Graffiti Alley

There is a lane way in downtown Toronto that is a popular destination for photographers, and the subject of numerous posts by various bloggers – including Norm for Thursday Doors two years ago.

I finally visited Graffiti Alley myself for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I met fellow blogger, Mary, from As I Walk Toronto.

Graffiti Alley isn’t its real name … but I’m pretty sure no one has ever heard of Rush Lane.

If you are familiar with Canadian TV, you would recognize Graffiti Alley as the backdrop for Rick Mercer’s popular weekly rant, originally shown on the political satire 22 Minutes and more recently on The Rick Mercer Report.

As Mary and I walked through the alley dodging mud puddles and patches of ice on this February day, my only regret was not seeing Rick Mercer with his cameraman recording his latest rant.

This former loading door (it counts as a door, right?) was about my shoulder height off the ground.  This guy was with several friends who were recording boomerang videos as he jumped off the ledge.  I suggested that Mary should try it, but for some reason she thought it might be a bad idea.

I’m pretty sure Mary would be alarmed by the label, but I’m going to call her a bit of an expert on street art.  It is a regular feature on her blog and she is knowledgeable about the various artists whose work pops up around the city.

She tells me that the artwork in Graffiti Alley occasionally gets painted over – particularly starting in the spring – and she was able to point out various pieces that were new to her from her last visits.

This really is a door, but there are so many things about this scene which puzzle me …. like, is this a sign for a security cat on the other side?

In fact, while we were there, a wall was being worked on by artist Uber5000.  The name meant nothing to me, but it did to Mary.  She was able to talk to him about his various pieces throughout the city and over the years.

To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

Uber5000’s newest creation.  There’s no door here, but it has a raccoon.  Those damn things are EVERYWHERE.  Four young guys timidly asked me to take their photo in front of this mural.  It turns out they were tourists from Switzerland.  How is it tourists find this stuff, when residents like me have never been here?!!

I like street art – when it’s thoughtful and interesting.

I bet I’m the first person to have ever thought of taking this photo with the real CN Tower in the background {wink}.  In case you’re wondering, the YYZ are the call letters for Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

However, in my opinion the difference between graffiti and vandalism is a much finer line.  Mostly, I just don’t get it.

Even the trash bins have been graffitized … and yes, that’s a door behind them.

Thursday Doors is a weekly photo feature hosted by Norm Frampton from Norm 2.0.