Mon Pellier: street art

Yesterday evening was the opening of an exhibition of the works of Loko, in a gallery of the historic center: At Down, rue du Plan de l'Olivier. The second exhibition of street art this Summer in a gallery, with Sunny Jim, Zoulette & Co at the Studio411.

Loko studied at the School of Fine Arts of Aix-en-Provence. In an interview for la Gazette de Montpellier (n° 1360), he said he didn't learn much in this school. Aix might be more traditionnally orientated than some other schools. Wealthy and taking care of its provencal heritage as well as the tourists, Aix wasn't certainly a place of freedom for Loko. "We remain vandals", he told the journalist. "I don't only graff, I also tag. The cops run after me. People love or hate you for what you do. Lastly, a guy threw a plant pot from his window, I could have received it on the head". I am boldy sincere today, I just insulted in a polite way a journalist I follow on Facebook till he shared news on the Comédie du Livre, because he is pissed off and agressive with the national medias who for the first time acknowledge palestinian propaganda as propaganda and palestinians leaders as blood-thirsty. I told him that denying the edvidences because they stand against his pro-palestinian faith works as negationnism, and that a fanatic faith is not a stairway to heaven.

I will be as sincere as Loko, I understand the bad gardener: for one interesting street artist, there are tens of real indignous vandals, and one doesn't normally know their face, or recognize them in the dark. I don't see any interest in the tags, and this kind of appropriation of the public space, deterioration of the heritage, and of the work of craftmen, this exhibition of oneself through a disproportionned signature is more than childish, somehow obscene. BUT the example is given to them by the rich and powerful persons... The massive trash cans are ugly, dirty, not even massive enough as they are surrounded by more trash, they spoil the view and the pictures, and you don't even imagine the smell. The advertising hoardings should be painted as well as the trash-cans, according to me; they would be the perfect support for ephemeral works, as nothing in town is washed as often. One could also add the new signs of some restaurants and agencies - ugly, massive, cheaply eye-catching, always in the defavor of elegant facades.

So you know what?

I respect Loko for avoiding working on ancient limestone walls and wooden doors.

And... Loko's smiling faces improve and lighten the walk and the views. Some really gentle smiles are precious in any place habitated by humans, the colors are pleasant, all those faces are friendly. One would look for them. This is what the local "photograffeurs" do, by the way.

Now, make up your mind!

After washing...

"Faites le mur" is the french title of "Exit through the gift shop", a 2010 movie by street artist Banksy. The movie makes an hommage to the french street artist Invader, supposed to be the cousin of its hero, a French immigrant in LA called Thierry Guetta. No wonder if this title inspired other street artists in France.

15 street artists were invited to decorate temporary walls, with the support of the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie, of the group Poste, the building enterprise Darver... The event was organised by the collaborative gallery Studio411, and lasted 2 days (June 27&28): everyone could watch the artists at work, take a rest, listen to music, buy some works. Many photos and videos now on facebook: there are plenty amateurs. Duke & Dude, Sarah Valensi...

The place of the Poste Rondelet already had taken some colors. Fresco by MIST:

Zoulette and Sunny Jim: the little white and black girls are her specialty, the young people with a blanck face are his.

"Zoulette" (slang): girl who loves hip-hop.

"Sunny Jim": name without meaning in french and in France... It seems that Jolyon Wagg/Séraphin Lampion pretends, in the english version of "Tintin et les Picarros", that a man called Sunny Jim designed the costumes for the carnival. Hergé certainly used another name in the original version, and JW/SL refers to himself, so let's say that Sunny Jim (street artist) refers to Séraphin Lampion, or at least to Hergé... or the round face of Tintin. I would have thought about some more recent and obvious references, like "Face de Lune" (Boucq-Jodorowski), Jean de la Lune (Ungerer). If it came though Séraphin, then there might be a reference to Anonymous. I would be a bit disappointed; I supported the israeli hacking of anonymous website, and I am sorry Guy Fawkes got such a poor descendance.

The name "Sunny Jim" is more probably a modern version of "Sonny". The street artist, however, isn't a version of anyone. He studied at the ESBAMA Fine Arts school (2009-2012) and prepared a master of Arts at Paul-Valery faculty (2012-2014). His blank-faced people in the streets question pedestrians and drivers. One can't ignore them. One just wonders if they are reflections or visitors, acting or dreaming, and one has to move off from oneself to think about it. Sunny Jim is doing well.

Oups painted some rocks in Port Marianne as cute colored beetles... He painted here a city with nuclear plant and flying hearts.

Flowered femmes fatales by Lili B:

Sunra - with the key on his arm, he seems to be more influenced by Herman Poole Blount than by the egyptian pre-muslim cosmogony...

The "semeuse" (Mariane, a symbol of France, sowing seeds on ancient coins (before the euro, there was the franc) an stamps) appears. She's now sowing hearts, and her hair draws what looks like an arabic calligraphy. This interesting humanity lover, who seems pregnant on the work-in-progress, reduces the sun/Ra to a christian glory. Dead to Copernic (sorry Nicolas I don't mean it)!

Rosalinda Pesce, or Charlotte Ragot, 15 years old, model of the painter Oscar Roty for his Semeuse:

The semeuse looked left for Roty, right for the Larousse dictionnary. Same on the 100 € gold coins produced in 2008, 2009 and 2010... and on our fresco.

A place to rest...

Heart by Sunra, face by Rays.
Rays didn't chose an anglicism as a pseudo: the word 'ray' comes from the ancient french.

Cleps is quite an original name.

It reminds 'clebs', a slang outrageous word for "dog", from the arabic word "klebs", dogs. It gave "clébard" in french. Muslims also use it for Jews, Christians, Atheists, agnostics, etc. Cleps might have rather chosen the name of the clepsydra (water clock, water stealer in greek)... If there are japaneese references, I didn't decode them.

Is a cat on a wall a necessarily reference to Chris Marker, the Cheshire Kurozawa? I would love it.

Hommage to Chris Marker: M. Chat at Vitry-sur-Seine.

Stew:

Romain Froquet:

I didn't picture the face with keffiyeh. It seemed to me like bad taste, when 3 teenagers kidnapped by palestinian terrorists were found dead. Impossible to appreciate Rays'skills on it. If you wonder why... why did he have to paint it?