Meanings in Architecture: The Early Works of George Baird 1957-1993
On Thursday, February 2, The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design celebrated the opening of the exhibition "Meanings in Architecture: The Early Works of George Baird 1957-1993."
Baird's work represents a complex and compelling study of the relationship between ideas and action. His contributions as an architect, theorist, policy-maker and educator have turned on a belief in the possibility of a robust, engaged and conscientious architecture attuned to the needs of time and place, and the conviction that architecture plays a vitally important role in social existence.
This exhibition was curated by Michael Prokopow, Professor at Ontario College of Art and Design Univeristy. It was organized in conjunction with the symposium "George Baird: A Question of Influence," which took place March 9 & 10.
This is a public exhibition — all are welcome to attend.
Closing date: April 28th
Yonge Street / Rue Du Faubourg Saint Denis
Peter MacCallum
Opening reception:
Thursday, May 10, 2012
6 – 8 pm
The Eric Arthur Gallery, 230 College Street
Yonge Street / Rue Du Faubourg Saint Denis is a featured exhibition in the CONTACT Photography Festival. The exhibition runs until August 10, 2012.
Documenting the streetscapes of different cities has proven to be one of the most useful tasks photography has performed throughout its history. Artists associated with this tradition include Charles Marville, Thomas Annan, Eugène Atget, Bernice Abbott, Gabriele Basilico and Thomas Struth.
This exhibition aims to contribute to this ongoing examination of urban form by setting up a direct comparison between streetscapes in two very different cities: Toronto and Paris. The photos in the exhibition date from 2007 to 2011.
Downtown Yonge Street can be seen as a typical North American urban canyon. MacCallum’s photos show a streetscape that includes a bit of everything, from nineteenth century row buildings to the latest megastructures supporting gigantic signage at Dundas Square.
A former main thoroughfare of Paris, the Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis begins at the Porte St. Denis, a major Paris landmark, and spans the 10th Arrondissement from south to north. The photos in this series show the street’s nineteenth century row buildings and arcades, now occupied at ground level by a range of new businesses serving the city’s immigrant communities.
MacCallum has tried to represent his immediate subject in a comprehensive manner, while striving toward objectivity. It will be up to the viewer to decide what his photos of these two streets say about the underlying urban philosophies of their respective cities.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of Morden S. Yolles, The Toronto Arts Council, The Ontario Arts Council and The Gilder.