County of site: Quebec, Canada
Location of site: Skyscraper @ Crescent St & Boulevard Maisonneuve O, Montreal
Artist: Gene Pendon & El Mac
"The late, great Leonard Cohen has inspired yet another piece of public artwork.
'"The mural, located on Crescent Street in the heart of downtown, was inaugurated in time for the first anniversary of Cohen's death.
"The mural covers more than 1,000 square metres and is based on a photograph of Cohen, taken by his daughter Lorca Cohen.
"The mural at 1420 Crescent Street overlooks the span of bars and restaurants popular with tourists.
"It was created by a group of artists with the MU collective, specifically El Mac and Gene Pendon.
"This comes just several months after another Cohen-inspired mural was inaugurated in the Plateau as part of the city's mural festival.
"The late writer and performer is being honoured in a number of ways on the occasion of the anniversary of his death on Nov. 7, 2016.
"Along with a star-studded tribute concert featuring Sting, Lana Del Rey and Elvis Costello — the contemporary art museum has also opened a new exhibit on Cohen's work." ~ CBC News, November 8, 2017
"In tribute to a Montréal icon, a larger-than-life mural commemorating singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen gazes tenderly down upon Crescent Street. The towering image depicts Cohen, sporting his signature fedora with his hand over his heart and, in the background, his highly symbolic Unified Heart icon.
"Led by Montréal artist Gene Pendon and internationally renowned American street portrait artist El Mac, “Tower of Songs” took 2 muralists, 13 assistant artists, 240 cans of paint and thousands of hours of work to replicate a photograph taken by his daughter, Lorca Cohen. This immense 10,000 square-foot mural rising 21 storeys above the city can easily be admired from the Mount Royal Observatory as well as from the Glass Court of the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.
"Commissioned by MU, a non-profit organization whose mission is to beautify the city of Montréal by creating murals that are anchored in local communities, the mural is a part of MU’s Tribute to Montréal’s Great Artists series." ~ Tourist Montreal