On the west side of Spadina, between Adelaide and Queen Street.... is a Jem. This place is nothing new to the Toronto scene hipster, but if you love the graphic arts or illustration and haven't gone there already... go!
Toronto by laws prohibit graffiti and make building owners and occupants, maintain a property free of graffiti. Yet, somehow this place survives. The Queen Street graffiti alley is not just two short walls of graffiti between buildings, no it's more. The alley starts from about Spadina and continues west towards Portland Street then beyond into the wonderful world of Queen West. To those of you who do not know Toronto, Queen West is a Toronto district which is home to many indie jewelry shops, retro furniture stores and of course home to the stereotypical artsy, hip and modern individual known in Toronto, as the hipster.
The graffiti in the
photographs posted here may be long gone by the time you go there, but as old
graffiti is erased, new graffiti is produced. The cycle continues,
and art here is always fresh. The posted photographs were taken on a
rainy day in July 2012; the colours on the exterior walls of the buildings were
vivid as overcast skies often produce what fine art historians call chiaroscuro, a
term describing the phenomenon of exaggerated light and shadow in
baroque painting.
This alley of
graffiti is not a haven for vandals, it is not the kind of graffiti that is
scribbled upon a freshly renovated European facade, graffiti that defaces and
is vulgar. The graffiti here knows colour theory, shading
and demonstrates high artistic technique and
skill; whether it's a beautiful woman staring back at you, or lovable
cartoon characters like Tom & Jerry chasing each other in a
playful scene, the art here is fleeting, inspirational and beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment