28.10.13

Street art, graffiti ... again


A building, which soon will be demolished on the Seine quays (close to the new National Library) has been invaded, outside and inside by street artists. This has been done in an authorized and organized way and the place can be visited during the month of October. The project is referred to as “La Tour du 13e”.  More than hundred artists from 16 different nations participate. I’m a bit of a fan of (good) street art and was of course tempted.


I tried to go there twice (so far). Seeing the long waiting lines the first time, I decided to go back another day. I was there one hour before opening hour and the waiting lines did already make the tour of the building. There was a written message that after a specific point there was no chance to get in during the day. Here you can see the lines beyond this point. Consequently I decided not to insist.


On the net I could find a few examples of what I missed to see from the interior.


This building is thus in the 13th arrondissement. This is not, architecturally, the most attractive arrondissement in Paris… a lot of dull buildings from the 60’s and the 70’s, but it’s improving.


… but, this is an area where street artist have been encouraged, sponsored, to decorate, officially and in large format, some buildings. To console myself from the disappointment of not being able to enter the “Tour 13”, I made a little walk around the arrondissement. Here are a few examples of what I found. (I added the name of the artist, when I found it.) There are many more … which I have to find. 

“Obey” (Shephard Fairy) got especially known for the 2008 “Hope-Barack Obama” campaign poster. “C215” (Christian Guémy) made a cat here, but is better known for portraits of people.

Locally, the most well-known may be “jana & js”, which you find a lot of around Paris, but they definitely work successfully internationally.


The works of the Chilean “Inti” can also be found worldwide.



I was impressed by “Vhils” (Alexander Farto). He has a special technique of chipping and sawing away pieces on walls to basically make portraits.

“M-City” has made a large number of monumental works all over the world. See also the top picture.



Here is a map of what I found and where. 

11 comments:

Olivier said...

magnifique, j'adore toutes ces creations. J'ai pas pu aller voir la tour du 13eme, j'ai des amis qui ont fait plus de 5 heures de queues, de la folie, mais il parait que c'est grandiose

Alain said...

Une initiative qui ne peut que satisfaire ceux qui sont opposés au street art "sauvage"...mais ce n'est plus vraiment du street art.

Synne said...

Wow, some of these works are amazing! I've seen quite a few of them myself, but the street art scene is forever changing - thanks for keeping us updated, haha!

Studio at the Farm said...

FANTASTIC! I don't believe I'd see people in North America lining up to that extent to see this art. I am so pleasantly surprised at the line-ups. Thank you so much for posting this, Peter!

Jeanie said...

Peter, this is a part of Paris that I didn't know existed. How amazing to have good street art allowed. The examples you show are terrific. Thanks!

Thérèse said...

Incroyable comme cette forme d'art prend de l'importance, Nous avons en ce moment un peintre qui repeint nos murs intérieurs. Je lui ai demandé de me créer un petit exemplaire de son côté artistique en tant que graffitiste... on verra...

claude said...

C'est un peu envahissant tout ça mais quand c'est beau sur les immeubles cela ne me dérange pas.
Alain a raison, ce n'est pas forcément du street-art, mais des oeuvres.

JoeinVegas said...

How do they create such massive works on the sides of buildings? Do they use scaffolding or lower themselves from the top? I'm impressed they can create something so large while being so close.

Starman said...

I LOVE the 13é...it is my favorite arrondissment! There is no way the people of Paris should let this art be destroyed for the sake on putting up another unnecessary building in its place. I thought Paris was a city where art is/was revered! Apparently not true!

arabesque said...

now i know why you're clearly drawn to vhil's graffiti,
totally unique!
it's only when you look at its details that you appreciate its time,
effort and mostly the sheer talent of this artist.

Oakland Daily Photo said...

JM at Oeiras Daily Photo has shown us other pieces of Vhils' work. So amazing. Didn't know he had done a wall in Paris.