The Captured Fig

Paris Street Art

While on a family tour of London, Paris, and Rome, I spent three days in Paris and fell in love with their amazing street art. There’s such a stigma with the word graffiti, that the word seems hardly appropriate for the level of artistic talent on display. Paris reportedly has very loose laws on graffiti, but it’s hard to tell whether the city’s unspoken embrace of the art is what has allowed it rise to such an amazing level, or whether the brilliant artistry is what caused the city to embrace it. Either way, it’s everywhere and it’s incredible! Now while there’s still some done in the traditional way you’ve seen under your local freeway crossing, a lot more is done with a method of plastering pre-made stickers onto the sides of buildings. I presume this makes the application process a whole lot faster, but it also allows for far more elaborate and realistic designs.

The infamous street-artist Banksy seems to have inspired many of these Parisian artists, not just in mood and technique, but also by remaining completely anonymous. There’s a certain feeling you get by seeing inspiring art where the artist wants to intentionally remain unknown. It almost places more significance on the art itself, since that is the only thing seeking and witnessing your appreciation. When you see it and experience it in an unexpected location, you only have a relation to the piece. You have no history of how long it’s been there, or of who made it, or whether the owner of the store that it’s on the outside of asked for it to be there. All you have is you and the art.

Some artists however, feel free to place themselves more in the public eye, presumably because there is such a different level of acceptance for street art in Paris than in other parts of the world. These known artists tend to act in a more serial nature. If you’re not afraid to be known, than there’s no reason to be afraid of people recognizing your art. It’s not like some 16 year old kid spray-painting his girlfriend’s name on all the 7-11s in town. Some of these artists will even have gallery showings happening at the same time their art is out on the streets. Suriani is well known for his stunning animal-human hybrids…

There’s obviously a sense of merging grace with obscurity, and in a way that’s what Paris has always been about; constantly on the cutting edge of art and fashion, and this is only a further extension of that history. A lot of this art is incredibly bold, and much of that must come from the temporary nature of the medium. If you know that your art is going to be potentially removed, or painted over, or vandalized, you may as well make it as wildly ambitious as you can. There’s no need for perfection here, so no need to fear failure, so why not try to make the most enormous and obscure thing you can…

When you see such amazing street art everywhere, the overwhelming sense you get is of how logical it all seems. If you have a decrepit wall in the middle of the city, of course you’d rather have it be an astonishing piece of public artwork.

I stumbled upon these pieces done by Nick Walker, where he highlights the art of making street-art itself. The florescent jacket in the one picture makes me assume he’s wearing it to make himself look more professional, since he seems to be making the art on a public wall in broad day-light. There’s something both inherently modern and timeless about his work, and it’s truly inspiring.

The spontaneous nature of all this art gives such a modern and lively nature to the City of Lights, that you feel like around every corner there’s something new to take you by surprise and that you know no guidebook would ever be able to tell you about. I’ve found this in some of the bigger, more liberal cities in America, like New York or San Francisco, but neither of them matches the modern art movement that is currently thriving in Paris. It makes the city feel so much more alive than you could imagine. And anytime you see a piece, it may be the last time you ever get to see it. That fleeting nature of it imposes a certain relevance on it that links directly to you. It’s like you’re being constantly being bombarded with this beautiful reminder to be aware, and to be present, and to embrace the moment. The artist has let go of his creation, and he thus creates an ongoing cycle of Zen acceptance for any people who subsequently get a chance to view it. But it also can make you feel like more of a tourist because you find yourself looking around so much to make sure you’re not missing anything! Check out this amazing three-dimensional piece in a run-down public restroom…

Or this subtle face hidden outside the Paris Apple store…

And yes, even their more traditional graffiti has a certain elegance to it…

And the best part is that the next time we go to Paris, all the art will be brand new!

xo, rachel