DSCToronto
Superstar
Yes, sadly Claude has gone but his team still exist. https://ccxa.ca/en/
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- Thread starter Spoonman
- Start date
Northern Light
Superstar
I think what's curious here in terms of teams is that JRS have a real strength in formal type spaces. Her forte is outdoor space as art gallery, but with a very English, orderly ethos to it.
But what's being contemplated here does not really fit that traditional strength.
What's being imagined....is something close to an MVVA effort.
Specialists have been brought in to address that (ecology/forestry, history, indigenous reconciliation.)
Lots of well intended, highly competent people, but it feels alike a bit of an awkward fit.
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AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
True, and I think Marc Halle oversaw the Berczy Park project.
I think QPN would be a good fit with MVVA; QPS is an entirely different creature and I think it needed something more formal and "Cartesian".
AoD
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
Northern Light
Superstar
So many issues................
Northern Light
Superstar
The survey is now live:
ca.mar.medallia.com
Open through early December.
Its a bit long and not particularly well done........... sigh. But if you care about this space I would encourage you read the materials I've posted/linked to first, then take the 15 or so minutes to fill the survey out.
Queen's Park North Phase 2 Exploring Design Options
ca.mar.medallia.com
Open through early December.
Its a bit long and not particularly well done........... sigh. But if you care about this space I would encourage you read the materials I've posted/linked to first, then take the 15 or so minutes to fill the survey out.
rdaner
Senior Member
I’m not seeing the statue in these.
Northern Light
Superstar
The proposal is to shift it to the south-east quadrant of the park. There's an image that shows that inside the survey.
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goodcitywhenfinished
Active Member
Holy woke Batman.
Cool how institutions preach racial hierarchies in Canada now and everyone acts like it’s normal. Great job all around.
Making a priestly caste out of 5% of the population is not going to have any disastrous effects on long term equality I'm sure.
All that to say, I am very much opposed to moving the statue and degrading its importance.
Cool how institutions preach racial hierarchies in Canada now and everyone acts like it’s normal. Great job all around.
Making a priestly caste out of 5% of the population is not going to have any disastrous effects on long term equality I'm sure.
All that to say, I am very much opposed to moving the statue and degrading its importance.
txlseries4
Active Member
Moving a statue to an area of the park where not only people in the park can see it, but also those walking, driving, and cycling by because it's beside the street, is woke and degrading its importance? Huh?
Northern Light
Superstar
Let me say that there was no 'woke' motivation to move the statue.
There was a discussion about what else you might place at the center of the park were the statue not there.
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Let me betray my bias here, I'm not a fan of statuary particularly. Of anyone. It strikes me as idolatry which I just don't think serves anyone well.
That said, I wouldn't be a champion for removing long-standing/heritage commissioned works. That doesn't mean, however, that they need to be a centerpiece is any given park.
That statue has been there a long time..............so....questions:
1) How many people know it's a statue of Edward VII th? Of those, how many care enough to know who he was, or what his significance was? I will suggest to you that the number is substantially less than 10% of park users and 1% of the broader population. So if there were an educational reason for its presence, it's surely failing.
2) How many park users report the statue as important or very important to their enjoyment of the park, or came to the park because of the statue?
If that number is also below 10% .........does that suggest the statue merits that particular location?
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Further notes. The statue was not an original for Toronto. It was originally made for and installed in Delhi, India. After Indian Independence from Britain it was put in storage......and purchased by a private, if influential Toronto citizen named Harry Jackman in 1969, who had it moved to Toronto, and Queen's Park.
Once asked about why he had a fascination for the King, he replied that he did not, he thought it was a great sculpture of a horse.
Did the King in question bear any great connection to the place? Sure, he opened Queen's Park as a young man (18) and Prince of Wales in 1860. But the statue has no connection to that occasion.
Royal Spectacle: The 1860 Visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada and the United States
Worth saying, there is no further record of his having visited Toronto, and his brief reign as King (1901-1910) included no visits to Canada.
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GameOnBrad
Active Member
I've never been a fan of statues or naming things after people, regardless of who they are/were. Naming things from cultural heritages (like first nations) is the jam to my PB&J though.
I moved downtown over 23 years ago and walked through this park daily. I always found the statue in the center to be a very odd placement, especially since the majority of the statues on the south side of Queen's Park have street facing locations.
I always thought that a grand fountain would be perfect in the center of this beautiful park. Along with a large meeting area with lots of places to sit, or play games (athletic, card, or board games).
I'm also glad they are acknowledging the running trail/path in those drawings, that so many of us runners/joggers carved out around the edges of the park over many decades. It always felt "safer" running around the outside of this park, than running through it, hence the trail created by runners/joggers.
I moved downtown over 23 years ago and walked through this park daily. I always found the statue in the center to be a very odd placement, especially since the majority of the statues on the south side of Queen's Park have street facing locations.
I always thought that a grand fountain would be perfect in the center of this beautiful park. Along with a large meeting area with lots of places to sit, or play games (athletic, card, or board games).
I'm also glad they are acknowledging the running trail/path in those drawings, that so many of us runners/joggers carved out around the edges of the park over many decades. It always felt "safer" running around the outside of this park, than running through it, hence the trail created by runners/joggers.
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Northern Light
Superstar
You should submit these comments either through the survey or email.
Currently the thinking is leaning towards an 'interactive' water feature; rather than a grand fountain.
The big moves imagine the centre of the park with a cafe, a small performance stage with discussion around soloists supplied by either the Royal Conservatory or the U of T faculty of music, washrooms, and a range of seating types.
Some community members have expressed concern over the proposed naturalization plantings, including between the running track and Queen's Park in terms sightlines and safety. The proposal also contemplates adding seating next to the track, and some felt like this could result in conflict between runners and other community members.
UtakataNoAnnex
Superstar
Even if it was, that's not actually a bad thing...
...but you know, folks use terms never knowing or questioning why it's bad or wrong. /shrug
That said, I am not sure how the public will react to something that was in such a prominent location moved to less assuming corner. It's like what they did with that Moore's sculpture at the AGO that sat on that corner for a lifetime before it was moved to a park offsite. It will take sometime getting used to that, I guess.
GameOnBrad
Active Member
Still feeling creatively frustrated so I whipped up this 15 minute job of how to place the statue and utilize it to help beautify one of the park entrances...
