It may look like Banksy but it's French street artist Blek le Rat. He's been doing graffiti art for 30 years. The underground culture has become trendy with fans like George Michael and Brad Pitt paying big bucks (or people like me who print stuff off the internet and frame it or photograph it when travelling.)
Critics are having to back off because the galleries and auction houses want the big bucks. Le Rat is 56 and was stenciling when Banksy was crayoning. His real name is Xavier Prou. His father was an architect, his mother the daughter of the French consul in Thailand and he was a private school preppie. At 17 he studied classic art and architecture under Trotskyite revolutionaries and it was an eye opener, literally.
Study of architecture introduced him to the urban landscape at the same time he was discovering a new world of politics and sociology of class. He turned to street art for the masses. He says, "If the people cannot come to the gallery, we bring the gallery to the people! Kids who would never go to a show see our work in the street and are inspired to express themselves through art rather than turning to vandalism or repressing their voices."
His earliest piece was an oversize rat, which appeared all over Paris. RAT is an anagram for ART. "It is about uprising, a signal of rebellion. It's our revolution. Urban artists are forced to write on public property because there is a lack of space assigned to us." As the Berlin Wall fell, he remembers, "I attacked the city with stencils of Russian soldiers, a message to the people when they returned: the Soviets have already arrived! I relieve paranoia through humour."
He does not intent to stop as he hits 60, and I do remember laughing when I heard about William S. Burroughs getting arrested at 57 for writing "Ah Pook the Destroyer" on the walls of the New York City subways.
"Blek Le Rat: Getting Through Walls" is his book.
Adding videos for Kayakbiker:
Please have someone you know there locate his work so I can photograph it when I visit there in late June. It would be a highlight of my trip.
Posted by: kayakbiker | April 29, 2008 at 09:15 AM
THey will clean up the graffiti pretty fast but look around LE POMPIDOU (aka Le Beauborg Museum - a museum worth visiting if you don't go to many) & go on the Left Bank to Rue Mouffetard (& the market there - it's either Monday or Tuesday they aren't open though) - that's where I found Jim Morrison & Alfred Hitchcock - keep your eyes open when walking down that street. On the east of Paris, there's lots of neat stuff around le Canal St. Martin - just walk the canal. I'll try to find out more.
Besides Le Rat, look for Mimi the Clown & I'll have to find the other one.
Posted by: Slugbug/ Army Officer from Iraq Comment - wow | April 29, 2008 at 08:44 PM