The Writing on the Walls: Street Art in Paris, yesterday and today

Catalog description

Once condemned as vandalism, street art is today appreciated the world over by an increasingly diverse audience. This course will explore street or urban art's evolution from a criminal act by anonymous, marginalized figures to an esteemed, lucrative and increasingly officially-sponsored cultural practice. The focus will be street art in Paris. Long considered an international artistic capital, Paris is seen today as one of the most dynamic centers of contemporary street art, since its emergence in the 1960s. The course will address the multiple forms, techniques and labels used in relation to urban or street art, while exploring prevalent themes broached, including racial and gender inequality, anti-capitalism and climate activism. The motivations, goals, and inspirations of both renowned and emerging practitioners in Paris and beyond will be studied to place street art in a wider art historical and activist context. Throughout the course, the paradoxical notions surrounding contemporary street art will be considered: revolt versus appropriation, urban degradation versus beautification and even speculation, delinquency versus activism, anonymity versus stardom, street versus screen. Forms of instruction will include in-class discussions and debates, student presentations, guest lectures by street artists and other cultural actors, site visits to community and cultural institutions and city walks to explore the writing on the walls in diverse Parisian neighborhoods.