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Jeanne Parkin

Public Art Advocate & Advisor

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Public Art Advocate & Advisor

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People Walking, 2006

Photograph of a city street with an LED display of walking figures placed outside of a store.

Julian Opie, People Walking, 2006, LED installation, Bloor Street East, Toronto, Collection of Rogers Communications.

In 2006 Rogers wanted a public art commission for its new building that faced Bloor Street East, at Mount Pleasant. Parkin was hired for the job.


“This work by Julian Opie is a moving video. It was designed to show up at night: gold walking figures, echoing the people moving past it on the street. It really mimics the action that is happening on the sidewalk in front of it.


“I was hired to research this public art project and make a proposal for it together with Phil Lind. We were both very enthusiastic about Opie and his work. I first saw Opie’s video work at the Lisson Gallery. Then I followed his art for years. That’s what I do: I study an artist over a period of time, and figure out If he is going to be good; can he execute public work? He was an artist that could.”

Gallery

Tobacco Patch by George Pepper, 1937

Painting of a woman looking down and wearing a veil

Portrait of a Lady by Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1460

Circular bullseye painting made of thin, contrasting stripes of colour

Chromatic Accelerator by Claude Tousignant, 1968

Painting of black clouds in a yellow sky over a dark field covered in white speckles

Hailstorm in Alberta by William Kurelek, 1961

Cubist painting of a seated woman, mostly in black and white with small strips of red

Femme assise by Pablo Picasso, 1927

Silkscreen print of Elvis Presley facing forward and holding a gun. On the left, he appears twice in colour and on the right he appears twice in black and white

Elvis I and II by Andy Warhol, 1963–64

Dark wooden cabinet with a red painted back and shelves. On the shelves are eight ceramic high-top sneakers glazed in blue and white.

Blue Running Shoes by Gathie Falk, 1973

Painting of dots and lines in the sky over an iceberg in a dark ocean.

Iceberg by Paterson Ewen, 1974

Quilt depicting a herd of caribou displayed on a wall, behind glass, in a subway station

Barren Ground Caribou by Joyce Wieland, 1977–78

Photograph of an abstract steel sculpture, painted orange, displayed on a university campus

Sticky Wicket by Mark di Suvero, 1978

Painting of three silhouetted figures with furry human bodies and animal heads on a purple background.

The Three Graces by General Idea, 1982

Painting of six men, some holding instruments, in front of a city block. The sky is covered in rows of vertical strokes of paint and also featurings a black card floating above the scene.

The London Six by John Boyle, 1984

Upside-down photograph of a large tree. People sit on a bench in the upper right of the frame.

Tree with Bench, Vancouver, B.C. by Rodney Graham, 1998

Abstract painting of horizontal peach stripes on top of an off-white background

Happy Holiday by Agnes Martin, 1999

Painting of a grid of rectangles separated with thick black lines. In the top-right corner is a bright red square

Infe©ted Mondrian #9 by General Idea, 1994

Black and white film still showing a crowd of women wearing black burquas on a beach and walking towards the water.

Rapture by Shirin Neshat, 1999

Painting of three rectangles with feathered edges, in white, red, and brown, on a dark background

No. 1, White and Red by Mark Rothko, 1962

Photograph of a city street with an LED display of walking figures placed outside of a store.

People Walking by Julian Opie, 2006

Photograph of an art gallery with bright geometric paintings displayed on the walls

Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective at Mass MoCA

Photograph of an installation by David Altmejd

The Index by David Altmejd, 2007

Tobacco Patch by George Pepper, 1937

Painting of a woman looking down and wearing a veil

Portrait of a Lady by Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1460

Circular bullseye painting made of thin, contrasting stripes of colour

Chromatic Accelerator by Claude Tousignant, 1968

Painting of black clouds in a yellow sky over a dark field covered in white speckles

Hailstorm in Alberta by William Kurelek, 1961

Cubist painting of a seated woman, mostly in black and white with small strips of red

Femme assise by Pablo Picasso, 1927

Silkscreen print of Elvis Presley facing forward and holding a gun. On the left, he appears twice in colour and on the right he appears twice in black and white

Elvis I and II by Andy Warhol, 1963–64

Dark wooden cabinet with a red painted back and shelves. On the shelves are eight ceramic high-top sneakers glazed in blue and white.

Blue Running Shoes by Gathie Falk, 1973

Painting of dots and lines in the sky over an iceberg in a dark ocean.

Iceberg by Paterson Ewen, 1974

Quilt depicting a herd of caribou displayed on a wall, behind glass, in a subway station

Barren Ground Caribou by Joyce Wieland, 1977–78

Photograph of an abstract steel sculpture, painted orange, displayed on a university campus

Sticky Wicket by Mark di Suvero, 1978

Painting of three silhouetted figures with furry human bodies and animal heads on a purple background.

The Three Graces by General Idea, 1982

Painting of six men, some holding instruments, in front of a city block. The sky is covered in rows of vertical strokes of paint and also featurings a black card floating above the scene.

The London Six by John Boyle, 1984

Upside-down photograph of a large tree. People sit on a bench in the upper right of the frame.

Tree with Bench, Vancouver, B.C. by Rodney Graham, 1998

Abstract painting of horizontal peach stripes on top of an off-white background

Happy Holiday by Agnes Martin, 1999

Painting of a grid of rectangles separated with thick black lines. In the top-right corner is a bright red square

Infe©ted Mondrian #9 by General Idea, 1994

Black and white film still showing a crowd of women wearing black burquas on a beach and walking towards the water.

Rapture by Shirin Neshat, 1999

Painting of three rectangles with feathered edges, in white, red, and brown, on a dark background

No. 1, White and Red by Mark Rothko, 1962

Photograph of a city street with an LED display of walking figures placed outside of a store.

People Walking by Julian Opie, 2006

Photograph of an art gallery with bright geometric paintings displayed on the walls

Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective at Mass MoCA

Photograph of an installation by David Altmejd

The Index by David Altmejd, 2007

People Walking, 2006 - Art Canada