The Art of Graffiti

Getting to know Toronto and its graffiti

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Since mankind found himself in a cave with a piece of charcoal in his hand, he has felt compelled to deface the wall. That spark of creativity has perpetuated throughout the ages with members of early civilizations (e.g. Egyptians, Romans) using public property to express political opinions, gossip, love and identity.

These simple scratches and marks of the past gave way in recent decades to massive displays using spray paint that could cover large areas. The secretive works of graffiti artists have created much debate about the value of these markings on public property. Some are simply tags by rival gangs – but other pieces are extremely elaborate creations that clearly included planning and thought about content, colour and message. Does the street artist simply need a large canvas and public attention? The Cowgirls investigate:

As with other cities, Toronto has its graffiti and as you wander about the city you are left to decide what is art and what is not. Up until now there doesn’t seem to be the equivalent of a Banksy, a London graffiti artist who with wit, irony and political overlay, creates images across the city that cause viewers to smile and wish they were as smart as him. Those familiar with his work might notice the homage to him with our cowgirl figure at the bottom of our site (in reference to his maid figure). The closest comparison in Toronto would be the work of Dan Bergeron who glued massive photo-murals on the outside of apartment blocks in Regents Park. Unfortunately, these seem to have mostly disappeared. In Montreal, the works of Roadsworth are quite innovative and fun, but it’s a pity we don’t have something quite the same here.

But we’re still looking.

Guided free tours by Graeme Parry are worth checking out if you have some time to spare on a sunny day, but in the meantime, here’s what we could find on our journey around the alleyways along Queen West between Spadina and Portland.

Here’s a simple tag:

Courtesy of mushypony.com

We did not do that for Mushy Pony we assure you :) Besides, that’s far too boring. Here are some more, but the focus is still on the name:

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Now, here are some more complex artforms. True street art.

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Courtesy of mushypony.com

And what about graffiti being used for company branding?

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Or graffiti that vandalizes a wall but not a street sign? Sort of hypocritical?

Courtesy of mushypony.com

Again, this was just one area’s worth of graffiti in Toronto. Drop us a line if you’re a graffiti artist with a different perception on this topic. We like to hear everyone’s opinion.

XoXo
– The Cowgirls