Thursday (Oct 19) is a busy night with two separate discussions going on, one about tall buildings and the other about the Queen West Triangle — but if you’re in the mood for something more contemplative, head over to Ballenford Books (600 Markham, across from Honest Eds) between 6-9pm for the launch of Toronto, a new book of photography by Geoffrey James.
Geoffrey James has stalked the parks and back streets of Canada’s largest metropolis with his tripod and wide-angle panoramic camera, in search of the city’s essence. Eschewing the obvious landmarks, he shows us pavilions on the lakeshore, billboards in Dundas Square, back lots in Kensington Market and many other exceptional views. His images are accompanied by a 4,000 word introduction from Mark Kingwell and extensive endnotes from city historians and other experts.
Endnote authors include Spacing Magazine Associate Editor Shawn Micallef, as well as Ken Greenberg, Pleasance Crawford, Michael McClelland, Rosemary Donegan, John Sewell, Greg Gatenby and others.
Toronto may not be the most beautiful city in conventional terms, but we have some of the most popular photobloggers in the world here — and James’ view of the city, along with the notes by a disparate group of Torontonians, gets at why this is indeed No Mean City.
The accompanying exhibition features large black and white prints by Geoffrey James from the Nicholas Metivier Gallery, along with favourite images from other photographers whose interests and views of the city often parallel those of Geoffrey’s from the book. Printed into postcards, the initial run includes a set of five by Geoffrey James’ collection, a second set of five images culled from the Toronto Archives, and a colourful set of other views of the city taken by a number of inspired local photographers.
Folks are invited to bring their favorite image of Toronto to opening night, where space has been saved on the wall for these contributions.
(Images courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery)
2 comments
it’s pretty obvious how the TriBeQu one is going to go. Giambrone is going to apologize about 48 Abell not being granted historical status, Vaughan (even though it’s not his ward) is going to oppose intensification and say “we don’t need a dense Toronto” while attacking his Ward 20 opponents (especially Helen Kennedy), and Jane Farrow is probably going to pipe up at some point but she’s great, so maybe I’ll go.
As a former Kingwell student, though, I am naturally attracted to his public appearances. When he starts to talk about his own ideas in lecture, it actually makes for an interesting talk.
Sorry to ruin your analysis Kevin, but Vaughan doesn’t oppose density. That;s a huge part of his platform.
What he opposes in condos that only have 2 bedrooms. Family units are a rare breed in development, which pushes families, once they start in those small condos, out and into the cheaper suburbs.
Alsas, I don’t know why this comment appeared on this post, but I thought I’d straighten out your misconception.