Sticky Graffiti Lion Belfort in Orange

I spotted this rather funny “graffiti” on Friday. After a demonstration at Denfert Rochereau the demonstrators plastered the great Lion of Belfort with little stickers turning almost the entire lion Orange.

I snapped it with my iphone and it looks pretty cool.

I normally oppose graffiti on monuments but this one is quite funny, as it’s stickers I assume they will come off rather easily (I hope).

Actually Eric Tenin got a better shot of it which he published on his blog (actually I wonder if that wasn’t him on the bicycle shooting it up there).

Here is his photo:

Lion Belfort Orange by Eric Tenin

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!

Ok so I went to visit the expo and I can say it was not what I expected, but hey that doesn’t mean it was all crap.

When you come to the place the setting is amazing. It is THE Grand Palais in Paris, off the between Alexandre III Bridge and the Champs Elysees. Some of the most amazing architecture in France is in that area. I could ramble about it but the picture will explain better.

I thought it would be pictures of great pieces and a wide variety of graffiti types. Actually I thought this would be a sort of overview on graffiti. As the name T.A.G means Tag and Graffiti, however that isn’t what it is. It is a collection of graffiti by a variety of artists that Alain-Dominique Gallizia has managed to collect. There are some big names in there such as PhaseII and others. Gallizia basically contacted the artists and had them do a standard size piece for him on a theme.

My objection to this is that as it is done on a canvas in a workshop the quality should be 100%, the point is that it’s got to communicate. That’s probably why I like stencils so much (and to my disappointment there wasn’t a single stencil in the whole expo).

[addition]

I re-read my post and thought I would ad this (after the amazing comment from gmozz22) and want to make sure my post is somewhat objective.
1. If you like spray pieces then this is the expo for you. It has many many different styles – of the spray variety.
2. I would have preferred the pieces to be bigger as I felt they didn’t convey what a full graffiti piece is, but I understand it makes it difficult to transport.
3. What I didn’t know when looking up the expo on the net is that it is litterally two large wall panels of same-sized graffiti canvas’ – the entrance fee is 5 EUR which is about half the price of a normal expo.

Voila, now that was my view and up to you to make your own.

[;-]

Added: Lisa Forman (lisaforman.com) sent me a link to the photos she took when seeing the expo which I am publishing here (they are a lot better than mine) enjoy them http://lisaforman.zenfolio.com/p761974343

Nemo stencil in Paris - notice the white man climbing the wall

I spotted this stencil in Paris recently and found it quite nice. It is by an artist called Nemo, and has done quite some stencil work in Paris.

Nemo is known for selecting spaces that look bad and doing his piece there. Such as a destroyed wall etc, while not the same witty style as Bansky and Dolk he is rather artistic and almost poetic in his way. There is a lot happening in his piece. It isn’t sure if Nemo and Jerome Mesnager are the same person but the pieces are often linked. 

Jerome also did the art for an entire hotel in Paris called Hotel des Academies et des Arts, check out their site – it is a great idea for an artist to do.

Voila – am looking out for more.

[:-]

Maybe not the best place to do your business transactions - Hilarious signage

I just saw this great sign FOKOP Business Center. Not FUCK UP Business Center… I am adding it to the hilarious signage series.

For more of those click here >> HILARIOUS SIGNAGE SERIES.

Cheers [;-]

On www.duncancumming.co.uk you can follow the story of how a graffiti artist in Scotland got caught and was about to spend 28 month in prison for vandalism. This brings up the eternal question, is graffiti an art or is it vandalism?

That graffiti is art is no question, the use of color, lettering and communication is exactly what art is all about. Look at some of the stencils and pieces by the biggest street artists, they actually deliver a message.

That graffiti is vandalism is an understandable point as well. I wouldn’t like to wake up one morning and find my newly renovated house covered in a graffiti piece. No matter how nice it is it may just not fit with the deco that I chose for the place.

So?

It needs to be done intelligently for everyone’s benefit. A graffiti piece can totally decorate an appropriate location. See this photo for example. It may or may not be authorized graffiti, but it fits the urban area. Try doing this on the Louvre and yes, that would be vandalism.

Graffiti wall paris (taken with mobile phone)

 The graffiti sort of “protects” the wall from being covered in all sorts of other crap. Additionally this fits the young people that hang out in the area and they don’t mind it.

If a street artist places his pieces intelligently it actually doesn’t harm but can help. Where it becomes stupid is when the Graffiti guys just do it for the adrenaline (yes I know it is part of the kick). There has to be a balance.

Graffiti Marketing for Radio Nostalgie

And if an artist did vandalise a wall, then pull him by the scruff of the neck and get him to spend his night cleaning it up and repainting it at his cost, he can take responsibility for what he did. Trying to jail someone for 28 month for graffiti is lame, that is the work of someone who is so lazy that he can’t even make him fix what he did wrong. 

I know that is the way because I went that way and the most efficient way to make a bad thing into a good thing is to take responsibility for what one has done and use the effort to become more competent and help others. I saw how many former street artists of my time became graphic designers, well that’s a great way to use the skill.

And here is a short video on how that can be done…

Feel free to comment, and vote.

[;-]

A few weeks ago I blogged about the photos from Serge of Paris and other areas. He recently redid his site and the result is quite nice, all done in WordPress (yes I did have a word to say in that).

His new site looks like this, the landing page is his blog which is great as it keeps the site alive and human.

I suggest you check it out here.

The new site of Serge on www.photoserge.com

One of the shots is an amazing black and white shot of the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. The sky is pretty nice and the museum too, but the most amazing in this shot is the sharpness and light effects on the rhinoceros. It is not just the contrast of the photo but the contrast of a rhino overlooking Paris.

www.photoserge.com - another amazing shot of Paris

click on the link on the site or here: http://www.photoserge.com sit back and enjoy.

[;-]

Recently while going through the 10th Arrondissement (district) of Paris I noticed some nice graffiti pieces and a few stencils. Actually I saw quite some stencils, but I wont blog them all as they are such a long way away from Banksy, Dolk or Blek le Rat (i.e. they lack communication and humor).

There was this stencil which is on a shop window and seems to be the logo of the shop, artist seems to be someone called “ezy” or “ezp” – I will be on the lookout for more by him.

More coming soon.

Cheers  [;-]

I recently showed my blog around and showed some of the amazing photography of JM Berts to friends. I am still startled by the photos he takes and the quality of the shots.

A friend of mine showed me some of his photography of Paris (and other places). Some of it is done using a technology called HDR (High Dynamic Range imaging) it’s pretty amazing. I invite you to check out his site (www.photoserge.com) and his blog (there are two one is http://sergeramelli.blogspot.com/ and http://photoserge.com/blog) for some of the shots.

He said he is doing an expo soon and that you can buy photos from him, unfortunately he doesn’t have an online store yet but that is coming soon.

Well Paris is a photogenic city that is for sure…  enjoy [,-]

JM Berts, released a couple of new photos on his blog. This one from New York and then another one from Il Duomo in Milan.

The difference between JM Berts and Ansel Adams is the subject matter and probably that JM Berts has the advantage of perfecting a print using Photoshop.

This is a great one again. I am not posting the one on the Duomo as I find it too dark. But check it out, he’s on my blogroll.

[,-]