GRAFFITO - ART OR CRIME? (Oh, and no, that's not a typo. 'Graffito' is the plural form of the word 'graffiti'.)

Whoever loves, go to hell. I want to break Venus's ribs
with a club and deform her hips.
If she can break my tender heart
why can't I hit her over the head?
-CIL IV, 1284. (Ancient Roman Graffiti, posted on Wikipedia.)

(As always, if you are pressed for time, feel free to scroll down to the WHAT CAN YOU DO section.)

Last summer I was lucky enough to have a few good friends come and visit me.  One of them was quite taken with the graffito we have in the city;  she sought out and photographed many alley ways, buildings, and walls.  Because of her, my eyes were opened and I began to look at the incredible works of art available throughout my city. (You can link to some sites showing Montreal graffito here, and here)

Now, there are many different types of graffito, and graffito generates quite a bit of controversy.  For some, all graffito are horrible defacements of private (or sometimes public) property.  They feel that graffiti artists should be penalized  and charged with some type of misdemeanour.  Some feel that all forms of graffito  are art, social commentary, and public forms of sociological discourse.  There are those, like me, who lie somewhere in between the two extremes.  I feel that there are many genuine works of art in city...

...made available for free for everyone, regardless of income level...

...and that graffiti artists can be true artists.

Clearly, I am not the only one who feels this way, as Benjamin Moore has sponsored at least two murals that I know of in the downtown core.

Moderates (myself included) feel that 'tagging’, which is in effect a statement similar to “I was here”, is committing an offence which infringes on social space without, in my opinion,  adding anything of social relevance.  This is especially odious, in my opinion, when it actually defaces someone else's art.

My view is that art isn’t really a ‘thing’, but rather a beginning of a dialogue – a discussion of sorts between the viewer (or listener, or participant, or audience) and the art object itself.  In the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, when describing obscenity, I may not be able to adequately define it, but “…I know it when I see it.” This is what makes this issue so contentious, and therefore so interesting.

A quick Google search of the term “Graffiti” will show you how significant this subject has become (and this is an EXCELLENT SITE).  There are sites that  celebrate graffito, that try to motivate citizens to become more involved in removing graffito  and reporting graffiti artists (such as the one already listed), and there are sites that suggest a more  moderate approach approach which legitimizes graffiti as art and provides  a forum for graffiti artists in order to reduce or eliminate the use of private property.  There are sites that celebrate groups of graffiti artists that travel internationally to try to help underdeveloping countries (yup, my politics showing on that one!), and there are lots of ‘how-to’  and  'how-not-to' sites.

Whatever your opinion, I invite you to do a little reading, think about where you stand, and try to get involved on some level.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1.   Figure out where you stand on the issue.

2.   If you are against all forms of graffiti, then get in touch with your local municipality and ask if they presently have an anti-graffiti (they probably use the singular, more familiar ‘graffiti’) programmes.

3.   If they do, get involved.

4.   If they don’t, think about starting one.

5.   If you are more moderate, see if your municipality has a programme in place that provides a forum for graffiti artists. 

6.   If so, see how you can help support the programme. 

7.   If not, put your research and thinking caps on, write a proposal, and try to start one.

8.   If you own property, and if it is appropriate, consider ‘donating’ a wall to graffiti artists.  One community centre that I know of (The Westhaven Elmhurst Community Center) did just this.

9.   If you feel that all graffito are social discourse which should take place no matter where it appears, then take some photos, celebrate the art form, and enjoy!

WILDFLOWERS AND RESCUE GARDENING

(As always, if you are pressed for time you can scroll down to the WHAT CAN YOU DO section.)

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them...  A. A. Milne

I decided quite a while ago that one of my blog entries would be about pollinators, and the importance of wildflowers.  I have a two block walk to my bus stop, and during the summer months I am always amazed at the tenacity of life, and the variety of wildflowers that grow within a jumble of concrete and asphalt.  There is one little patch of grass and clover that seems to be home to one especially lovely bumble bee, and I frequently take a few minutes in the morning to watch her work. She seems particularly fond of vetch and purple clover.

Other flowers I’ve seen within these two blocks are:

 Birdsfoot Trefoil 

  

Bladder Campion 

Vetch  

Morning Glories

...and a few unidentified species (if you can help me identify them, please do!)

This small walk in the morning is something I get great pleasure from.  I grew up in a suburb with lots of fields and woods, and have fond memories of collecting tadpoles, hiding in meadows, and being surrounded by insects and plants.  Knowing how critical wildflowers are to pollinating insects and to the environment in general (everything from helping to avoid soil erosion, to healthy insect life, to bird life, etc.), this tiny microcosm made me smile.

Imagine my dismay when I walked to the bus one morning and saw men in bright organge vests razing my beautiful flowers.

Suddenly, this...

...became this.

This.....

...became this.  I have many more examples, but I think you get the picture (or in this case, 'pictures').

I spoke with one of the workers, and asked who owned the property so that I could write and ask to have the wildflowers protected.  I was informed that the plants were being cut in order to make it safer for railway workers.  (While I support railway workers’ rights, and want everyone to have safe working conditions, I also have no doubt that a safe ‘fringe’ of wild plant life could be left while maintaining a trip-free environment.)

So, what started out as research for a blog entry on pollinators (yes, this is where I tease you shamelessly with promises of upcoming blog entries) quickly mutated into a blog entry about rescuing wildflowers.  In researching this, I came across a number of excellent sites (see here, and here for just a few) that provide practical how-to instructions in how to harvest seeds, and how to responsibly rescue wildflowers.

As an aside, the key word here is ‘responsible’. Many plants are under threat due to loss of habitat,  and global warming. (If you are interested, here's a great video about this.)  The additional stress of being appreciated and ‘rescued’ from a healthy habitat is not what I am advocating here.  What is suggested by Harry W. Phillips in Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers is as follows:

Native plant rescue, like propagation, is a way to acquire plants for the garden without harming the environment. Each year residential and commercial development and highway construction claim more of the natural landscape. Plant rescue means going into areas destined to go under the bulldozer’s blade and removing desirable plants. It is not the solution to the problem of protecting our rare species, but it does provide opportunities to salvage plants for use in the garden which would otherwise be destroyed and it is a means to preserve a few of our native plants. (Copyright 1985 by the University of North Carolina Press.  Used by permission of the publisher. www.uncpress.unc.edu.)

Now, last fall my father asked us to go to his house and help him dig up the large patch of Lilies of the Valley he had in his front yard. He and his wife were tired of them, and wanted to replace them with something more colourful. I wanted to plant perennials in my garden (a small strip of earth in front of my apartment window, really), so I asked my father if he would mind waiting until the spring, when we could dig them up and plant them in our garden. He kindly agreed.

We were happy with the results:

However, we found that there were still some bare patches, and once the lilies had finished blooming for the year, we decided we wanted a bit of colour too.  This is when I came across the website advocating wildflower rescue. 

  

We went to a local site that was waiting for contruction....

chose plants that were in abundance, brought them home, and planted them. 

(Oh and when I say “we”, I really mean that I an incredibly lucky in having an amazing guy who did all the work and deserves all the credit.)

  

I know we planted Chicory but have been unable to identify the other plants.  (Yes, we broke some of the rules outlined in the how-to sites I've posted, but we only chose ones that were very common here, and we did try to identify them.)  We’re not sure if these plants will come back next year, or if they’ll be happy in our garden, but we are happy to have them.

In upcoming entries I’ll discuss pollinators (no, I haven’t forgotten my original intent!), as well as discuss the use of native and naturalized plants in gardening.  However, if you’ve read this far, I think you deserve a break. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Go to this site  and read their suggestions.
2. See if any local gardening, botanical, or environmental groups have organised any ‘rescue gardening’ projects.  If so, see how you can get involved.
3. If not, then consider starting your own group.
4. If these types of projects don't appeal to you, do some research and find other ways to help.  Donate money to a group trying to preserve wilflowers (frequently, you can 'get more bang for your buck' if you look into groups that are involved in helping maintain a healthy population of pollinators in the wild).
5. Keep your eyes open for patches or strips of wildflowers.  Thank property owners for allowing the wildflowers to flourish (and if you suspect it is because they haven’t gotten around to cutting them, play ‘dumb’ and pretend that you appreciate their obvious interest in biodiversity).
6. Write to Marc Laliberté, the President and CEO of Via Rail, at marc_laliberte@viarail.ca, and express your opinions regarding Via’s cutting of wildflowers.

THE JOYS OF PUBLIC TRANSIT

"Around the country [America] we are seeing in many, many communities..., a rebirth in the use of public transportation,....People are discovering that for many of their trips, good, quiality public transportation suits their needs."

William Millar

As always, if pressed for time, scroll down to the WHAT CAN YOU DO section.

A friend of mine recently moved.  One of the main adjustments she mentioned was having to get used to public transit once again, and how she would spend about an hour getting to work, and then home again.  This inspired me to rethink the blog entry that I had planned for this week. 

I had started to prepare the research and materials I would need to discuss how wonderful public transit can be for the environment (don’t worry – an upcoming blog entry will deal with just this subject, lucky you!).  Many of us take buses, or metros (subways to those of you outside of Quebec and France), and know first-hand the economic benefits.  We often hear of the ecological benefits.  However, we rarely hear of the benefits that can be had on a personal level, with a shift in attitude. 

As someone who spends A LOT of time on public transit (some days four or five hours, getting to various meetings), I think I know a little something about the subject.  Yes, I’ll be honest; there are days that I wish I had a car, and that I spent less time travelling back and forth.  The truth is that public transit is the most practical option for me, given my budget.  The fact  is that it is also the most responsible option available to me if I have long distances within the city to travel to (otherwise walking, biking, etc. are the most responsible options – again, to be covered in upcoming blog entries).  It can be a royal pain in the butt at times – especially on those Saturday mornings that I have to be at the bus stop at 06h30 in order to get to work on time. 

However, I learned a long time ago that a shift in my attitude not only lead to an acceptance of my reality, but also celebrated unseen opportunities afforded me by my reliance on public transit.  The truth is that given the reality of rush-hour traffic these days, the time I spend on buses and metros is probably equal to or less than the amount of time I would spend in a car, stuck in traffic.  I feel much better about the environmental impact I have getting to work/meetings/etc. than I would if I were driving a car.  My expenses are much lower, and I can (and do) choose to spend the money I would have on car payments, parking, insurance, maintenance, and repairs on items that more accurately reflect my civic and political values. 

I have also learned the etiquette of bus/metro ‘culture’. 

1.   Go without perfume for the trip in to work or back home.  If you do choose to wear perfume, please use a very light hand as some of us are quite sensitive to scents. 

2.   Along that line, please PLEASE be kind and practice good personal hygiene (for obvious reasons). 

3.   If an elderly or disabled/injured person gets on a full bus, and if you see that that person would like a seat but is too embarrassed to ask for it, please politely encourage the person in the designated seat to relinquish it. (While occasionally someone with an ‘invisible’ disability will be installed in these seats, most of the time it is people who use them because they know that no one will call them on it.)  If these seats are already taken by elderly/disabled people, then please offer your seat. 

4.   If you are with children and an older person gets on a full bus, please either place the child on your lap and offer his/her seat to the older person, or have the child stand.  (You can steady the child in a number of ways, all of them safe.)  This will teach the child many lessons (respect for elders, the importance of sharing within a social context, basic etiquette, that s/he can improve his/her environment even at a young age, and that s/he is not the centre of the universe).

5.   Please carry Kleenex with you, and use it if you need to.

6.   Please cough/sneeze into your elbow, not into the air, the face of a fellow passenger, or into your hand (the same hand that will later touch a seat or pole on the bus).

7.   Please take your garbage with you.  If you can carry it in full, you can carry it out empty!

8.   Please be free with your use of the words “please”, “thank you”, and “I’m sorry”.  Buses and metros are often crowded, and filled with stressed fellow travellers.  You can make or break someone’s day just by being nice.

Perhaps the most significant thing I have learned from taking public transit is that fitting in ‘me time’ is possible in an insanely hectic schedule, and that it doesn’t have to take place on tropical beaches, or at expensive restaurants (although those who would like to provide me with those experiences, for comparative purposes of course, are welcome to make a donation to the auntiapathy research fund!). 

I am not saying that my readers should give up their cars and immediately switch to public transportation.  I am lucky enough to live in a city with a good public transit system.  Many live in areas with no public transit system at all, or in suburbs where using buses and/or metros are impractical.  (Now you know by now I’m going to mention an upcoming blog entry about those issues, don’t you?)  However, for those of us who rely or are able to choose public transportation, here are some ideas regarding how you can choose to spend your transit time.  Reading is an obvious choice, but here are a few others you may not have thought of:

 Cuddle with your Daddy, and then take a nap...

 Visit with some of the local fauna...

including future entomologists and their subjects.

Text, or listen to music, or eat lunch...

...or eat breakfast for that matter.

You can prepare for a protest by cutting up flyers...

You can knit (and if you give knitting courses, this is a good way to advertise too, as long as you bring along business cards!)...

If it's summer, you can play 'spot the tattoo', which is actually a lot easier and more fun than you might imagine...

You can even reap economical benifits in unexpected ways!

I guess the point of this blog entry is that using public transit, while it may be a necessity rather than a choice for some, does provide us with an opportunity to be good to ourselves as well as good to others, in addition to leaving a smaller environmental footprint and a larger bank account.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1.   Shift your attitude.  See your travel time as ‘down time’ in which to shift into gear (pun definitely intended) for work, or decompress for home.

2.   Prepare for your time.  Bring snacks.  Bring music.  Bring literature.  (Bring bugs, bring pets, bring whatever…)

3.   Use the travel time to visit with friends, or bond with family.

4.   Calculate how much a car would cost (and include all the expenses).  Then calculate how much you spend on public transit.  By yourself a treat and reward yourself with some of your savings.

5.   Learn how you lessen your environmental impact by taking public transit.  You should feel better. You can do this by calculating the distance and using  this website .

6.   You may also be able to calculate the difference by using your public transit system’s website.  Mine tells you how many tons of carbon emissions I save a year by making return trips to the addresses I plug in.