Graffiti=Art?

On occasion, even the mundane can be elevated above its apparent place. All that may be required is a fresh perspective on what surrounds us every day. A splash of colour, a flash of light, an open mind, and the ordinary can be tranformed. The graffiti that fills our public space is sometimes (usually) an eyesore, but under the right circumstances can be seen in a new way.



Ordinary becomes Extraordinary
Graffiti becomes Art

The Halifax Commons Skatepark late October 2006

What goes together better than Graffiti&Sk8trBoyz/Grrrlz (other than say Rum&Coke or Sex,Drugs,Rock&Roll)? So what better place to find lots of graffiti and Tags than at Halifax Skatepark near the Commons. Sure enough the older portion of the area is covered with graffiti, and some enterprising Taggers have gotten a headstart on the still fenced off, still under construction expansion.

Overall (given the context of a Skatepark) the effect is quite artistic - a jumble of styles, colours and materials melding into de facto installation art on the Commons.

The usual suspects (YOOPZ, HEUG and VA) are present and accounted for; as are literally hundreds of others

It will be interesting to revisit and follow the progress on the fresh canvas that the expansion represents (short of hoardings at building sites - the most 'socially acceptable' location to tag in the city)

Hoarding at Lieutenant Governor's Residence

What better place for graffiti than a hoarding? A fresh, blank (temporary) canvas beckons. And sure enough, the hoarding on Barrington Street at the Lieutenant Governor's residence is no exception. Lots of examples of graffiti - tags in many styles, slogans, and a stencilled gnome. The ubiquitous (around Halifax anyway) "YOOPZ" tag is represented (more on this another day)

Half the hoarding came down this week, taking its scribblings with it to the ?dump, but it lives on here (for now)