kids drawing an ocean on the sidewalk
I got wind of a community art project last Friday that could use some photos, so I headed over to Brockton Village (Dundas West) on Saturday to see what I could shoot for an hour. There I found artists chalking up the sidewalks, making pedestrians and cars take pause or slow down to look down. It’s the joint effort of local residents who wanted to animate their neighbourhood, which was part of a Jane’s Walk on Sunday.
I love community art. Just as it’s mentioned in the article, it helps neighbours get to know each other, especially people who would otherwise not meet. In a city of millions, it’s common not to know your neighbour, which is why events such as this are important for building community spirit.
Dundas West has some excellent murals
In the media: http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/1348105–brockton-village-chalking-it-up-to-experience
The group’s Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/events/332809053452954/
https://www.facebook.com/BlockChalked
The thing about chalk art graffiti is that it’s at the mercy of the weather, and although the weather was gorgeous on the weekend, I knew it wouldn’t last. That’s where I step in, as I’m used to doing for weddings, where it is my job to photograph the work of makeup artists, hairstylists, bakers, and chefs who put their heart and soul into creating works of art which last only one day. After a wedding, only the pictures remain. Chalk art is just as ephemeral. This is something I find incredibly exciting about photography — that I am able to preserve art to be enjoyed long after it’s destroyed or fades away.
stop and read
The other thing about chalk art graffiti is that most of the chalk used at Chalk The Block is very light, which means I had to use HDR techniques to show the art properly. I’ve probably mentioned before that I’m not much of a fan of HDR, but can see its usefulness. I’ve applied the technique rather liberally to Saturday’s pictures.
Chalk The Block event photos are best viewed as a full-screen slideshow, thumbnails, or view smaller in the slideshow below.
I also took some non-chalk-art photos that day, some of my favourites are here:
If you’re in the Distillery District, go look for the snow creature by the giant spider-like thing… for lack of better directions.
