizable crowd. Onlookers will descend on the downtown like locusts and devour food in our restaurants, as well as other consumables from local merchants. Read more
Five Sculptures on Topological Themes
This week’s featured large scale outdoor art is once again on Queen’s campus. Five Sculptures on Topological Themes is located just south east of Jeffrey Hall on University Avenue (across form Grant Hall).
The work is a group of sculptures made from a combination of materials: terrazzo, portland cement, marble chips and epoxy and created by Alan Dickson, professor of Fine Arts at Queen’s. Dickson emigrated to Canada in 1970 from England to teach at the university and the work was commissioned soon after by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in 1971 as part of an initiative to enhance Jeffrey Hall and its surroundings.
The forms are an investigation of the concept of infinity as represented by the mobius strip - a physical structure that is both three-dimensional and one-sided. In other words, you can run your hand along the entire surface without ever crossing an edge. This can be clearly seen in the above photo with the two large white pieces on pedestals. Go take a closer look!
Weekly Photo
This was just something i wanted people to see. Mother nature can still put on the best show. This was taken on my way home from the Charlie Pride show last week, and was taken on Front Rd. right in front of the Invista factory. I just thought the colors were amazing and had to pull over and grab. Enjoy.
Bent Yellow
This is the second installment of our look at large scale artwork in Kingston. This week’s piece is called Module No. 6 - Bent Yellow and was created by Canadian artist, Raymond Spiers. The work sits in the north courtyard of Duncan McArthur Hall on Queen’s campus and was commissioned by the Art Purchase Committee for Duncan McArthur Hall in 1972.
The story behind this one is pretty cool. Bent Yellow is one of a series of pieces in which Spiers attempts to share the creative process with the viewer. He created small, hand-held versions of simple, moveable forms which could be put together in various arrangements. The Dean’s Committee for Art Purchases had the opportunity play with the modules and to select the final arrangement of the sculpture. The work we see above is the enlarged replica of that arrangement. Of course, the large-scale version is not in moveable pieces like its miniature counterpart.
The work is a great example of the hands-on approach that was explored by many artists in the 1970s. The goal was to engage the viewers in the creation process. Bent Yellow is made of fibreglass over a foam core. Fibreglass was a new material at the time and was heavily explored by artists of this period. Seen as strong and lightweight, it was the perfect medium for this type of work. Go see it for yourself!
A Minute of My Time
This is the first installment of what I hope to make a weekly series featuring outdoor art around Kingston. There is so much of it, some of which we walk by everyday without taking the time to really look and ponder why it is there. I’d like to begin on Queen’s campus with the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. Read more
Art-Game
Artist Sandra Jass in collaboration with The Artel, has invited Kingston to take part in an art-game that will last 1 week. This new exhibition is part of Welcome HERE, a 9-month project of The Artel focused on enabling of a series of multidisciplinary art presentation and participation opportunities rooted in creative sharing and collaboration, and distinguished by communion with the Kingston community. Read more
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