In an initiative called Paint The City Black, 40 graffiti artists from the GTA and Montreal have gathered in Graffiti Alley to support the Black Lives Matter movement with murals
Tag: Graffiti
George Orwell and Graffiti
Near the end of Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell’s memoir of his service in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell confesses that he was not above resorting to graffiti.
Rosedale Valley Homeless Sweep
The City of Toronto is conducting a sweep of Rosedale Valley Road, removing homeless people who live either under the bridges that cross the ravine or in tents in the more densely wooded areas.
Camp Bison Prison Farm
My interest in the Camp Bison Prison Farm is twofold. First is the photographic interest of exploring an abandoned space. Second is more personal: I grew up occasionally hearing my dad tell the story of its most infamous inmate.
Graffiti in Singapore
I didn’t expect to find graffiti in Singapore. Given the harsh penalties, I assumed there was enough of a deterrent to keep people from spray painting shit on walls. I was wrong. But most of it is simple tagging. I scratch my head and wonder of the artists: you risked a caning for that?
New Graffiti Under St. Clair St. Bridge
An earlier post on graffiti under the St. Clair St. bridge is now officially an archival document. The original subject matter no longer exists, so the only record of it is in photographs like mine. The city’s anti-graffiti people have grey-washed the concrete footings on the east side of the St. Clair St. Bridge.
Fall Colours In Yellow Creek
If I were a nature photographer, I’d be out driving through the countryside to view the fall colours. Maybe I’d stay at a hotel in Haliburton so I could be up early to catch the sweet light. But I live in the city and I’m too lazy to plan a big weekend in the countryside.
The Original Street Art
Before there were graffiti artists, there were civil engineers. At least that’s a theory of mine. For years now, Toronto has been in the grips of a construction boom and, before anybody breaks ground, teams of surveyors and engineers spray paint lines all over the pavement. The streets become canvasses for a kind of urban development graffiti.
Street Art In Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay has a vibe that reminds me of Victoria. There are a lot of young people, especially the sort of young people who don’t hang out at Conservative Party conventions. They live counter cultural values, buy local, vote Green. And express themselves accordingly …
Abandoned Spaces in Northern Ontario
If I stopped every time I saw a burnt out motel or abandoned gas station beside a highway in northern Ontario, I’d never get anywhere. In May, I stopped at a few choice locations, and bookmarked a few others for the end of the summer when I’ll be passing that way again. The images are inherently dramatic, they raise questions, imply a story.
Street Art in NYC
I didn’t have time to sniff out really good examples of street art when I was visiting Manhattan. I suspect that if I were a tourist visiting Toronto, I’d have the same problem in reverse. I wouldn’t know where to look. Nevertheless, I saw what I saw and share it here:
More #wallnoize
Sunday night, after everyone had finished in the tunnel by the Glen St. exit from the Sherbourne subway station, I went back with my tripod and a wide lens to document the results. Here are some samples of the #graffiti from wallnoize7.
#Wallnoize7
On Saturday morning, it’s as if the graffiti army showed up: kids (am I showing my age?) lined up on either side of the tunnel, traffic cones at either end of the tunnel, ladders, boxes of spraypaint, and a guy with a clipboard doling out paint and telling people where to go.
#Wallnoize6
I saw Spudbomb doing his thing under the Bloor West Go Rail overpass. I don’t know if Spudbomb is a person or a collective. Or an aspiration. Or a poltergeist.
Bathurst Street Bridge
For the first time in years, I walked under the Bathurst Street Bridge. This is the old iron bridge that goes over the rail lands south of Front Street. Now, a chain-link fence blocks access, but there’s a gaping hole in it that looks to me like an invitation.