Graffiti In Canada

What is art? According Merriam Webster's online dictionary, the definition of art is, “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power” (“art”). Even though art has been defined, there are still some works questioned by society around the world. For example, a child creates an image with chalk on the sidewalk. Is this art? According to the definition of art it would be, the child’s “expression or application of human creative skill and imagination” is shown through the image (“art”). On the other hand, a skilled artist that paints on walls around the world, better known as graffiti

The people of Toronto have a variety of views towards graffiti that are present in the newspaper, The Globe and Mail, by Marcus Gee. Marcus Gee has interviewed Mr. Cole, the owner of The Show & Tell art gallery which specializes in graffiti writers and other disregarded artists. Mr. Cole stated in the article, ¨Torontonians should be pleased that Banksy has graced our walls with his work [...] It's a real treat for Canada to have something of this calibre [...] Graffiti is a social commentary on urban living’” (Gee M4). Mr. Cole clearly appreciates graffiti works, which is a much different view than the rest of Toronto’s society. Marcus Gee states in his article, “It is not just property owners who are victimized by graffiti. The whole city suffers. Graffiti splashed everywhere makes urban spaces seem sketchy and dangerous” (M4). This goes to show that business owners fear the effects graffiti could cause, such as a loss of customers or damage to their reputation. The city officials have tried to keep the cities clean, but graffiti is difficult to stop. Marcus Gee’s article shows some of the difficulties cities encounter when dealing with graffiti, “In Toronto, the never-ending struggle against graffiti consumes millions of dollars and countless hours a year. [...] City bylaw officers press property owners to clean up graffiti as quickly as possible to keep taggers from coming back” (M4). This is one of many efforts to get rid of graffiti throughout the city. Graffiti is viewed in a negative way whether it is art or not, unfortunately this causes all the artists creativity to be unappreciated and