Description

Morton (Meyer) Katz (October 20 1934 – January 15 2025).

Our dad got interested in different materials at different times. He found part of a tree trunk by the side of the road, he carved a fish out of it, and a chicken. For a while he stored broken boards in the basement, our mother walked over them to get to the washing machine, one day the broken boards became a giant nest, eventually there was an egg. Our mother says he was fearless, he didn’t worry about the outcome, he tried anything.

When our dad decided he wanted to build cities out of the insides of computers and stereos, he made friends with people who owned repair stores on Spadina. He visited them for months, and they gave him the guts of broken machines. He developed relationships with people who brought his art into their homes. He developed relationships with people who commissioned his work, or offered him studio space. He developed relationships with people who collaborated with him.

But his relationships weren’t just about his creations. Our dad had spots all over the city for a haircut or a burger or a car wash. There were also people he played tennis with. And neighbours, cousins, old friends, a network of people he chose to drop-in on at home, chat with on the street, visit in the hospital.

We learned about the extent of this network in his last weeks. We called through a list of names he gave us and everyone showed up. They showed him what he meant to them. They made his last days beautiful. And we saw that these relationships were expression, and creation, they were not separate from the art.

We could say so much more. Our dad had an amazing sense of humour. He had great taste in movies. Like everyone, our dad was a universe, there are so many ways to look at him, we have shared fragments of what we saw, but we don’t want to fix him in place. We will miss him.

For an official biography please read below.

Obituary

Morton was an architect. For several years in the 1960s, he taught architecture at the University of Toronto. In the 1980s, he began focusing on sculpture, both teaching and creating. He also sketched, painted and designed furniture. He has sculptures and installations in parks, schools, museums, embassies, hospitals and people’s homes around the world. Public examples of his work include a sculpture in front of Harbord Collegiate, sculptures at Baycrest and installations at the Windsor Sculpture Park.

Morton was a serious tennis player, and competed for Canada in over-eighty tennis championships. He is survived by his wife, Sheila; his daughters, Amy and Jenny; Jenny’s husband Chris and daughter Miryam; and, a network of friends, relatives and collaborators who loved knowing him and who will miss him very much. Morton is the son of Harry and Ida Katz.