Carleton County Gaol

More from within Death Row in the old Carleton County Gaol today. A visit here is a sobering experience.

As noted yesterday, there were only three official executions held here.

This cell, with a ball and chain, is particularly evocative.

These are photographs of a documentary done several years ago in the old gaol.

This window, past the cells, looks out to the next building over, the former courthouse, which has a tunnel connection to this one. Now that courthouse is home to Arts Court, a home for multiple artistic groups.

Criminal justice changes. When Ontario was still Upper Canada, much of the legal system was based on the "bloody code" of Britain's legal system, where many crimes could be capital crimes. 

Windows in Death Row were like this- wooden slats in an upward position to minimize views outside.

A look back down the stairs.

And a final view from the street, with ivy draped over the wall.

Gallery

On the same day I was out and about for some of the shots you saw yesterday, I came to pay a visit to the Ottawa Art Gallery, otherwise known as the OAG, a city gallery that stands at the fringes of the Sandy Hill neighbourhood. The property it is on shares space with this- a former courthouse that is now called Arts Court, a home for arts organizations, with links to the OAG both organizational and physical, as you can walk from one right into the other. The property also has a hotel at the left, and a former prison that today is a youth hostel.

The architecture of the courthouse really impresses.

Here we come to the courtyard where one of the main entrances of the OAG is to be found. The additions were a joint project between the gallery, the hotel, and the University of Ottawa, which has some space within the complex. The gallery houses a rotating series from the city collection and more.

Upstairs, I took this shot looking towards Sandy Hill and the University of Ottawa. A couple of church spires can be seen, including that of St. Joseph's Parish.

One of the gallery's current exhibits looks at the works of three recent graduates from the University of Ottawa.

On the floor we have The Boundaries Are Now Crossed by Heer Mandaliya.

This is With Turmeric On My Face And Chai In My Hands, also by her.

Perspectives From The City Art Gallery

 Starting where I left off yesterday in the OAG, a ring of Muskoka chairs complements the art.

Louis Muhlstock painted Morning Light Laurentian's Isola in 1955.

The city has a substantial collection of A.Y. Jackson paintings; Jackson of course was another member of the Group of Seven.

Fitzroy Harbour is the large painting at left. Two more of his paintings are at right. Near Perth dates to 1961, while Water's Edge, Duhamel, Quebec is from 1968.

Jackson's friendship with the Firestone family results in the large city collection of Jackson and other Group painters. The family's collection was given to the city. These are Jackson's snowshoes, along with one of his field art kits.

Illumination Series, Fortune is a 2021 work by Don Kwan.

Three photographs by Kwan are here, with his lantern motif.

This is an arrangement by Kwan, featuring classic Canadiana with Chinese yoke-back chairs. The chairs flank a handmade oak table and a painting of the Group. A.Y. Jackson painted Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park around 1963

Back outside, a view of the other primary entrance of the OAG.

And two shots of the old courthouse that is now home to Arts Court.

Gallery

With summer upon us it was time to switch out my header. The new one was taken last summer at Richmond Landing on the Ottawa River, upstream from Parliament Hill. 

The Ottawa Art Gallery lies at the edge of Sandy Hill. This city gallery hosts a rotating series of exhibits. Several years ago a new home for the place was built. It was moved out of its quarters within Arts Court- to which it is still connected- and into a new building as part of an expansion partnership that also saw the building of a hotel and University of Ottawa space for their theatre program. Approaching from the west, I took these shots. The two 19th century buildings are a former courthouse and a former jail. Today the courthouse is home to Arts Court, a multi-organization artistic centre, and the former jail, the Carleton County Gaol, is a hostel. Beyond, the white cube structure is the Ottawa Art Gallery. I came for a visit a few days ago.

Approaching one of the main entrances gives us this view.

Inside, an oversized version of Algoma Landscape by Franz Johnston of the Group of Seven. The city has a good collection of the Group's work.

Across from it, a work in progress, with the soft hum of a machine in motion drawing the ear. The Life Of A Building is a work by Greta Grip and Lee Jones, a knitting machine that is steadfastly creating a textile fabric over the course of the year, based on the presence and interaction of visitors.

Upstairs I went to one of the gallery spaces. Here was an unusual work, a commentary in three dimensions by Yinka Shonibare. Mr. And Mrs. Andrews Without Their Heads is a 1998 work that reinterprets a painting by Thomas Gainsbourough that resides in the National Gallery in London.

Here's the original.

And here's the reinterpretation, done in full size- just without the heads. Odd, but it works.