The Cartier Foundation Graffiti Expo “Né dans la rue”

So I went to see the “Né dans la rue” (Born in the Streets) graffiti expo at the Cartier Foundation in Paris. I was positively impressed by the expo.

As it was forbidden to take photos inside the expo I only managed to take a few outside which I have included on the bottom of the post.

The expo isn’t that big but is quite informative. It has video interviews with some of the early guys from the 1970s, a large collection of used magik markers and spray cans, a remake of one of the first full-car pieces from new york (life size). Lots of sketch books, it’s a great variety of stuff.

The expo mainly traces the origins of the graffiti movement from back in the 1970s to the early/mid 1980s.

I enjoyed the expo as it goes over the time period when I was deep into graffiti so I remember the artists of the time, the photos of the full-car, half-car pieces from New York that we would drool over. They were even projecting the movie “Wild Style” that I never got to see as a kid.

In short, while the expo is not comprehensive as the styles and quality of pieces these days is way above what it used to be, the expo is a great basic understanding of how the graffiti movement began and how it took off like it did. Organizationally, the only point I found missing is a sequence of viewing. Artistically, I would liked to have seen more follow up on the trends and offsprings of the graffiti movement, such as the stencils, tiles, and all the many other variations that it has taken.

I guess that will come one day.

But it was definitely a great expo and I recommend it!

Nice piece on the left of entrance

Fantastic detail on this piece

Close up

Everyone’s at it.

Even the kids having a go

Masking Tape Graffiti?

A real Stencil

Helmet graffiti?