I don't know who is behind the guerrilla art project AusterityTO, but it is exceedingly clever. Whoever it is, they are going around Toronto and tagging various objects and moments with museum labels -- all of which cite mayor John Tory as the artist. Here is one called "Urinal."
And here is the installation description from the website:
A clever subversion of the seminal work “Fountain” by Marcel Duchamp. Water does not flow from this fountain due to neglected maintenance and lack of attention. It is a sculpture which asks the viewer to imagine what it could be, and to ponder why it isn’t. However, the artist’s title also challenges the viewer, much as Toronto challenges the citizen to find ways to make the most out of what we have: the washrooms are frequently locked, and perhaps this fountain can be repurposed for something else.
There is growing frustration in Toronto around the quality of our public services and spaces. I can't open Twitter these days without coming across at least one photo of a busted and/or overflowing garbage bin. And now these sorts of posts are all being tagged with #AusterityTO.
Images: AusterityTO
BREAKFAST, a design and engineering studio out of Brooklyn, recently unveiled something that they call Brixels.
A Brixel is a variable-sized brick that is controlled by software and can act as a pixel in artwork, building facades, and other kinds of installations.
Below is a video of their first installation, called Brixel Mirror. It is a 19 foot wide by 6 foot tall installation compromised of 540 Brixels. If you can’t see it below, click here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-5cVpWhp30&w=560&h=315]
While extremely cool, you may be wondering how applicable this might be to real world uses. But kinetic architecture isn’t a foreign concept and I am sure we’ll be seeing more of it.
I was over at the Riverside Bridge yesterday taking photos and I was reminded of Eldon Garnet’s installation called, TIME: AND A CLOCK (1995).
The work spans a few physical sites, but perhaps the most well known component is the line of text on the west side of the bridge, which reads in 18″ high letters: “This river I step in is not the river I stand in.” (Photo above from Garnet’s website.)
If you’re from Toronto, you may be already be familiar with this installation. But I love the message and I think it’s an important one. So I thought I would reiterate it here on the blog.
The text is derived from the thinking of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Its meaning is a simple one: change is fundamental to the universe.
Neighborhoods change. Cities change. Industries change. We change. The river you first step into, is not the same river that you’ll be standing in. That initial river has come and gone, replaced by a new river. In the words of Heraclitus, “No man ever steps in the same river twice.”
As people, organizations and cities age, there can be a tendency to resist change. I believe in fighting that tendency.
Because that’s how established rich companies get destroyed by young poor companies. They – the incumbents – underestimate the importance of change. They forget that the river is constantly flowing.