Monday, September 26, 2011

Graffiti



Synagogue in Marais

Graffiti is a part of city life. There are some who find graffiti to be a malignant and unattractive element, or one that connotes some unseen danger leaking up from under the fabric of the population.  Its true Graffiti often is a reaction to social or political pressures in a society,  and there is of course tagging which in its own way can become art.
There are those seeking to have voices about political injustice heard, and those looking to change minds, or get people to notice the beauty around them.
Then there are artists who seek to find an audience in a place where most are looking only back in time. 

Bernar Venet sculptures on display throughout Versailles
I have noticed that Paris tries to include new artist's work along side the historic works. At Versailles there are several new sculptures. The Pyramids at the Louvre are by I.M. Pei, a celebrated Modernist architect. There are many who find the contrast to be jarring or unsettling, but that I think is the point.
Imagine if the city never introduced new artists. Paris


There are artists here, creating work now. They are not buried in Pere Lachaise. And the best of that work is sometimes right there in plain site, in the form of graffiti.

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