Honouring the legacy of the late Gordon Lightfoot, 60 guitars made from coroplast and wood can be found attached to downtown street poles.
Soon after Gordon Lightfoot passed away on May 1, Streets Alive founder Leslie Fournier came up with the idea to honour the local artist and musician through this summer's Streets Alive community art project.
“I just thought that if we were going to do something to honour him, this summer would be the perfect time,” she said.
When Fournier saw all 60 guitars beautifying Orillia’s downtown core, she was “wowed.”
“The effort, the skill, and the artistry they put into their guitars was quite amazing to see,” she said of the artists' work.
Fournier says Streets Alive has had more immediate, emotional, and positive feedback to this year’s project than ever before.
“People are commenting on how great the art looks,” she said. “They are commenting on how the tribute was a wonderful idea, how the art made them think of some of their favourite songs, and how it was sort of the perfect way to honour Gordon Lightfoot.”
Kelli Dove is one of the local artists who participated in the Streets Alive art project this year. Her guitar is loosely inspired by Lightfoot’s song Canary Yellow Canoe.
“It’s more of a rare song of Gordon’s,” she said. “I went with more of a design aesthetic as opposed to really going into illustrating a song in particular.”
Dove says together, the guitars look "beautiful" in downtown Orillia.
“I think it’s a really impressive display of artistic talent and love for Gord in this town,” she said. “You can just really see it.”
Julianna Hawke is another local artist who participated in Streets Alive this year. She also went with a canoe theme for her guitar.
“Gordon Lightfoot was an avid canoer,” she said. “My husband and I love going on canoe trips as well, so the inspiration came from that aspect of his life.”
Hawke combined a photo that she had of a Churchill River sunset with a photo of Lightfoot’s canoe that he donated to the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough.
Hawke said she is excited to have visitors from out-of-town come to Orillia this year so she can show off the work of all the talented artists who participated in this year’s art project.
“I love when the Streets Alive pieces go out on the street every year,” she said. “We always make a point of going up and down the street when my relatives come to visit.”
Local artist Laura Hinsberger decided to paint a sunset as the focal point of her guitar. The inspiration comes from Lightfoot’s song, Sundown.
“It’s a song about cheating,” she said. “It’s what happened when my dad left my mother for another woman and my mom would play that song again and again.”
Despite the heartbreaking memory attached to the song, Hinsberger enjoys listening to it today as it reminds her of her mother.
As a miniature artist, Hinsberger says the Streets Alive project was challenging for her.
“My canvas is usually the size of a playing card,” she explained. “It was a huge challenge because it’s over seven feet tall, but I wanted to see if I could do it.”
Hinsberger says she is "grateful" to have her guitar in downtown Orillia among the artwork of “really talented” local artists.
Fournier says some Gordon Lightfoot-inspired art enhancements will continue to pop up downtown all summer long.
Tentatively, some of the guitars will be put up for auction on Oct. 21. Those interested in purchasing one should keep an eye on the Streets Alive Facebook Page. Artists reserve the right to keep their guitars if they choose to do so.
