Public Artwork
Aurora Readiness Centre
Location:
Faculty of Architecture Building University of Toronto , 230 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R2, Canada
See map: Google Maps
Artwork creator(s):
MacDonell, Annie
Text author(s):
MacDonell, Annie; The Public
Installation year:
2007
Remarks on location:
A10, room 066
Description:
A precise recreation of Toronto’s official nuclear fallout shelter, built in 1962 at the height of Cold War tension, allowed Torontonians to explore the interior of the shelter as it was before it was dismantled in 1996. For one night, Cold War Toronto was brought back to life.
Text of the artwork:
Text by Annie Macdonell (in the decoration)
shape of fear wall
shape of hope wall
METRO STATUS BOARD
Text (excerpt from a film)
PREPARE TO LIVE
Text (partial) written by the public
SAVE ME
Be proactive
FAT MAN
MAKE it stop
Never knew a love like this
Pinot angrigio
Bears
Why can’t we be friends?
WE CAN CHANGE
DBA
WASTE of TIME
Dropping the F-Bomb
NO
GIVE PEAS A CHANCE
Peace through Power
This is Witty
NO WAR
HUMAN RIGHTS
Peace
AHHHH
Stand up for your rights
Refuse to be afraid
WAR SUCKS
ALL WE ARE SAYING
THINK 4 YOURSELF
Logically we should be safe
Roots are flowers
ONE love
YOU
ANAL
Peace+love
PAUL Norrish
POISON
This is it?
THE END
NOT AGAIN
NOT COOL
E=MC²
SOS
Xeper
ART MATTERS
RAGE
WET PAINT
WAR CAN
YOU CAN’T HUG YOUR CHILDREN
PEACE STARTS WITH YOU
WISE-FOOLISH
DON’T DRONE & DRIVE
Leeroy Jenkins
NEVER AT HOME
BE BRAVE
LIVE-PEACE
THE END OH MY!
I believe LOVE is the ANSWER
LOVE WINS
LOVE MORE HATE LESS
ZOMBIE
be the change
BAD TIMES ARE ON!
DE TU ARTE A MI ARTE PREFIERO MI ARTE
Leslie is a FAG!
Why is this happening?
NO HATE
Refuse TO BE Afraid
LOVE CONQUERS ALL
SISTERS
YOU FORGET ABOUT ME
WAR IS GOOD
NO ETERNAL REWARD WILL FORGIVE
PEACE THROUGH TYRANNY
Remember UNGERN
PAX
EARLY TO BED EARLY TO RISE
WAR AND VIOLENCE KILL LOVE DOESN’T
U r all HUMAN
People kill people
Peace in the middle
Text theme:
Fear, hope, threat, the Cold War
Artwork theme:
Cold War
History:
• In the midst of a classroom set, materials such as paper, ink and brushes were provided to visitors. The only instructions they were given were written on a wall: "THE SHAPE OF FEAR WALL" and "THE SHAPE OF HOPE WALL". With the materials provided, visitors produced text and images in response to that.
• The exhibition included a reading area ("reference area", A. MacDonell), which put several documents at the disposal of visitors: photocopies of information gathered by the artist during his personal research into the Cold War, governmental graphics (municipal, provincial and federal) of the era estimating the impact of a possible nuclear attack on Toronto and the country, as well as cartoons of the '50s and '60s. A section consisted of the formal message issued by the Government concerning the Cold War. A second section included the media of the time who responded to this message.
Event date(s):
2007 Note(s):
The artwork was dismantled by the public at the end of the night of the exhibition. There exists no comprehensive documentation about the presence of literature in this work. No order was established to read the text of the work. It is read in an autonomous and random manner. No hierarchy is established in the text incorporated into the set, neither that which was created by the artist nor that which was created by the public, nor those contained in the various documents displayed in the reading area.
Artist's biography:
Annie MacDonell
Owner(s):
Annie MacDonell Document(s):
Syndicate
