Toronto’s Graffiti Alley showcases spray-paint work as art

Graffiti isn’t random scribble. It’s a culture with jargon and rules. In the 2010s, it’s having a mainstream moment, but true graffiti is still a bit counterculture, a bit subversive.

I learned this and more during a tour of Graffiti Alley Toronto. Graffiti Alley is a half-mile stretch of spray-paint work in Toronto’s Queen Street West neighborhood. While some masterpieces have survived more than five years, other works change on a whim. Varying in graffiti quality and content, the alley can be seen in a music video by Canadian singer Jessica Stuart and in countless YouTube works.

My 90-minute stroll through a color-splashed alley between Spadina Avenue and Portland Street was behind boutiques and businesses, but no matter — the alley is populated with art and tourists, it still has random parking, plentiful (and smelly) garbage totes, evidence of street dwellers and the occasional whiff of urine.

I was one of several gawkers holding up a mobile device to immortalize the momentary. Luckily for me, my stroll was narrated by Jason Kucherawy of Tour Guys, a pay-what-you-feel-like tour company. Kucherawy and business partner Steve Woodall started Tour Guys in 2009. Kucherawy draws his professionalism from a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology with a focus on fine arts cultural studies from York University in Toronto. That and his connection with “writers” — jargon for graffiti artists — amply qualify him to explain the eccentric expression. One of the first things he explains is the three kinds of writing.

• Tag is a smallish name or a mark that can be done quickly.

• Throw is a large signature, usually bubble letters that can be seen from further away.