How graffiti evolved from an eyesore to an art

Who's responsible for graffiti in 1986?

39 years ago

Duration 1:24

A proposed bylaw would compel building owners to clean up everything from tags to political messages, but not everyone supports the wording of the bill. Aired on CBC Toronto's Newshour on Feb. 28, 1986.

A new exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts explores the work of New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who first emerged by making graffiti with his friend, Al Diaz, in the late 1970s.

• CBC ARTS | Al Diaz wants to set the record straight on how he and Jean-Michel Basquiat revolutionized graffiti

There was no mention of graffiti as art in the Toronto of 1986, when city council considered compelling property owners to remove words, pictures, drawings and the like on their buildings. But as the CBC's Jay-Dell Mah reported, the proposed bylaw singled out only "slogans and markings" that were judged to "deface" buildings. The problem was in the interpretation: inspectors could apply the bylaw not just to tags, but also to political statements and commercial signs like the ones seen at the time on Honest Ed's department store. 

"We don't want to become thought police down here at city hall," said Coun. Jack Layton. "If it was a major problem across the city, then perhaps we'd have to look at something. I don't think it is." 

'Cartoon fungus'

Getting paid to make graffiti in 1996

28 years ago

Duration 3:26

Young artists employ cans of spray paint for their summer jobs. Aired on CBC's Big Life on Sept. 20, 1996.

Just 10 years later, the CBC-TV lifestyle program Big Life explored the confluence of graffiti and art. Host Daniel Richler described graffiti as a "cartoon fungus" that was treated harshly by authorities in New York and L.A., but more gently in Toronto. A young artist, who got paid to paint over unwanted street scrawl, said she took issue with the distinction made between fine art and graffiti art.

"I don't really think there's much of a difference," she told Richler. "They just use different mediums."   

Graffiti for a living

From 2002: How murals combat graffiti

22 years ago

Duration 3:13

A Toronto cop describes efforts to keep the city clean of graffiti. Aired on Canada Now in Toronto on Nov. 4, 2002.

In 2002, Toronto police still regarded graffiti as a blight that people often associated with crime, reported the CBC's Linda Farr. But a police spokesman said murals in public spaces dissuaded vandalism. There was even a program that paid graffiti artists to paint in certain areas, said Farr. And artist Durothethird, profiled in her report, was making a living from graffiti.  

"Sometimes I pay my entire rent in a couple hours," he said. "So that's pretty cool."