the writing

on the wall

GLOBAL URBAN ART

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

KEITH TAYLOR

P0EMS BY NANCY DAOUST & JOEY SCARFONE

About "The Writing on the Wall"

This book is about the unsettling feelings and concepts that come with the beauty of graffiti and murals found in our downtowns. And it is about the creativity. It is also about the poetry which provides a provocative, deeper dimension to urban art.

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Book Launch

The Writing on the Wall published by TellWell.
9 countries, 200 images, 176 pp, 11×8.5

Keith Taylor studied photography at the Ottawa School of Art in Canada. He has had several commissions, such as pictures of families in 17 countries for the UN, Formula 1 racing, and a three-country political summit. He was a docent at the Art Gallery of Ontario talking, primarily, on photography and The Impressionists.

He began his interest in graffiti and urban art, and an appreciation of the art and a deep respect for the creativity and draftsmanship when he was a police officer in Central London, UK, and Vancouver, Canada.

Nancy Daoust is a newcomer to the Canadian writing scene. Her writing often explores our relationship with nature and the place where we live. It is also influenced by her love of pop culture and music. A retired educator, she is an associate member of The League of Canadian Poets, belongs to the Sudbury Writer’s Guild and volunteers with Wordstock, Sudbury’s Literary Arts Festival. Nancy has been published in Terra North and was part of Sudbury’s storefront poetry project. Two of her pieces are published in Painted Voices, a chapbook about Sudbury’s General Hospital, and its RISK mural. She also has two poems in Sulphur XI, Laurentian University’s 2022 literary magazine, and won honourable mention in Dr. William Henry Drummond’s 2022 poetry contest. Nancy’s poem “The Trance” was published in Pinhole Poetry in 2024.

Joey Scarfone is a multi-media artist. He was a goldsmith, in his own business, for 40 years. He has published Jaded Dinosaurs, a collection of his art, prose, and poetry. He has also produced a spoken word album, Shadow Culture. He has a column in Midnight Fiction, an on-line magazine, Fleasonthedog.com. Joey has also produced shows for cable television.

Joey writes with wry humour and pathos. He is frequently asked to recite at local poetry readings.

Arifin Graham of Alaris Design was born in England, grew up in Canada, and studied photography and design at the San Francisco Art Institute. He returned to England in the late 1970s, embarking upon a long and varied career in graphic and book design, both in the UK and Canada. A recipient of national and regional awards from the Alcuin Society and the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, Arifin has designed over 100 books for a wide variety of publishers.

He loves graffiti and urban art, and this project

Contact

For more information on ‘The Writing on the Wall’ or to discuss appearances by any of the team, please contact us.

Dear grafters, Where possible, your tags are included in the image. You are recognised as The Artist. We, the photographer and the poets, respect your work. Regrettably, on occasion, your tag was hidden by an object such as a car or garbage can or, and this is unfortunate, your piece may have been over-tagged by someone else.

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About "The Writing on the Wall"

The spirit of the art reflects the soul of the artist and the tenor of the culture.

Many artists climb onto, or suspend from, a roof and create urban art, or spend an inordinate amount of time designing and creating a work of perfect draughtsmanship on the side of a building or construction hoarding. Many paint illegally. Many feel their message is so important that it is worth the risk and their investment of time. And many grafters display multiple, elaborate works. The nature of urban art is such that many of these pieces may be painted over by another artist.

Urban murals are outside the confines of gallery walls. It is more than merely angry artists leaving their tags on buildings or other people’s work.  Or political activists putting their opinion in paint and words. It is uninhibited creation and expression. Beyond the ubiquitous simple tags, graffiti is masterful art.

There is an artistic aesthetic to urban art. The main aspects are line, shape and form. Within these three parameters mural artists create their own calligraphy or socio-linguistic style. It is the visual narrative of a culture that has accidentally created crimes of art.

The beauty of urban art is that it upsets our ideas about what art is, and what art can do, and where it should be. Whether commissioned or non-commissioned, graffiti is an agitator that is meant for everyone. Because it’s everywhere. And it’s free to the viewer.

However, first we must open our eyes and our minds to the creativity and labours of the artists.

This book is about the unsettling feelings and concepts that come with the beauty of the murals found in our downtowns. And it is about the creativity. It is also about the poetry which provides a provocative, deeper dimension to urban art.

There is a range of urban art and graffiti; the ego, bravado, directional, political and the aesthetic. Given its creativity and draughtsmanship, presented in The Writing on the Wall are, primarily, those pieces which occupy the aesthetic end of the spectrum.

The images are taken in nine countries. Each image has the location noted.

Dear grafters, Where possible, your tags are included in the image. You are recognised as The Artist. We, the photographer and the poets, respect your work. Regrettably, on occasion, your tag was hidden by an object such as a car or garbage can or, and this is unfortunate, your piece may have been over-tagged by someone else.

"Leslie" by Nancy Daoust

i saw her yesterday for the first time since the snow melted
hip bones jutting right angles so acute they pushed her jogging pants forward
like my mom just before she died

a shuffling fixture on downtown streets
hair hanging over her features
changing colours, trending
like her shoes, her clothes, like
this part of her mattered

the only time i saw her still-ish was in the bank, waiting
for the young fellow taking money from the teller
grouching about the last time he gave her some, she
lurched around the chairs, the hand sanitizing station, the open office doorways
glanced at me, muttered fuck off under her breath, flounced away

today instead of forward agitation
she teetered like a young sapling in a raving storm
greasy black roots flattened to her scalp
burnt orange tangled strands flying in the damp wind
one foot bare, the other housed a grimy UGG

two paramedics wary and masked tried to talk her down
there was no reasoning with high

 

‘We have art in order not to die of the truth’ — Friedrich Nietzche

vulnerable as Rembrandt or Dali
this art is truth

ephemeral counter attack
hulking through corporate swamps
trespassing brain-strength
a vast space in the vacuum
of media-speak

spray paint, stencils, and stickers, social concerns — saluting
bridges, buildings, lamp posts, underpasses, ditches, sidewalks, walls
storytelling — heaven spot, tags, back-to-back

"Happiness" by Joey Scarfone

an illusive creature that can be found
in small herds
or wandering the urban deserts
on a solo journey
guided only by the stars
and its curiosity of the unknown

happiness can be hidden
behind the darkness of a storm
but this is just a city survival tactic
against the more difficult dealings of life

camouflaged
it waits for a crack in the clouds
and then emerges from its hiding place

material things can bring happiness
to an abundant earth
but simplicity can do the same thing
food, shelter, contentment, freedom

it adapts to its surroundings
and thrives in any environment
busy crowded cities
or ancient forests
it seems to be able to grow
and only needs air to nourish itself

happiness is an illusive wild creature
but also makes a good house pet