Is street art … art?
I’ve often asked myself this question as I’ve strolled the streets of Paris. And now, thanks to an exhibit at Paris’ Musée de La Poste, I can answer with a definitive “YES.”
The exhibit Au-delá du Street Art brought together the work of many well-known urban artists including Miss.Tic, Banksy, Dran, Invader, Swoon and Shepard Fairey.
I loved Dran’s droll take on TinTin’s adventures in France. “Because of a strike, no trains will run today,” reads the sign.
I also loved seeing Invader’s mosaics up close, along with a video of him working.
I was stunned by the quality of some of the works …
… amused by their subversive humor …
… and charmed or moved by a few others.
I enjoyed seeing the next generation of street-artists-in-the-making, huddled here for a lecture about Dran’s methods and message.
But most of all I loved seeing Miss.Tic’s work in the museum …
… and then recognizing it again on the streets of Paris. “I know who painted this!” I felt like telling the oblivious passersby.
For me, that’s one of the cool things about street art: It fades into the background until you notice it. But once you notice it, you see it everywhere — like these slightly, um, enhanced “Do not enter” signs by Chet Abraham.
Soon, I was spotting fun variations, like this one in the Marais …
… and this one, just outside the Palais de Justice …
… and this one, near a row of restaurants along the Quai St. Michel …
… and these, near the Place Dauphine.
I even found a knock-off of The Vitruvian Man!
So by the time I saw Abraham’s work included in an ad paid for by the city of Paris, I wasn’t too surprised.
There are some who say street art makes the city look dirty and sloppy, that it’s vandalism of private property.
But others maintain that street art is our zeitgeist … an expression of who we are.
Regardless of how you feel about it, I hope you can at least agree that it’s art.
And if you don’t like it? Don’t worry. What’s here today …
… will be gone tomorrow.
This is street art. Grrrrrr!
