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yyzer

yyzer

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Media Advisory - Photo & Interview Opportunity - "Immigrant Family" Tom Otterness Bronze Sculpture Unveiled At 18 Yonge Condominiums
Thursday, May 10, 2007 @ 12 Noon Prompt

TORONTO, May 3 /CNW/ -

<<
WHO: Mark Mandelbaum and Barry Fenton, Lanterra Developments
Rony Hirsch, Malibu Investments
Special Guests - Tom Otterness, Members of the Toronto
Public Art Commission, 18 Yonge Purchasers

WHAT: Internationally Renowned Sculptor Unveils Public Art at
18 Yonge

Acclaimed sculptor Tom Otterness will attend the unveiling
of his first Canadian commission. Selected through an
international public art competition, Otterness' work
recalls the experience of visitors and new immigrants to
Canada, capturing their sense of wonder at seeing the city
and Lake Ontario, while gently bringing them close together
as they embark on their new life. Jury member and developer
Mark Mandelbaum remarked on how this experience related to
his own family's arrival in Canada.

Cast in bronze and rising to a height of over 10 feet, this
family group demonstrates Otterness' interest in depicting
important events through his engaging figures - in this
case, the newly arrived family was designed as a group of
turtles. Appropriate too in the context of the lake to the
south.

WHERE: 18 Yonge Condominiums

(Northwest corner of Yonge Street & Lake Shore Blvd.)
Media Parking Entrance off Lake Shore

WHEN: THURSDAY, MAY 10th From 12 Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Official Ceremonies @ 12:00 PROMPT, Lunch follows in
Lobby

BACKGROUND: 18 Yonge Condominiums by Lanterra Developments and Malibu
Investments is located on the west side of Yonge, north of
Lake Shore Boulevard in downtown Toronto - across from Air
Canada Centre and within walking distance of Union Station,
Lake Ontario and most of the city's major entertainment
venues and attractions. This 39-storey curvilinear structure
with a sculpted glass wall exterior is built on a five-
storey podium. The ground floor houses a two-storey lobby
and retail component, on top of this are four levels of
parking, and the sixth floor houses the building amenities.
This new Toronto landmark was the fastest-selling condo in
2002, and is now fully occupied. The sculpture was
commissioned as part of the City of Toronto Private
Developer 1 Percent for Public Art program, overseen by the
Planning and Development Department. The competition was
managed by Karen Mills, Public Art Management.

NOTE: Media Pool Feed Available
>>



For further information: CONTACTS FOR MEDIA - RSVP REQUESTED - Beth
Shropshire, Shropshire Communications Group, (416) 466-7044; Karen Mills,
Public Art Management, (416) 917-7664, mills.karen@gmail.com
 
It's great that Toronto is getting some Otterness! His sculptures appear here-and-there in NYC, some in subway stations, and quite a number of them in Nelson A Rockefeller Park at the north end of Battery Park City. They are usually cartoony, quite playful and engage the viewer quite a bit. I look forward to seeing the 18 Yonge installation.

They won't be to everyone's taste. You can check out some of his work here, from a Flickrer who has shot some Otterness sculptures in Sacramento, CA.

42
 
City greets newest `family'
TheStar.com - News - City greets newest `family'

Bronze sculpture of new immigrants latest addition to developer-funded public art program

May 11, 2007
Bruce DeMara
Entertainment Reporter

Moments before the unveiling of his first commission of public art in Canada, internationally renowned sculptor Tom Otterness sounded like a nervous parent.

"I worked really hard on this piece and I really like it. It's one of my favourites and I hope everyone in Toronto will embrace it," said the New York-based artist of his bronze work.

Moments later, Immigrant Family emerged from under a voluminous blue cover yesterday outside 18 Yonge St., a condo project at the northwest corner of Yonge St. and Lake Shore Blvd.

The work is just the latest of nearly 100 such pieces created across the city since 1985, when Toronto created the Percent for Public Art program – which encourages private developers to dedicate 1 per cent of construction costs for public art.

The unapologetically whimsical sculpture, depicting three new arrivals – a father figure in business attire toting two burdensome suitcases and a mother wearing a headscarf and carrying a swaddled baby – is intended to be a tribute to Toronto's tradition of welcoming new immigrants, Otterness said.

But since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, passersby were asked to rate the piece. They were largely positive.

"It's significant to me because we're expecting a family," said Adele Skeete, 29, who described herself as "overdue" as she viewed the sculpture with her husband Jermaine, 32,

"It's a new start, it's a new beginning. The baby's really small, so it's hopeful, I guess," she said.

"I think it's good because it doesn't just represent one culture. ... I like the family aspect. It's nice to look at and I really like the (bronze) material," said Tara Rhodes, 25.

Christian Debauche, 52, visiting from Belgium, said the sculpture with comic-book style faces reminded him of one of his homeland's greatest literary heroes, Tin Tin.

But Michele Offer, on lunch break, offered this: "I like the idea. The concept is quite interesting but (it's) too much of a caricature."

Her friend Vanessa Bonomo said that the sculpture was "like something that should be in a children's park or something."
 
found this on flickr....anybody got a complete picture?

489084161_3421a49edf_o.jpg
 
I mean, it's no woodpecker on a giant pole but I really like it. In fact, I like it better than 18 Yonge itself.
 
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