New McCaul St. mural has traces of Diego Rivera

I do not know when the new mural on a building on McCaul Street appeared, but I noticed it for the first time this week. The building is between Stephanie and Queen Streets, a short distance south of the the OCAD University.

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The mural first caught my attention because of its enormous size and the brightness of the colours. At first, I thought that the artist had not painted the mortar between the bricks, as the overall effect was that of a work created with individual tiles, like a mosaic. However, on closer examination, I discovered that this was not the case.

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Instead, the artist has employed flowing lines to divide the large space into small sections, thus creating the illusion that the mural has been produced with tiles.

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The portrayal of the swimmer contains traces of Diego Rivera’s work, as the figure is enormous and outlined in a dark colour. However, Diego’s figures were more free-flowing. The face contains Latino features, although I admit that this may be in my imagination. The stylized waves wash over the swimmer, and . . . 

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                                     . . . sea creatures swim near him

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Where the swimmer dived into the water, one person seems to be giving him the finger, while another holds a bottle (beer?), and another a cigarette. I wonder if the domino represents that the swim is a gamble for the swimmer. 

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By contrast, where the swimmer ends his endeavour, he receives the thumbs-up and a flower, perhaps signifying congratulation. 

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This is the signature at the bottom right-hand corner of the mural. I would enjoy meeting the artist and having the art work explained to me, as my comments are only supposition.

To view others posts about the Toronto graffiti scene:

A new black and white graffiti mural has appeared in the Kensington Market

https://tayloronhistory.com/2012/11/02/new-black-and-white-graffiti-art-in-kensington-market-is-unique/

An entire new wall of graffiti has appeared in McDougall Lane (Oct. 2012)

https://tayloronhistory.com/2012/11/01/mcdougall-alley-has-a-new-display-of-graffiti-art/

The graffiti-decorated “hug-me-tree” on Queen Street West.

https://tayloronhistory.com/2012/10/25/queen-street-wests-graffiti-adorned-hug-me-tree/

Graffiti in a laneway amid the colours of autumn

https://tayloronhistory.com/2012/10/23/graffiti-amid-autumn-in-the-city/

A mural in the Kensington Market, with tongue-in-cheek humour:

https://tayloronhistory.com/2012/10/17/clever-humorous-graffiti-in-the-kensington-market/

In July of 2011, I placed a post on this blog about the abstract expressionists. At that time, there was an exhibition of their work at the AGO. I received comments from readers who strongly disagreed with the post. Their opinions were indeed valid, but the ideas expressed in the post may also have validity. To view this post:

https://tayloronhistory.com/2011/08/06/abstract-expressionist-masters-at-the-ago-waste-of-time-or-meaningful/

In August of 2012 I placed another post in which I compared the work of the graffiti artist Uber5000 to the abstract expressionists. This too became a controversial post.

https://tayloronhistory.com/2012/09/17/in-graffiti-alley-torontos-artists-put-to-shame-new-york-abstract-expressionists/

To view the Home Page for this blog: https://tayloronhistory.com/

 

 

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