There's something about haphazard street words and sign-defacing that really fascinates me. I feel like it reveals more about a city's character than its official signage, advertisements and well-cleaned parks. In Vancouver's case, these written street dialogues reveal a side of the city's residents that's cheeky, a bit angry, and pretty amusing.

Whether we're drawing mustaches on attractive models pictured in ads on bus stops, scrawling 'F$#@ THE POLICE' in alleyways, leaving the public with a well-thought out quote written on the wall, or spray-painting our graffiti tags because we're 18 and looking for trouble, us Vancouverites sure have a lot to say when we can say it anonymously.

I remember reading an Adbusters piece about Sao Paulo's radical move to completely ban outdoor advertising in its streets. The law was put in place by a conservative mayor based on his mandate to rid the city of "visual pollution," and involved the take-down of "over 15,000 billboards, 1,600 oversized signs and 1,300 metal ad panels" (see photos here). Adbusters described the city as a "battlefield strewn with blank marquees and partially torn-down frames." I couldn't help but wonder what our city would look like without our advertisements. Would blank billboards become covered in these types of hand-written words, street art and graffiti? Or would we have no compulsion left to leave our mark without ads and signs to provoke that creativity (and cheekiness)?

Click for more examples after the jump of what Vancouverites have to say.

Written-word graffiti seems to range from the thoughtful and powerful (with an obvious agenda)...
Image: "06 mai" by Flickr user "dmixo6."

To the completely confusing, yet strangely captivating.
Image: "What That Guy Said" by Flickr user "_dillettante_."

And this is where Vancouverites really show how cheeky (and irrelevant) they can be.
Image: "Eat Tapes and Die!" by Flickr user "Lena Dee."

There's actually a lot of cheeky tidbits around the city to choose from.
Image: "Untitled" by Flickr user "Arezu."

One can also see many full-out dialogues, rich with different ideas and opinions (there's one opinion that stands out the most here though, and its the one that is drawn...
Image: "Gathering Place Graffiti" by Flickr user "nofutureface."

Some word art provides helpful proscriptions and advice about life.
Image: "Quit Your Day Job" by Flickr user "ninja IX."

And then, of course, there's those who are in the middle of an existential crisis and want to share it in large script form.
Image: "The Writing on the Wall 2" by Flickr user "robinryan."

I'm going to keep my eye out for more of these gems because they keep me consistently amused, thoughtful and reflective about the character of our city's residents -- at least, those who choose to write out their opinions for the public to see. What are your favourite word art pieces?

Cover image: "Politics Gets Personal" by Flickr user "Photocat 62."