Alongside the picturesque street markets in Paris you will often find something else equally eye-catching – the decorated vans of the market traders. Generally very professional and often signed, these creations have become ambulant art forms and mobile galleries.This website, a kind of ‘Confessions of a graffiti artist’ explains who is behind these creations and why they do it:
"On faisait ça gratuitement, juste pour le kiff. Le proprio en échange nous donnait généralement un bon sac de fruits et légumes, histoire de nous remercier de lui avoir rénové son camion tout taggué".
("We did it for free, just for the buzz. The owner, in exchange often gave us a big bag of fruit and veg to thank us for redecorating his tag-covered van")
The art is the result therefore of a mutually beneficial agreement. The graffiti artists get a large, legal support that sends their art around the city, and the market traders get an attractive and completely unique van!
Is there anything similar where you live or is this a purely Parisian phenomenon?
This is fabulous---the closest I've seen to this is some of the tagging and street art in New York.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interview with Cara Black. I'd never read anything of hers before and will check out the series.
I hope you're having a good weekend!
I guess that's better than having one covered with the usual tawdry scrawls of the too common banal scribbler-taggers...
ReplyDeleteHope you had a good day of it in Nantes today, a good time was had by all at the gathering in Paris today... will have to find another day that works for you...
Wonderful! Never heard of this arrangement before, although a lot of shops in San Francisco pay the best graffiti artists to paint the sides of their buildings. I think a law was just passed in SF that includes jail time for tagging.... we'll see. The front of my building was tagged last night by the Nortenos. a lot less appealing than your images.
ReplyDeleteI have started a small commection of similar photos! Was also struck by the graffiti covered vans around the market places!
ReplyDeleteAu fort du Roulon il y avait une camionnette graffitée mais par les propriétaires : une association > "Fort du Roulon, Fortstival, le Bilboquet".
ReplyDeleteIl me semble que ce phénomène n'est pas mal vu à Paris, c'est une forme de personnalisation. D'autant, si le résultat est "chiadé", que c'est une façon de protéger la carrosserie des intempéries au fond.
Comment nous avons pu visiter le fort du Roulon ? Parce qu'Uzemain est un tout petit village et que nous sommes allés à une soirée organisée par l'association du fort à la salle municipale. Nous avons des amis qui habitent Uzemain et c'est un avantage ainsi d'habiter une ville de province comme Epinal fut-elle une préfecture : on connait tout le monde jusqu’à des lieues à la ronde. Le propriétaire était ravi de nous le montrer.