It’s been one year since the passing of beloved Montreal-born singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, and the Canadian artist is being honored with a mural on Crescent Street in his home city. The tribute comes from the non-profit organization MU, and is based on a photo Cohen’s daughter Lorca took in 2008; she shot Cohen’s music video for the song “Because of” and was one of his world tour photographers and videographers. The mural project was headed by two artists (Pendon — aka Starship — and El Mec) with the help of 13 assistants, and 240 cans of paint. The 22-story portrait of the I’m Your Man artist measures 1,100 square feet, and is the centerpiece of the fifth Mural International Public Art Festival. Montreal is also the site of a new exhibition at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (aka, the Mac) called Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything (taken from his song “Anthem”), featuring multi-disciplinary artworks inspired by Cohen’s songs. Artist Janet Cardiff is one of the creators featured in the show.
To see more photos of the mural, click here.