{"id":203,"date":"2017-07-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/?p=203"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:02:29","slug":"rue-meurt-dart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/rue-meurt-dart\/","title":{"rendered":"ART STREET DIES"},"content":{"rendered":"

STREET DIES OF ART \u2013 SHARING THE STREET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 2017 \u2013 2135 words<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COURSE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you become an artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to go to art school, but it seemed impossible for a young man from a military family. So I had to start by studying law before finally being able to pursue fine arts studies at the University of Vincennes after my military service. It was an experimental faculty that brought together people from diverse backgrounds. We could paint the entire building from floor to ceiling, inside and out! I particularly remember a large mural I created with other students, including an Argentinian, an Iranian, and a Breton. After my studies there, I took academic drawing classes in the 18th arrondissement.th<\/sup> in the arrondissement of Paris, under the tutelage of an extraordinary master engraver, Monsieur Marrage. I took six hours of lessons per week with live models. I continued this intensive schedule for three years, graduating with a high level of drawing skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, your artistic career did not begin at that time. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started by painting contemporary furniture without much success, as at the time it was mostly reserved for wedding chests! So I turned to trompe-l'\u0153il and mural painting to support my family. In total, I painted nearly four hundred murals in bistros, restaurants, hotels, and even for large companies like Peugeot and Euromarch\u00e9. I notably participated in the creation of a three-hundred-and-sixty-square-meter wall with about ten other painters. However, I felt that these immense walls imposed themselves too much on the urban landscape, without giving people any say in the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At what point did your transition to street life occur? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I painted pictures alongside my work, reflecting on the possibility of creating human-scale works, like those of Ernest Pignon-Ernest. I therefore turned to characters that appealed to collective memory, particularly film actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it was in 1991 that I placed my first pieces in my hometown of Colombes, acting anonymously to observe people's reactions. At the time, street art wasn't very prevalent, and the public wondered about the identity of the artist. My first street piece was a jazz musician, whom I gradually joined every two or three months, adding more friends. This group eventually formed an orchestra encompassing all the great jazz musicians of the 1950s, and when I installed the last two pieces, I brought in a quartet that played a piece by each of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TECHNIQUE AND REGISTRATION IN A PLACE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your work process?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use photographs that I adapt and rework. My portraits are mostly realistic, monochrome, or sepia-toned. While monochrome sometimes serves to illustrate the past, this isn't always the case: Rita Hayworth's blue dresses in Gilda<\/em>, or Ava Gardner in The assassins <\/em>They primarily serve to catch the eye of passersby. This recurring use of blue in my work stems from my admiration for the painter Jacques Monory, who dedicated his entire career to painting blue monochromes. It is, in fact, to pay homage to him that I eventually created my own shade of this color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike many street art collages, yours withstand the elements for a particularly long time. How do you manage to make the ephemeral permanent?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it's a matter of technique: unlike many artists who glue prints, I only display original paintings on polyester canvas, varnished with polyurethane. Thanks to this, some of my collages are still in place after twenty years, thus allowing the ephemeral to endure. But the maintenance of the artwork is also important: the edges must be well glued, and they need to be checked regularly over time to prevent deterioration. Watching one's works age is an amazing process: so, after a while, I peel them off to hang them on a white panel and transform them into paintings. The buyer then owns a studio painting that has lived in the street. My portrait of Toussaint Louverture, for example, began its life in Colombes, before traveling throughout the 20th century.th<\/sup> borough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the differences between your street work and your studio work? <\/strong>Black series<\/em><\/strong> allows you, for example, to work on the material.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, these works are complementary. My street art is focused, whereas in the studio my research approaches are often more traditional. The origin of Black series<\/em> This is an exhibition by Soulages that my wife and I attended. It's an interesting work, not completely abstract because I always include a small figure, preserving the presence of the human, sometimes also mixing blue with black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are also working on a series of female portraits.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's a series of large portraits of women, sometimes inspired by famous paintings like Courbet's, that represent emotions. I choose as models women who are remarkable in everyday life. For example, I asked a Spanish opera singer with phenomenal energy to embody the Madness<\/em> by Courbet. With these canvases 1.6 meters high, the objective is to create a strong visual impact on the viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PEOPLE COMMITTED TO A SHARED MEMORY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you choose your characters?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choice of character is personal, whether it's someone I admire or whose story resonates with our times. For example, Perec is a writer I cherish, and Rimbaud is, in my opinion, one of the greatest French poets. Appealing to this collective memory, through well-known figures, allows me to connect with the public. It's also a way to put a face to these names, because not everyone knows Perec: in this case, the collage will allow him to truly... \u00ab"to take on flesh"\u00bb<\/em>.When the name is not given, it is the sentence that, most of the time, will guide people to its author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your collages often refer to the fight against inequalities: Toussaint Louverture and slavery, the Elles series and gender inequalities, the migrant and exclusion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politics, whether it concerns anti-racism or issues of tolerance, is at the heart of my work. What is happening to migrants today is a humanitarian scandal. How can one of the world's leading powers remain incapable of welcoming people living in extreme poverty? My actions, however small, help to ensure that all of this is not forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your work also has a historical and political dimension, such as that surrounding the Paris Commune.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am passionate about politics, and as an artist-citizen, I believe my artistic work also has political aims. By participating in civic life, I express my views on my surroundings. I think an artist has the right to be engaged, for this to be felt and seen. I consider the Paris Commune a historical moment of immense importance for France and the world, even though it doesn't occupy the place it deserves in history books and in the broader sweep of history. This first popular revolution demonstrates that when people have a voice and participate in the exercise of power, they possess a great deal of imagination: free daycare centers and school canteens, for example, date back to this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a different note, I enjoy working on the lesser-known history of cities. For example, I discovered that there was a Black mayor in Paris (Severiano de Heredia, President of the Paris City Council from 1911).er<\/sup> August 1879 to February 12, 1880), but nobody knows about it! I intend to do something about this unknown figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you looking for a link between the character and the location of the collage?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever possible, I look for a connection, which can come either from the figure represented, like the mayor I'm thinking of, or from the location, like the Brassa\u00ef Square where I'd like to organize something. The street itself can be a source of inspiration, but it can also come from encounters with artists whom we imagine will be part of the performance. Everyone brings their ideas, like an ever-open community into which people come to join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While your characters often make a statement, the vagabond's character questions: <\/strong>\u201cA lost yesterday, a tomorrow without a future\u2026 So how can one exist?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This vagabond is Bernard Pouch\u00e8le, a writer from the Lille region whose texts were imbued with mysticism. During my first collage in the city, I was looking for a character who could resonate with the migrant woman. He is an interesting figure because of his deliberate choice to wander. I had a lot of trouble finding a phrase to associate with him, and that's why this question appears, which, in this instance, was also my own question about this man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since you paste original works in the street, how often are you able to produce a new piece?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first choose the wall by walking a lot in Paris with my wife. I like squares because they are quiet places where people relax. Once I've found the wall, I consider which character or story best suits it. Then comes a process of maturation during which I look for photographs and poses to work from. I then create my character before finding the speech bubble that will go with it. I paste up about two figures a year, in Colombes but also in Paris, particularly in the 18th arrondissement.e<\/sup> district where I had my workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WORLD WAR I<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

World War I is an important topic in your work.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I became particularly interested in this war because I happen to have a grandfather who died in it. It affected me deeply: my grandmother, a war widow, owned a portrait of this man, whom no one spoke of and whom I didn't know. The memory was so painful that it was kept silent. This portrait is displayed full-length in the Henri-Karcher Square. Its installation was very symbolic, because among this man's great-grandchildren are now Franco-Germans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collage of the other soldier shows the extreme violence of the precise moment of death. Like Capa's photograph, this man, cut down, is still alive and already gone. My third installation was located at the Gare de l'Est, the place from which many soldiers departed. It consisted of testimonies from people who had taken part in the war, provided by their descendants. I collected twelve of these testimonies and created portraits of these men and women, each accompanied by their letter. Their descendants read these texts aloud during the installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a more intimate work about the anonymous and forgotten people of the Great War.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Great War of 1914-1918 was first and foremost fought by anonymous individuals, people whose names alone appear on a monument. I believe it is essential to pay tribute to these forgotten figures, who suffered during the war, who died in it. This process allowed me to realize the close connection that exists between these men and us: ultimately, a hundred years represents only two or three generations! Among the readers at the Gare de l'Est train station, some had known the people mentioned. Other accounts illustrate the absurdity of war in light of the current context: one of these testimonies came from an Alsatian, enlisted in the German army, and officially declared dead for his country in both Germany and France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


SHARING WITH THE PUBLIC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing with the public during the exhibition is central to your artistic approach.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, what interests me is not just the act of pasting, but also the event it can generate. So I started pasting in public, unlike many street artists who operate surreptitiously, sometimes involving musicians, actors, or circus performers alongside myself. The installation thus became a moment of sharing and encounters. It's also amusing to observe that during such an action, passersby stop and ask questions. It's also a way of showing what an artist is, without any special aura or reserved stage. Artist and public thus find themselves on the same level, without separation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you work with other artists to organize these events?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enjoy working with other artists to blend different forms of expression. For example, I created a small show with an opera singer and a director who wanted to make opera more accessible. We toured in working-class neighborhoods, performing for a very diverse audience who weren't used to this type of music, yet they listened and embraced it! I also directed the Trans'Arts Nicolet<\/em> with a pianist in the 18thth<\/sup> district. During a weekend in May, we bring in artists who express themselves in the street, in partnership with the town hall. Nicolet Street is symbolic, as it's where Rimbaud and Verlaine met. On a building with blank windows, I pasted a portrait of each of them, and for the third edition, I'll add a portrait of Verlaine's wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of relationship with the public is established on these occasions?  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These events allow us to show people that art can break new ground. There's a perception that Parisians are jaded because culture is so readily available. However, events like these Trans'Arts Nicolet<\/em> This proves that when an event is organized at the foot of their building, residents are happy and curious. When the Verlaine sculpture was hung, a window opened, and a young man appeared, offering to read a poem he recited to about fifty people. These are the magical moments of sharing. While permission is never asked of the owners, most of the time they are very pleased, as the artwork becomes part of their world. The residents are often surprised to see passersby photographing their building, and it becomes a source of pride to live there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, transmission is also important in your work as a painter.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I taught art classes for five or six years at a community center in what are considered "disadvantaged" neighborhoods, with about twenty students. I believe that when you have a skill, it's important to be able to pass it on to people who don't necessarily have access to it. It's a form of commitment. The class was made up of young people, but also many retirees from very modest backgrounds, some of whom had never even touched a pencil or a paintbrush. There was a real discovery of the joy of drawing for these people, who sometimes didn't allow themselves to believe they could draw, because everyone can create.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUE MEURT D\u2019ART – LA RUE EN PARTAGE juillet 2017 – 2135 mots PARCOURS Comment \u00eates-vous devenu artiste ? J\u2019ai voulu entrer aux Beaux-Arts, mais cela paraissait impossible pour un jeune homme issu d\u2019une famille de militaire. J\u2019ai donc d\u00fb commenc\u00e9 par \u00e9tudier le droit, avant de pouvoir enfin poursuivre des \u00e9tudes d\u2019art plastique \u00e0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}