graffiti?

toronto is home to a variety of graffiti and a lot of non-inventive tagging.  as you wander through the streets and alleyways, there are some clever, intricate and interesting pieces.  on a cloudy winter day, graffiti brings colour and life to the otherwise grey streets.  and on a sunny day they truly come to life.

in may 2010 the notorious and elusive banksy marked toronto with several new pieces.  you can see photos of banksy's art in toronto here.

as far as i know, graffiti is a crime against property... meaning it's illegal.  and i kind of get that.  but more often than not, stumbling upon a creative piece of graffiti brings a smile to my face.  and i wonder if the crime is part of the appeal?  i wonder if it were regulated instead of illegal if there would be as many ugly, unimaginative tags out there?  ... although i should note i have seen some cool tags so i'm not totally bashing them... but i definitely prefer images over letters.  here is a quote from banksy that sums it all up:

Imagine a city where graffiti wasn't illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall - it's wet.

if you haven't already seen the work of canadian artist roadsworth it's definitely worth clicking on the link and browsing through the gallery.  the creativity is out of this world!

unfortunately, i don't have any photos of my own to share of the art that i love.  instead, i have some shots of the graffiti along the lakeshore west line taken from the go train.  be prepared to not be wowed.