From Ghetto to Glamour

Graffiti Alley

Toronto is a city with a lot of attractions. Beautiful architecture, great music, worldwide cuisine, the best parties and concerts and there is something else that sets Toronto apart from other cities as one of the greatest in the world: it's graffiti art. Let's know a bit more about it, shall we?

Some of the most beautiful graffiti art in Toronto can be found in the famous Graffiti Alley located in an alleyway between Richmond St. and Queen St., just west of Spadina Ave.

Graffiti Alley 

As this is a very well known art piece in Toronto with a very expressive sense of community art that speak to people from all over the world, I have chosen to use this as the subject of my short documentary.

In September 2014, it was named the second coolest neighborhood in the world by Vogue.

The graffiti ,as a form of art, has existed since at least the 1950s being developed during the 1970s on the subways of New York, and later expanded to the city walls themselves. This movement from trains to walls was encouraged by the efforts of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to eradicate graffiti on their property (in 1089 the M.T.A. officially declared the transit graffiti-free ).

It is important to make a distinction between the two types of graffiti found around the world. The one made in public buildings as a means for the artists to mark territory, which is considered vandalism and thus illegal. And the one made by artists who want to express their views of the world through their paintings, these are found in authorized areas or in art galleries.

Ghetto

• considered illegal and vandalistic expression of art. 
• artists have the risk of being arrested . 
• arts exposed in the hardest and tallest places, where it can be seen the most.
• arts displayed only on the streets, specifically on alleyways.

Glamour 

• appreciated and considered legal expression of art.
• artists have a safe place in the creation of the art. 
• seen as part of the contemporary art. 
• can be found at specifics spots on the streets, but also in art galleries.

In earlier years, many works were original and told an important story from the artist's’ point of view. Many still hold themes of love and family, tell stories of their lives, or use graffiti to share with the city the artists’ never-happening dream. It is hard to describe the history of the city’s graffiti without acknowledging the emotion infused within each piece.

In order to express art through graffiti, many artists flourished along the years bringing this kind of art into communities and neighborhoods. Below I selected three artists that I found interesting as well known in the Toronto graffiti history. It is also important to say that there are many other admirable artists that contributed for the creation and history of this art movement in Toronto that will be described in another opportunity.


1. Kwest

Applied Surface 

Applied Surface 

Kwest is one of Canada's premier graffiti artists. Since 1999, Kwest has completed more than 5000 freight train paintings across Canada and the Southern United States. Currently, Kwest is moving beyond his classic medium, to three-dimensional pieces that are as sharp, intricate and wild as his graffiti. His present work explores the relationship between the urban environment, classic graffiti and elements within the city.


2. ANSER

Anser's show at Funktion Gallery, "A Mysterious Date with Anser." Photos by funkaoshi. 

ANSER's faces are unmistakable, irreplaceable. At their best, they're mysterious and erotic. Known as the "Mysterious Date," these faces show off ANSER's ability to fuse "high art" portrait techniques with street-graffiti bombing tactics. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his work has also made it into gallery settings from time to time.

3. Skam

This elder statesmen of the local graffiti scene is one of the best known writers in Toronto. Influenced by classic New York City hip hop and BBoy cultures, SKAM (and his boys SIGHT, REN, WISPER, + members of the HSA and DOH crews) dominate large parts of Toronto's famous Graffiti Alley with consistently crisp and pristine piecework. He has been writing graffiti since 1992. They've also got several walls in Kensington, Parkdale, Bloor & Ossington, Little Italy, and beyond.



This video is a short documentary talking about the Graffiti Alley located in downtown Toronto.
Here we present and discuss the main concepts of what graffiti art is and how the artists in Toronto have created beautiful representations of the segment in the Graffiti Alley.

I'm so blessed for having the opportunity to work in one more great project for my school. I had no knowledge of how important the graffiti art has contributed to many communities. This opened gallery located at the Graffiti Alley gave me a sense of what arts on the streets can be very empowering as well express the artists' views of the world.




References:

Blog Toronto. 10 Toronto graffiti writers worth knowing about. http://www.blogto.com/arts/2012/08/10_toronto_graffiti_writers_worth_knowing_about/

Brunosmoky. https://www.facebook.com/Smokysp/

Derek Flack, Derek. Funktion Gallery.  http://www.blogto.com/gallery/funktiongallery

Topping,David.Tall Poppy Interview: Anser. http://torontoist.com/2009/02/tall_poppy_interview_anser/

Tucker, Daniel. Art And Crime. http://www.graffiti.org/faq/tucker.html

http://www.douknow.com/blog/404/top-graffiti-spots-in-toronto#blog-nav

Vogue. Global Street Report: Mapping out of the 15 coolest Neighborhood in the World. http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/1080625/fifteen-coolest-street-style-neighborhoods/