Ahuge mural marks a
graffiti philosophy in montreal
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they are graffiti artists. they spray-paint
buildings. and they are paid by taxpayers.
their latest work, our lady of grace,
unveiled in november 2011, transformed a
dingy, beige brick wall in montreal's west
end into a six-storey canvas that hundreds
now stop to admire.
while montreal can be tough on illegal
graffiti and tagging, the city has developed
a relationship with graffiti artists, who
are adamant that their genre is legitimate.
"it's the same as a paintbrush, and we are
showing our talent," said the artist who
only gave his name as fluke.
beginning in 2006, montreal budgeted
$1.2 million to attack the problem of
graffiti. that includes about $150 000 for
murals. the our lady of grace fresco
cost the city $26 000 and took 400 cans of
spray paint to complete. the mural shows
the lady in a flowing robe, surrounded
by scenes of the urban landscape and
reminders, such as caribbean birds-of
the multicultural character of the area.
new murals are going up regularly in
montreal. in august and september 2011,
walls honouring singer, songwriter and
actor raymond levesque and jazz artist
oscar peterson went up.
"we turn an energy that might be
negative into one that's positive," said an
executive from the mayor's office.
still, fluke worries about his art form.
old factories are turning into condos.
politicians crack down looking for votes.
"graffiti as a subculture is growing
dramatically, but we have less space to do
it. [murals] like this allow our voice to be
heard," he said.
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explain why montreal approach to graffiti is beneficial. use specific details from the selection to support your answer

plz to me