Lookart

Found in Stockroom Selection: Mid Career Artists

<strong>Blek le Rat</strong> (born 1951) <em>Man Who Walks Through Walls</em> 2009 synthetic polymer paint on canvas (Stencilled) 61 cm x 46 cm signed lower right: Blek le Rat /2009 After having studied the art of lithography and etching at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris,Blek Le Rat, then simply Xavier Prou, realised that if he wanted to pursue his artistic abilityhe would have to paint differently to Caravaggio, Monet or Picasso. Inspired by some graffiti he had encountered in New York in the early 1970s and a distantchildhood memory of a Mussolini image he had seen on the walls of a building in Italyduring the sixties, he started to experiment with stencils. Then in 1981 he ambitiouslyroamed the streets of late night Paris stencilling black life-size rats along the walls of the14th Arrondissement. The rat, a symbol of the urban environment, is linked to the spread of contagious diseases. They are very clever survivors, widely distributed and problematic tohumans. The rat, an anagram of art, became Blek’s trademark and a metaphor of what wenow know as Street Art. In the midst of the growing chaos that defines contemporary society, a new art form hademerged. It wasn’t just graffiti, Blek’s art had a social message, and the walls of Paris werehis canvas and the best place to exhibit. It was seen by everyone who passed by and therewas no admission fee. Advertising had changed forever.

Blek le Rat (born 1951)
Man Who Walks Through Walls 2009
synthetic polymer paint on canvas (Stencilled)
61 cm x 46 cm
signed lower right: Blek le Rat /2009

After having studied the art of lithography and etching at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris,Blek Le Rat, then simply Xavier Prou, realised that if he wanted to pursue his artistic abilityhe would have to paint differently to Caravaggio, Monet or Picasso.

Inspired by some graffiti he had encountered in New York in the early 1970s and a distantchildhood memory of a Mussolini image he had seen on the walls of a building in Italyduring the sixties, he started to experiment with stencils. Then in 1981 he ambitiouslyroamed the streets of late night Paris stencilling black life-size rats along the walls of the14th Arrondissement. The rat, a symbol of the urban environment, is linked to the spread of contagious diseases. They are very clever survivors, widely distributed and problematic tohumans. The rat, an anagram of art, became Blek’s trademark and a metaphor of what wenow know as Street Art.

In the midst of the growing chaos that defines contemporary society, a new art form hademerged. It wasn’t just graffiti, Blek’s art had a social message, and the walls of Paris werehis canvas and the best place to exhibit. It was seen by everyone who passed by and therewas no admission fee. Advertising had changed forever.