Cities in all the hemispheres take turns being the pre-eminent location for street art and street culture as the influences that lead to a lively scene cropping up in a city and becoming popular are in continual flux. Whether its economics, demographics, politics, or the various timelines of cultural evolution intersecting, the conditions must be just right for a street art scene to blossom and endure in all it's idiosyncratic splendor. At the moment it is springtime in Paris and photographer Sandra Hoj says during her visit to the city, "I was overwhelmed by the amount of street art. It was not just limited to a single area, but all over the place, in every crack and corner."
Speedy Graphito (photo © Sandra Hoj)
While the current street art movement in French cities can be traced to the late 1970s and early 80s stencillists with names like Jef Aerosol, Mis Tic, Speedy Graphito, and the guy who Banksy credits for influencing his rodential proclivities, Blek Le Rat -- the last decade has brought a new generation of wheat-pasters, pop appropriaters, culture jammers, and fine artists of every discipline who have put their own mark on the modern age. Some, like C215, are even called new masters of the stencil genre. This quick survey gives just a taste of what's happening at the moment and there are many names regularly up in addition to these. Sandra reports, "There are pieces from the ever-present Space Invader, of course, and Jef Aerosol, Nick Walker, Jana & Js (Janaundjs), Fred le Chavalier, and Dast, as well as some I don't know the names of. There is a lot of stencil work and many paste-up's, a rare freehand piece by Dast, and even some collage work from Frank Duval of FKDL." Enjoy.
Jef Aerosol (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Jef Aerosol (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Fred le Chevalier (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Fred le Chevalier (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Nick Walker (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Nick Walker (photo © Sandra Hoj)
FKDL (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Dast (photo © Sandra Hoj)
David Shillinglaw and Ben Slow (photo © Sandra Hoj)
David Shillinglaw and Ben Slow (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Pole Ka (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Pole Ka (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Jana & Js (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Jana & Js (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Jana & Js (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Jana & Js (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Jana & Js (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Jana & Js (photo © Sandra Hoj)
Click here to visit Sandra Hoj's site Classic Copenhagen for more street art eye candy.
This article was also posted on Brooklyn Street Art.
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