What graffiti artists have to say about the crackdown

Among the hundreds of comments on our recent posts related to Toronto's crackdown on graffiti, a fairly common request readers have made is for the writers to justify and explain their work and whether or not they think it's straight vandalism. A new mini-documentary by Ryerson Radio and Television Arts student, Char Loro (along with Dylan McFadyen and Eric Kupp) answers this call with a series of interviews with members of the Toronto graffiti scene.

Having watched the doc, I'm quite sure some of the commentary will enrage certain readers. But it's not all about bravado and cavalier attitudes. The interviews with Zion, the established graffiti artist and store owner who managed to secure a meeting with Rob Ford last month, reveals as much about the attitude of mature artists as it does about the City's heavy-handed clean-up plans.

The question becomes whether or not the two sides can find any common ground. As Zion says near the end of the doc, "I think the mayor just sees a world of tags...where the tallest building has tags on every floor. We're trying to do something different than that."

GOODBYE GRAFFITI from Char Loro on Vimeo. Lead photo by undomestic.