What place does a four-lane road have running through the largest green space in Vaughan? I often wonder; had it not been a flood plain would this forest even exist, or would it have succumbed to development like the rest of the surroundings. Walking through the William Granger Greenway one can’t help but notice the sounds of cars whizzing by and the large concrete eyesore; they’ve literally paved paradise (Somewhere Joni Mitchell is shedding a tear). A new movement however, #kickstarttheart has managed to reintegrate this space back into its surroundings. This graffiti should definitely stay, and more of it is needed!
A little background, The William Granger Greenway is a series of trails, running through Kortright conservation center and Boyd conservation center, both in Vaughan. This large green space undeveloped because of its situation in flood plains has been recently reintroduced to the community. With the reconstruction of bridges and redevelopment of the trail system this public space affords community members a place to walk their dogs, go for runs, or simply take their families on a hike. This is a place I frequent often, usually to walk my dog, or in the summer I like to come and catch crayfish in the river. As a result of its location and the development of the city surrounding this green space, four busy streets run through it; Rutherford road, Major Mackenzie Drive, Islington Avenue and Pine Valley Drive.
When I first sought out to write this blog post I had entirely different intentions. Just a few months ago walking under this bridge would have conveyed a completely different feeling. My original message sought to criticize how the gang graffiti and tagging under the bridge only worsened the effect of the anomaly that is Rutherford Road Bridge. The bridge, already an irregularity in its environment, only stood out more with addition of tagging. Needless to say however, when I arrived to document the graffiti I was more than pleasantly surprised to see it had been painted over. Seen here Stefano Bove, the creator of this piece, and his team are starting their project, covering what used to be slang, profanity, obscure objects and even gang markings. This previous work privatized the space; it made it feel less inclusive and even unsafe. The lack of light that shines under the bridge, and the old graffiti created an almost gloomy surrounding. This is what I had full intention to write about, how this graffiti should go - How all graffiti should go. Instead, I sit here, at my keyboard, inspired, inspired by a movement, #kickstarttheartvaughan.
Now although the new mural is legal, it was a large challenge getting local conservation authority (the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority or TRCA) to approve this piece, as seen in this article put forth by Yorkregion.com. Despite this, my new message, what I want this blog to convey is that graffiti is art, and under the right circumstances it can transform a space, enhancing its environment, and enticing emotions from pedestrians passing by.
When I pass this graffiti it is what I notice - not the bridge, not the sounds of car horns, in a way it is drawing me in. I am not alone in this, sitting down watching runners or walkers pass by, they stop to admire the graffiti, taking out their cell phones to take pictures. I even asked a few people what they thought, and most agreed, it was beautiful. Being able to transform a bridge into something of beauty is the power of graffiti and as I will discuss, I hope this actually starts a movement, one that will make Vaughan beautiful.
More art such as this is needed. With the minimization of green space and the civil development encroaching further into these spaces, there needs to be a means of integration. Art, such as murals, sculptures and graffiti in specific confides can better integrate these anomalies into their surroundings. McAuliffe and Iverson argue that graffiti can be public or private, existing in limbo. In the context that I am supporting graffiti it is art, art that makes a space more public; attracting viewers, improving the surroundings, more graffiti like this is needed. More art is needed. In that same paper by McAuliffe and Iverson it is argued whether or not graffiti is art; concluding that it lies somewhere between art and crime. In this context the graffiti is clearly art. But it raises an interesting argument, should only city-approved graffiti be considered art and not crime. I think so. I want to add a disclaimer to this statement: I only think this should be the case if the city counsel is reasonable with what they approve as graffiti. If a piece of graffiti improves its surroundings, without conveying a negative message, and is only done within the confounds of private property with the owners approval, then by all means it should stay (Class, October 28th).
The more people can relate to something the more accepted it is. When graffiti is gendered, raced or written in code it privatizes the space, limiting the amount of individuals that feel welcome within. Dickinson writes about the transgression of graffiti to art, and the legitimization of graffiti as an art. It has become not just widely accepted in today’s culture but admired and I feel as if more of it is needed. This particular piece is not gendered nor raced, and therefore does not privatize the space. In a society where green space is limited and development appears never ending, there lacks a means of integration; a way to diminish the distinction between the engineered and natural environments. I strongly feel that graffiti and art, is our solution. Do you?
You claimed that the graffiti prior to the mural was negatively impacting the space however, after the mural was painted people would stop and admire it. Why do you think people can relate to this mural? Does graffiti impact the way people interact with this space?
Hey Andrew!
very nice blog post. very detailed, clear, and interesting! It is really cool how people take initiative to make something so hideous into something so beautiful. It is also interesting because of the hard work and detication it takes to cover vandalism, and create a piece of art that enhances the space. What bothers me is the fact that it was a large challenge to get the artwork approved by the conservation authority. Why would they want to have an investigation on the approval of something that enhances the space? It is mentioned that you believe that graffiti is art. would you consider graffiti to be an art when it is displayed with such discusting meaning behind it, maybe something that was going against the city that you live in? For you, when do you draw the line between graffiti/vandalism, and art? Other than that it was really well written and i enjoyed reading it!
- Gabe
Bridges are usually seen as dark places, where even during the day, lights are on in order to illuminate the way. When “negative” graffiti is put there, I feel that it adds on the already dark atmosphere that exists. I love the fact that there are now movements that are attempting to change the areas of bridges and best of all, painting over graffiti that does not enhance the space it is in. With that being said, I agree that this piece of graffiti should stay, since it clearly is impacting the space in a positive way. Do you think that this movement will be able to spark other graffiti artists to also do the same?
For starters, I really enjoyed reading about this piece of graffiti! I feel as though the space it is situated in allows for it to be perceived in various different ways, whether positively or not. I do agree with you that this graffiti should stay as it appears to bring a sense of "life" to the space. I feel as though if graffiti can give a larger and more positive meaning to a space than it should be kept. However, per say the movement does expand, do you think it could potentially be abused by people who choose to vandalize spaces instead of creating art?
First off, I really liked your blog post as I personally agree that graffiti is an art form in itself. Similar to what I mentioned in my chosen piece, I believe that graffiti is a great way for its artists to express their thoughts and emotions. The fact that this mural has now covered previous individual pieces of graffiti makes it very intriguing. Just looking at your photos, I would have never imagined that this bridge previously housed slang or profanity because I would think that it used to be simply empty instead. From this new mural, I must say that it does bring a feeling of life to the area. I believe that I experience this for every legal mural because they are wonderful pieces of art that symbolize various meanings. As a result, I agree with you that we would have more of these murals in our city through this movement. However, how long do you think these murals will last before someone begins to mark their territory (they begin to vandalize the mural)? Should measures be taken to prevent this from happening? Besides the artistic presentation of murals, do you think there are other reasons to why people stop to admire such pieces?
As a resident of Vaughan, I do agree with you that this particular piece of graffiti must stay. I believe that there is not much representation or expression of art in the area and there should be more murals like this one. I think that graffiti in Vaughan could impact the community in a positive way by challenging how race and genders connect to a space and provide changes our imaginations on how graffiti is understood . You noted in your blog that by relating these race and gender factors to graffiti it privatizes space and I completely subscribe to your opinion on that. Also, I feel that there is a lot of green spaces in the area that could use some positive graffiti to connect us better to our environment by letting artists express themselves through graffiti. On that idea, why do you think that graffiti is not expressed as much as it should be in Vaughan and does it surprise you that artist are not able to express themselves as much as they could?
To simplify things I am going to respond to everyone's comment in one post!
In response to Shameena: Yes, I believe that graffiti has an impact on the way people react with this space. I feel that since so many people are able to understand and appreciate the piece (that it is not targeted to a specific audience) that it allows a broader range of people to be impacted by the piece. I guess that answers your other question as well; just to reiterate I believe people can relate to this piece because it is generic, it is not gendered or aged in any way and for that reason a greater cohort can appreciate it. If you read through some of the other blog posts you can see how some people talk about graffiti making some feel unsafe, or welcome and this best exemplifies how people can interact with a space dependent on the presence or absence of graffiti. As I state in the blog graffiti impacts this particular space by creating an interaction between nature and civil structures, thus allowing individuals to feel more comfortable with the bridge. Thanks so much for your comment!
In response to gabepacc: Hi Gabe, it also bothers me immensely that it was such a hassle to get this piece approved by conservation authority (especially since I work for them). I understand they were worried about the paint washing off and damaging wildlife in the river, but this should have been a simple solution - waterproof paint. In response to your other question, for me graffiti is art and should stay when it enhances a space. I believe that graffiti in which there is profanity or a disgusting meaning behind it is vandalism, this is due to the fact that it does not enhance the space. I feel as if there is no place for this graffiti in our city, or anywhere for that matter. Thank you as well for your comment!
In response to osantos: Hi Olga, I agree with you entirely that dark graffiti containing profanity or slang can make a space feel dark as well. That is why I was so pleasantly surprised to see the old graffiti painted over. It is hard for me to say whether or not I think this will actually start a movement. I know it got a lot of attention on social media and local media and for that reason I remain optimistic that it will. Other than that it is just a wait and see matter. Thanks for your comment!
In response to dinac: I really hope not. The whole premise behind the movement is to reintegrate art into the city of Vaughan, so anyone who vandalizes is not participating in the movement, they are for lack of better words an a**hole. I could not understand why someone would want to paint over something that is beautiful, but that is just me. Hopefully, in the case someone does vandalize an area, it is painted over by someone who is truthfully participating in the movement. Thanks for your comment.
In response to trancy95: Your first question is very similar to the one above so please see the response above. Like in the case where individuals intentionally vandalize, I hope in the instance where people vandalize existing pieces those participating in the movement paint over them, hence restoring them to their original state. I think the best thing to do in terms of protecting these pieces would be to place a sign by them saying something along the lines of "if you see someone vandalizing please call local authorities". Finally, in response to your last question, I believe one of the main reasons so many people admire this piece is because of the way it is able to integrate the bridge into the surrounding environment. The scenery on the William Granger Greenway is absolutely breathtaking and the pictures or video do not do it justice. I think that the beauty of the surroundings helps people appreciate the beauty of the graffiti, which is another reason why people may stop to admire this particular piece. Thank you very much for your comment.
In response to matp1995: In an area like Vaughan that is seen as an upper-class neighborhood I am not surprised that it has taken this long for artistic graffiti to be introduced into the community. The controversy surrounding graffiti and whether or not it is art or crime is the biggest reason I think it is not expressed as much as it should be in Vaughan. Hopefully, this piece will open people's eyes up to the idea that graffiti can be artistic and beautiful, and as a result, there will be a greater demand for it. Similarly, I hope this will better allow artists in Vaughan to express themselves. The conservative nature of Vaughan is the reason why I am not surprised that artists in Vaughan are not able to express themselves. However, I do believe in recent years this has been changing and this movement will help to further facilitate the transition. Thanks for the comment!
Once again thank you to everyone who commented, and thank you very much for your kind words! 🙂
Hey Andrew,
This was definitely one of the more interesting blogs I have read so far. I absolutely agree this type of graffiti should stay as it does give off a friendly and welcoming feeling. Do you think that this type of graffiti should be in demand for the public to see or is it better to have it in places people usually don't go or find unwelcoming?