To tag or not to tag?

TORONTO – With a coffee house threatened with a fine for leaving a couple of tags on their wall, graffiti has managed to spray itself across the headlines once again.

Often considered the most deviant art form, you can’t miss street art if you tried: it’s on the walls of warehouses as you pass through Scarborough on the RT, it’s in alleyways in Kensington Market, it’s even on TTC buses and subways in the form of illegible tags, which are normally an artist’s signature, scrawled with black markers.

The question is: what is considered vandalism and what is art? And why do artists, whether experienced or just starting out, feel the need to tag walls?

To read the rest of this Global Toronto article click here

Cousins wage a cold war in Kensington Market

Outside Zimmerman’s Discount is an aging sign that advises customers: “Zimmermans Fresh Mart, across the street has no association with our store.”

At Zimmerman’s Freshmart, two signs are posted in response.

“We at Freshmart believe customer loyalty is earned by offering quality and service not the name on the store.”

To read more of this Totonto Star article click here