Poppies grace concrete canvas
Victor Fraser hopes his paintbrush is mightier than the spoken word.
“For your courage and our freedom. Thank you. 2005 Year of the Veteran,” his message on the sidewalk in front of the cenotaph outside Old City Hall reads in bold strokes.
It’s surrounded by a sidewalk scattering of what he says are 2,005 painted poppies. “ I counted every one of them,” he said. The 35- year-old street artist painted his first poppy brushstrokes June 2, four days before the anniversary of D- Day, and finished his work several days ago, just in time for Remembrance Day.
“ It’s much more powerful to paint the message than to preach it,” Fraser said. “ It has impact to do it this way. It catches people off guard to see a message on the ground rather than cigarette butts and gum.
“ This is in honour of my grandfather ( who fought in the Korean War) and for those like him, those who fought and died for all our freedom forever, for all,” said Fraser, whose hands are calloused and stained with paint from long hours working on his cold concrete canvas. “ This is the most valid holiday we have in our society.”
Fraser said he likes painting for causes and does it for free, although he can barely make a living by painting walls in houses and nightclubs. His previous works include painting “ I Love Toronto” in Cantonese across Chinatown when SARS hit. “ It saves my soul, this type of work.” Many passersby who walked over the brightly covered sidewalk yesterday stopped to read the message. “ I think it’s great. I don’t think we spend enough time thanking our veterans,” said Louis Volpe, 73, a visitor from Ohio, who fought in the Korean War. But Sam Rahimi, 25, a fourthyear political science student at the University of Toronto, was concerned Fraser’s message was “ suspiciously close to a glorification of war.”
Christine Mathi, a 25- year- old fourth- year math and science major at the University of Waterloo, approved of the tribute wholeheartedly. “I think it’s great. It’ll get people’s attention. We have to remember.”
Fraser couldn’t agree more.