Gone With The Family

Adventures in Family Travel

Favourite Instagram Photos of Public Art

Instagram Travel Thursday / by / 28 Comments

Instagram Travel Thursday: Public Sculpture

One of the things that I love about Instagram is scrolling through photos of quirky things that people stumble upon. Although many of these pictures would never make it into a blog post, they are interesting little snapshots that provide a glimpse into the places we visit. 

Public art falls into that category for me so I thought that I would share a few of the photos that I have taken of interesting artwork in public spaces for Instagram Travel Thursday this week.

I just recently came across Immigrant Family, an enchanting work by New York sculptor Tom Otterness, that has been in place on Yonge Street in Toronto since 2007. The artist is famous for his whimsical bronze sculptures that are featured in public spaces across North America. This one celebrates the many immigrant families who arrived in Canada and settled in Toronto transforming it into one of the world’s most multicultural cities.

Tembo, Mother of Elephants is a bronze sculpture by Derrick Stephan Hudson of a mother elephant and two babies outside Commerce Court in downtown Toronto. Elephants might seem out of place in the financial district but it’s impossible not to smile when you see them – or pause to play with the babies in my daughter’s case.

Toronto-posing with Tembo, Mother of Elephants


This is one of the more interesting displays in Toronto at the CTV building on Queen Street West – that’s an actual CP24 news truck embedded in the wall.

Near the entrance to the Halifax Seaport in Nova Scotia, a bronze sculpture called The Emigrant by artist Armando Barbon was installed just days before I visited in September 2013. The statue depicts an emigrant leaving his home country to start a new life in Canada and is inscribed with the words “The pain of separation he overcame, with faith and hope his heart aflame…”.

Public art isn’t always bronze sculptures – sometimes it’s colourful and fun like this whimsical art installation by Yayoi Kusama called Flowers that Bloom at Midnight that we saw at the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. It still makes me happy every time I look at the photo.

This blue rooster on the 4th plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square has to be the most interesting piece of public art that I have ever seen, particularly when juxtaposed against the other formal pieces in the square. The sculpture by Katharina Fritsch is called Hahn/Cock and is apparently meant to symbolize male-dominated Britain. I’m not sure any of the people posing with it in the square really care much what it’s supposed to represent – they just love it for its quirkiness.

I haven’t shared these last two photos on Instagram but wanted to include them as they are among my favourite sculptures. Both were created by a Canadian artist, Ruth Abernethy, and commemorate two of Canada’s best-known musicians. The first is Glenn, a sculpture of classical pianist Glenn Gould sitting on a bench outside the CBC building in Toronto. The second is Oscar,a bronze of legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson outside the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. I love that both of these bronze sculptures seem to have been designed with the intention of encouraging the public to interact with the art work.

Toronto-Glenn Gould Bench Sculpture

 

Sitting with Glenn Gould outside the CBC building

 

Ottawa-Emma at Oscar Peterson monument

 

Playing Oscar Peterson’s piano in Ottawa

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Alison Chino

    I really love that first one, the immigrant family. I would love to see more of his work!

    I’m fascinated by public art and always take photos of it but rarely use them for anything. It’s a great idea to pull them all together like this!

    Reply

  3. Satu VW / Destination Unknown

    I’m not sure which on of these I like the most, but like Alison, I’d definitely like to see more from Tom Otterness. But that news truck on the side of the CTV building – priceless! Loved the post, made me think that I post too little of these sort of things on IG… 🙂

    Reply

  7. joe

    Great pics.. We love this kind of Art.. Wichita Kansas had some awesome bronze sculptures throughout the downtown

    Reply

  8. Jeff Titelius

    What a wonderful perspective to present sculpture! Loved all of the pics but the “Emigrant” is my fav and the quote is a philosophy to live by!! “The pain of separation he overcame, with faith and hope his heart aflame…”.

    Reply

  15. Mary {The World Is A Book}

    Love this collection of public art. Apparently, I missed quite a few interesting ones in Toronto. We love the whimsical ones a lot and the weirder the better. But, I really like the “Emigrant” and its powerful words and message. I’ve found a whole new respect for public art since traveling with kids. They’re great things to seek out and entertain the kids. Great idea for a post, Lisa.

    Reply

  17. Michele {Malaysian Meanders}

    I like all this public art, especially the CP24 truck embedded in the wall. In the few years since I’ve moved to Penang, street art has become one of the most popular things to visit. I think so many people like it because it’s free and looking for it naturally takes you on a tour of the town. I also like the ones that call for you to interact with it, like the bench and piano that you show.

    Reply

  18. Leigh

    What a great selection of photos. I do like how you can just whip out your phone – and voila – very cool photos. My favourite is the CTV building.

    SO HAPPY that your website is back and at it!

    Reply

  22. Lisa Goodmurphy

    Street art is definitely growing in popularity and it’s not difficult to see why! I particularly like it when there are themed exhibits around a city to celebrate a special occasion. For example, a couple of years ago we visited Ottawa during the Tulip Festival and artists had painted fibreglass tulips that were on display around the city. Each was unique and they were fun to find. Also saw that New York City had painted eggs on display around the city just before Easter – makes a great scavenger hunt with kids!

    Reply

  27. Lesley Peterson

    Love this post, Lisa! Public art can do so much to bring an element of fun and fantasy to a city. I especially love the Kusama work shown above. You’ve inspired me to start using Instagram again!

    Reply

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