MARKHAM’S URBAN ART
Student painters created a mural inspired by Group of Seven on a city railway underpass,
Artist James Ruddle has plans for fixing up a 10-metre-high CN railway underpass in Markham — and it involves an offensive amount of spray paint. Over the summer, the high school art teacher will work with students to bring a Group of Seven-inspired mural to the intersection of Henderson and Proctor Aves., in Thornhill to delight drivers and residents and detract from the drab asphalt that lies beneath.
“My proposal was drawn up to appeal to those who like urban art and those who prefer more traditional artwork,” said Ruddle, who heads the art department at Bill Crothers Secondary School in Markham.
“This kind of art is not something that you normally see up here,” said Ruddle, who will need about 300 cans of spray paint to complete his piece. He intends to start at the end of July and finish within about two weeks.
Ruddle contacted the city last year to see if there were any opportunities for public art work for the Pan Am Games. Instead, the city offered him a chance to put forward a proposal for the 6,000-square-foot mural.
Little did he know, Markham is in the midst of a public art blitz. For decades, the city has been focused on urban growth and development, but in 2012, it passed a public art policy with the deliberate goal of beautifying the city. Ruddle’s mural is one of eight art pieces that will be unveiled this year.
“I believe public art is a sign of maturity for a municipality,” said Moe Husseini-Ara, director of culture for Markham. “You get to a point as a city when you realize that you have grown and then you think, ‘What can we do to make the city a place where people want to live, hang out and connect with?’ ”
The projects are funded through a variety of sources including gas tax, municipal investment and money collected via Section 37 — a bylaw that allows for changes to density or height of buildings, in exchange for a “community benefit.”
“It is bit of an odd location for this big, gargantuan railroad crossing, as it’s near a residential community and a lot of houses,” said Husseini-Ara. “So, we hope this will help beautify it and make it more inviting of a space.”
Ruddle said his project took into account the history and the preference of the local community.
“On one side, it will be an urban Toronto, Thornhill, York Region landscape — not realistic, but conceptually. It will be more of an urban landscape,” said Ruddle. “On the oth- er side, it will be my rendition of a Group of Seven-esque sort of painting” for which he will use a mix of spray paint, with an acrylic finish that serves as anti-graffiti coating.
He says he is still looking for local York Region students to help him paint — he can be contacted @jamesruddle on Instagram and Twitter.