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Paris: des trésors cachés
Other | Thursday 13th June 2013 | Hanan
It's easy to become quickly sidelined into the bland, half baked touristic route towards the heart of Paris, if you are a first timer you will have nothing else to do but find yourself gaping up at quite garish but sublimely obvious pieces of classic architectural pinnacles of history, such as the lofty tower D’Eiffel cemented to the ground, welded by the hands of hardworking Frenchmen to give the city its cœur et l'âme. The Louvreis another blinding pinnacle, designed to pretty much hide the entire collection of some of the most sought after paintings in the world, down to clever geometrics, all simmered beneath that glass pyramid that may or may not be considered another example of this. The real Paris for me however, lives behind and beneath those slightly deceiving doors of welcome that allure you to the centre.
Galleries such as La Maison Rouge offer the most intriguing and controversial shows whilst acquainted closely with the modern art scene, the exhibitions are said to be organised by independent curators giving an injection of an authentic vibe. Noted for their impressive contribution to the art scene in Paris, founded by Antoine de Galbert in 2003, the setting is a refurbished industrial building, enforcing its gritty authenticity for shows to reach greater levels. If a gallery doesn’t seem to fit your liberal, personal taste when it comes to art, Street art X Fashion welcomes and challenges anyone and everyone to get involved as both concepts are considered “democratic mediums”, though it's hard to see how long it will last. The idea is to encourage the role of individuality and put it at the forefront which seems to have captivated the streets of Paris by storm. Roman street artists; Sten & Lex, who were in Paris during summer 12, created a mural at Le M.U.R, south of Paris known for its insane murals and innovative graffiti. The project revolved around a three by eight metre billboard set aside for the purpose of promoting street art. The pair are known for their ecclesiastic image, the “saint” which actually led to a nifty invite by Banksy to the 'Cans festival' 2008.
Last Summer Paris was lucky enough to host none other than the most famous street artist in the world, Shepard Fairey, who put up a huge mural in the south of Paris to launch a clothing line for Levis’ project Street Art, inspired for the newly vamped and launched store on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Fairey was joined by Andre, a Graffiti artist turned entrepreneur, also involved in the Levis project. Andre is actually known for illegally painting his shadowy alter ego Monsieur A. all around Paris for many years, completely repelling any typical Parisian graffiti. You will find his work characterised by his unique stamp of the colour pink. This summer looks to be bustling for the world of Street Art, graffiti and edgy gallery openings. As Art Noveau at la Pinacothèque de Paris deemed the ‘art of freedom’ will have opened, "the idea is to not impose any kind of obligations, or restrictions on the artist throwing off conventions that previously restrain creativity". It is set to be a very controversial summer from, April through to September. From the mouth of Art Noveau curators, “core eroticism is set to be an unavoidable ingredient” take what you may with that statement . Where there is art there are artists, where there are artists undoubtedly there will be brooding intrigue.
Written by Hanan Abdel- Khalek
