A Tour of Some Toronto Graffiti

Vanessa

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I started on a project a couple of years ago, to photograph some of the awesome graffiti around Toronto (we actually have a 'graffiti alley' too), but I wanted to do something different.
I decided to take all my photos at night, so I would go out on the weekends and hang around in seedy alleyways and take photos. Met up with lots of raccoon and rats along the way.
We have some amazing artists in this city. I learned about them, knew them by name, and learned how to recognize their work. A lot of times, businesses will hire them to do some of this work - like the famous piece by Elicser in the alley next to Massey Hall.
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louise f

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This is really cool. I dont see that here where i live.. Haha farmer city here:D Nothing but fields and a little shop.:bored::D
Great pics
 

The Snark

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Got some world class art there. Nearly every school is represented too.
 

KezyGLA

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As graffiti has been my longest hobby (since I was 9) I really appreciate this post!

I love bringing some colour to the streets. The pieces here are great.

I wish Glasgow had a graff scene like Toronto.
 
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KezyGLA

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This is really cool. I dont see that here where i live.. Haha farmer city here:D Nothing but fields and a little shop.:bored::D
Great pics
Copenhagen has an amaaaaazing graffiti scene! I know a few writers/artists from there. When I was younger I had a visit to paint some of those big red trains heheh :rolleyes::D
 

louise f

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Copenhagen has an amaaaaazing graffiti scene! I know a few writers/artists from there. When I was younger I had a visit to paint some of those big red trains heheh :rolleyes::D
Yeah Copenhagen do, SO IT WAS YOU WHO PAINTED OUR TRAINS HUH:astonished::D What an outrage there is every time someone does that. Pretty
Ridiculous IMO. I think it is pretty with some beautiful art around town. :)
 

KezyGLA

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Yeah Copenhagen do, SO IT WAS YOU WHO PAINTED OUR TRAINS HUH:astonished::D What an outrage there is every time someone does that. Pretty
Ridiculous IMO. I think it is pretty with some beautiful art around town. :)
In glasgow the council paint over it constantly with grey or brown paint. It looks terrible. Big grey squares everywhere. I say leave it be. It is what makes Barcelona such a beautiful city, next to it's architechture.
 

Vanessa

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People pay our most well known artists to paint their businesses in Toronto. That first piece, my favourite and by my favourite artist, was commissioned to be painted next to the famous Massey Hall in the downtown core.
Sure, there is some gang tagging around, but it is far outweighed by our real artists. I spotted another spot that I want to photograph a a couple of weeks back on my way home from work. It is going to be a difficult one, though. It is the underside of a bridge on one of our busiest streets. I will have to do it piece by piece instead of a wide angle shot of the entire series.
Another spot for some awesome work is our gay village area around Jarvis and Church. They have some great pieces there - painted a couple of years ago for the 30th Anniversary of Pride.
 

KezyGLA

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People pay our most well known artists to paint their businesses in Toronto. That first piece, my favourite and by my favourite artist, was commissioned to be painted next to the famous Massey Hall in the downtown core.
Sure, there is some gang tagging around, but it is far outweighed by our real artists. I spotted another spot that I want to photograph a a couple of weeks back on my way home from work. It is going to be a difficult one, though. It is the underside of a bridge on one of our busiest streets. I will have to do it piece by piece instead of a wide angle shot of the entire series.
Another spot for some awesome work is our gay village area around Jarvis and Church. They have some great pieces there - painted a couple of years ago for the 30th Anniversary of Pride.
Awesome!

Everyone in the hobby started out with vandalism, tags and bubble letters(quick throw-ups) on trains, tracksides, vans, shop shutters and rooftops. As you get older there are people that still do the vandalism (which is graffiti in the pure form), they release dvds,magazines and books. The others go on to diverse into street art and do commission work, galleries etc.

I have been in a lot of trouble up and down my country for vandalism when I was younger. I ended up in prison a few times. I tried to stop but you cant compare the adrenaline of it to anything.

I have found myself settling down now as I am grown up but I'm kind of split down the middle. I love graffiti and I am also into street art. So in Scotland I cannot do the vandalism aspect. I leave that for vacations heheh.

I volunteer to do workshop graffiti/street art classes for youths in communities around my city. Our government is that strict that it wont let us do murals on the streets(well if they do they give the work to one artist from the other side of the world NZ). I find it quite unfair because by not providing legal walls the kids are only able to work on small walls at community centres.

I wish they would let the aspiring young artists have some more places to work on their techniques and skills without getting into trouble. With no legal walls for graffiti it just gives way to more illegal graffiti(which here is mostly gang related too).

Glasgow is meant to be a city of culture and arts but it is bleak and grey :(

Maybe if our government wasn't so uptight then we could have walls like the ones in your photographs. It would bring so much more life to our city under grey skies.
 

Vanessa

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Toronto is actually great for that - workshops for disenfranchised and at risk youth in combination with street art. I'm sure all of them started out the same way as you did. Many of those who are famous street artists are part of the community outreach programs and help young people to put their amazing talents on the right track so they can earn some money doing it.
I have wanted to work with some of those programs - photographing workshops and artists at work - but I am having a difficult time doing it. I'm an outsider and I am sure that people question my motives. Still, if I get a chance to work with them, I am going to jump at it.
 

KezyGLA

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That's pretty much what we do here its just locally funded no real help from our councillors.

Please, can you tell that to Glasgow City Council?:rofl:

It takes the kids away from gang activity, violence, drugs and alcohol. These are huge factors in many peoples lives here.

We got a grant of 15k for art supplies from Santander bank which was great. Now we need a place to use the money. The City Mafia Council would rather use the peoples money to hire dummy officers to fine people £80 for dropping cigarette butts instead.

We will get the walls some day soon if we keep trying. :)

I mean't to ask earlier, what camera do you use?
 
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