Maymester Day 11
Today we explored the street art of Belleville. After doing a bit of research I learned that Belleville attracted Parisian artists and musicians in the 1980’s because of cheaper rents, much in the way that musicians and artists were living and working in Montemartre earlier on in the Belle Epoche period.
Belleville is now known largely for its ubiquitous street art. Because of the “off the grid” nature of street art, we do not know a whole lot about the artists who paint these great works. Thus, I will use the rest of this post to comment on some of my personal observations about the artwork today.
Painting 1 by “DJ Prokofiev”:
Dj Prokofiev
This is definitely one of my favorite paintings I have seen on our trip. The first thing I notice is the majestic man playing some type of banjo. This painting is drawn with a brush instead of a spray can, which is apparent in the details of the painting. The man looks 3D in a way. The painting could easily be a cartoon that is about to begin playing. The banjo man is stationed in front of a beautiful dark purple backdrop of some sort of houses. What I really love about the backdrop and the purple/blue color combination is that the backdrop allows for the banjo man to shine and be the star. He was the first thing my eye was drawn to in the painting, and I didn’t even pay attention to the backdrop until I looked more closely.
Painting 2 by unknown
This is an intense painting. The look in this masked man’s eyes seem calm and collected, even though the mask implies there is nothing normal happening in this painting. The black and white colors lend themselves to a brilliant portrayal of the light bouncing off this masked figure. One thing that our guide was talking about that was interesting was that your work as a street artist has to be absolutely amazing. He says that you have to go into your painting thinking that you’re the best of the best, or you will get covered up. This painting is truly a testament to that, as all of the other tags are written respectfully next to the painting.
Painting 3 by M. Chat
Mr. Cat
This is the most lighthearted and funniest painting of three. These cat pieces as drawn by the famous “M. Chat” are some of the most popular pieces of graffiti in Paris. I had been seeing them throughout our trip and was amazed to learn that M. Chat has sold some of his work for as high as 200,00 euro! I feel like the simplicity and bright colors that M. Chat uses are part of what has made these cat paintings valuable and sought after. They are very distinct in their style and easily memorable. Furthermore, the ubiquity of the paintings scattered throughout the city spark makes you curious about why they’re there and ads a sense of mystery to “M. Chats” cats.