Writings, Reviews, Cultural Criticism
When people go on holidays, they like to see the sights, or shop, or lie on a beach, or dine in nice restaurants. Me? I like to hunt for graffiti. While I was in Victoria, I did a lot of walking and found graffiti everywhere. Tags. Bombs. Walls. Stencils. Even dust on bus shelters.
where has the graffiti gone?across the rusted railsa pale sickly ochrewashes the bricks belowand above, faded corporateposter art, suffering sun,fog, unplanned exposure,scotiabank, investors groupmoney this and sponsor thatbefore, the walls below screameda tagging riot spray canscolour explosion eye popthe shock of blank wallsdraws me up short huh!where has the graffiti gone?i bow my head, solemn,like…
The Toronto Star reports that the city has painted over a mural that the city had paid $2,000 to produce.
Toronto’s new mayor, Rob Ford, wants his city to be a graffiti-free zone. Back in October, when he was still just a candidate, he spoke to the Board of Trade about how he wanted Toronto to be clean and safe, how he wanted Toronto to sparkle for the 2015 Pan Am games.
I took this image by the Eramosa River in Guelph, Ontario. Remember the Lorax? It’s Dr. Seuss.
I have my own WOTS. It’s more literal-minded than the annual event that will return to our city this Sunday. I look for words on the street, or at the very least, words in public spaces. Words that don’t try to sell us anything. Words that don’t try to persuade us of anything. Words that don’t proselytize. Words that don’t regulate us: stop, yield, no parking.
I love this little piece of graffiti I found near the intersection of Nassau St. & Spadina Ave. in Toronto. As graffiti, it’s not great. File this one under “it’s the thought that counts.”
Rob Ford’s graffiti Nazis are fanning out like pesky little rodents through all the streets of Toronto. I just saw my first “Stop Graffiti Vandalism Now” sign. We have our very own war on terror, but scaled down for the suburbs.
The Guardian reports that a Banksy Paddington Bear mural worth £5,000 got grey-washed by overzealous Glastonbury council volunteers who were trying to rid the municipality of that dreaded blight — graffiti.
Curves, the weight-loss people, have had an ad out for a while. I’m referring to the one called Hearts: “Curves works for your heart – and every other part of you.” The ad evinces a philosophy of health that serves the whole person.