Parisian Graffiti

I embarked on this walk with the idea that I would be going into a place with a very large amount of graffiti. Being told that this quarter was known for it’s illegal art prompted me to imagine all the many walls in this portion of Paris to be covered in colors with beautiful artwork on them. Upon arrival I found this to be far from true, yet for a very short time I remained open to the idea of seeing all the graffiti on some walls and in doorways. Uneventful for the most part. I assume that what I consider to be inconsequential illegible scribbles on the wall, may hold more weight in a French mind that has not been acquainted with illegal art the way a Western mind is since most of France seems to be free of spontaneous writing such as this. For this specific area to be known for graffiti when it has so little.

As aforementioned, I was surprised at the astonishing amount of graffiti. In reality it seemed peculiar to me since what little that had been done was in a well off area. It had many high priced stores with expensive clothing. The kind of store that only has four shirts on display, never has much traffic, yet still manages to remain operational and still look comfortable. There were also many of the shops with sales people who ask you if you need any help and make me uncomfortable when I know that I am not going to buy anything. I am told that there is a third variety as well. A kind that is hopefully strictly European where they do not like for you to touch, in order to inspect their clothes that are either hanging or folded up so that you can not see them. At first I assumed that Parisian graffiti artists did not understand graffiti. Of course it is supposed to be done only in low-income areas, but after some thought, I came to hope that they were actually doing graffiti better. Using it to bring certain peoples’ attention to a specific plight. If this is not what their purpose is then at least a given a minute sample of a world the patrons of this area will never know.

One bit of insignificant graffiti (if it qualifies as such) that I strangely appreciated were mice substituted for the E and L in the names Charles and Pierre. They were extremely life-like, so it looked as if they were scurrying up and down the side of the building. I do not remember what kind fo establishment this was on. I am unable to infer reasons for why the letters are no longer there while figures are.

Towards the end of my walk I came across an alleyway filled with graffiti. This is where the bulk of the art was. A good sum of the art came from this small area. Here was the greatest variety of art I had come by so far.   The pictures on the wall ranged from inspirational to political. The walls were a place for people to express themselves in words as well as pictures. The quote that stood out most to was “Feet. What do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” It says something about the people who come here to contribute the alley. The wall is a communal place for artists to express themselves. It is the one part of Paris that I have come across that is not the clean-cut and perfect place the city seems to be everywhere else, which makes it even more special.