Modern art outlaws
> Pascal LeBlanc
The popular opinion towards graffiti can vary a lot from one person to another. Some like this type of urban art; others think it’s simply an act vandalism that degrades the public space. In St. Laurent, “tags” and “pieces” can be seen in a few places, especially on the streets near Décarie Boulevard. How can the graffiti situation be portrayed in the borough?
According to police officers from both headquarters located in the borough, the number of graffiti is similar to other areas on the island. “We received seven calls since the beginning if the year including four on the same day”, said agent Pierre Fauchier. Add this to four other complaints received at the other police station, a total of 11 graffiti related incidents have been reported since the beginning of the year. This may seem like a small number over a nine month period, but most of the time citizens just ignore them and the public services cleans everything without the police being notified.
“The situation is still pretty much under control, but you know we can’t spend all day watching buildings”, mentioned agent Fauchier. He added that school zones are thoroughly inspected on a regular basis.
Usually, graffiti artists enjoy high-visibility locations. Therefore, bus stops, metro stations and busy streets are often victims of spray cans and markers attacks. Daniel Lauzon, artistic director at the Café-Graffiti, compares it to advertisement. “It’s like a business looking for a spot to put up an ad; you always want the best place for people to see”, he explained. Mr. Lauzon adds that there are two types of wall bombers. “There are those who do it just to shock people or because they got something to prove. They are the ones who usually tag all over the place. Then, there are those who are considered graffiti artists because they show a certain respect and they strive to embellish the urban landscape”.
Spray painting legally?
A few years ago, the City of Montreal launched an important graffiti awareness campaign. Cleaning operations were organized, but also artistic creation activities. On that occasion, St. Laurent’s administration asked a graffiti artist to do a mural painting in the skate park located near Raymond-Bourque arena. It’s still possible to see parts of the drawing under numerous more recent graffiti as this place is the only one in the borough where graffiting is “allowed”.
Johanne Houde, head of communications for St. Laurent, reminds that there’s no legal graffiti spot in the borough. The skate park is kind of an exception as it’s a public property where it’s illegal to spray pain, but in the event of new graffiti being drawn, they won’t be erased by the public services. “If we had a legal wall it would send a mixed message. It’s like if we had a place where it would be legal to steal. Doing graffiti is a criminal act, therefore no legal wall are planned”, said Mrs. Houde
The Maison des jeunes de Saint-Laurent would gladly welcome a legal place to do graffiti. “It’s kind of hard to explain the kids that it’s possible to do graffiti in legal and respectful manner when there’s no place to do so”, said coordinator Jennifer Côté.
The same can be heard at Rap Jeunesse. “Without a legal wall there’s not many options left for the ones that wish to do graffiti. Even if it’s not all the kids that would use it, it would surely help diminish vandalism”, mentioned Louise Giguère, coordinator for the organization that helps youth in difficulty.
Daniel Lauzon of the Café-Graffiti also believes legal graffiting areas have a positive impact on aerosol artists. “Legal wall are gathering spots for the community. They allow people to share and the kids can get a better understanding of the culture resulting in them not tagging everywhere. Too bad it’s so hard getting info about those spots”.
Time to clean up
“If graffitis are on a public building or a city’s property, they will be erased by the public services. If they’re on a private property, the owner is responsible for it”, explained Benard Larin, spokesperson for the City of Montreal.
In St. Laurent, there’s no law compelling building owners to erase graffiti on their property. However, zoning rule 1050 stipulates that “Any coating external of a building must be maintained in order to preserve its original quality”. The regulation also indicates that “Any material of external coating, except for the wood boarding, cannot be painted”. Considering those elements it’s theoretically possible to emit a report of infringement and to force an owner to clean his building. “In reality we don’t give any fine. We inform the owner and strongly recommend him to clean up his property.
In the summer of 2005, the green patrol of the Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent received the mandate to inform 160 business owners of their possibility to communicate with the City in order to remove the graffiti they could have on their property. Since then, no other operation of this kind was done.
The graffiti movement seems relatively stable in St. Laurent. According to Louise Giguère of Rap Jeunesse, it could be explained by the multiethnic face of the borough: “it’s not a culture that is already anchored in the recent immigrant communities”.
(Photo: Café Graffiti)
Météo: Montréal, 16 mai 2008 / 11°C
/ Ciel dégagé
/ Vents: 13 Km/h / Humidité relative: 47 % 
par Pascal LeBlanc 
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