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140909: Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain: Né dans la rue – Graffiti
Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain: Né dans la rue – Graffiti
On brotherhood, rebellion, criminalization and entry into a museum
“male
black, puerto rican, other
13 – 16 years
carries package or paper bag, long coat in cold weather
time of day: 4 pm to 2 am, after school hours”
- this was written by the New York police in the 1970s and is presented at the exhibition “Né dans la rue – Graffiti” at the Fondation Cartier in Paris. Obviously these short lines document a dramatic increase of arrests (707) of male graffiti sprayers in 1972; in the following years the number doubled.
The exhibition, presented in a historic context, transmits the American way of life of the young sprayers from the end of the 1970s to the early 80s. The sprayer Alan Ket provides authenticity and access to the scene. He appealed to the public following numerous notices and the threat of a ten-year prison sentence. This form of self-authorized acting in public space, with a huge audience that doesn’t visit museums often, still calls for criminalization and the attribution to vandalism.
The short videos, which were especially created for this exhibit, clearly show what the kick was: “becoming famous in overwriting others” (original words by MICO, who became legendary with “Hang Nixon”) and “to get up and do the best that you can”.
The exhibition attempts to review the former underground culture by presenting a bizarre mixture of “peculiarities” – such as Richard Miranda’s aka Seen original work clothes (camouflaged in a subway workman’s outfit) or the bathroom door covered with 190 tags by the graffiti-pioneer Jack Stewart, as well as descriptions of individual writings. The now “grown up” players are forthwith officially presented as artists, familiar elements from the public space are herewith introduced into an art context.
The organizers assured that this had nothing to do with institutionalizing the graffiti work. On the contrary, the invited artists were pleased that their work was being seen and heard, and were allowed to freely dispose of their work at the end of the show.
By allocating the outside walls for writings of all kinds, the organizers strive to include a pinch of the unpredictable and the original esprit. And even if Bansky is missing, the films “Downtown 81” and “Wild Style”, including all of the associated music groups of those days, are shown.
A flyer, dating from 1985 with “Names of those “enclosed” died before 23” deals with the hardship that sprayers were faced with; at a time during which none of the then not more than15-year olds ever dreamed they would be part of an exhibition. Blade meticulously lists how and when the artists died while exercising their “aerosol art”. The internal police description calls this the “hazard factor”: “Several youths injured by third rail or moving train resulting in their deaths”.
By Fiona Rukschcio
Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain
75014 Paris, 261 boulevard Raspail, until 29.11.09
www.fondation.cartier.fr
Mehr Texte von translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville
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140909
Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain
75014 Paris, 261, boulevard Raspail
http://www.fondation.cartier.fr/
Öffnungszeiten: täglich außer Mo 12.00 bis 20.00 Uhr
Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain
75014 Paris, 261, boulevard Raspail
http://www.fondation.cartier.fr/
Öffnungszeiten: täglich außer Mo 12.00 bis 20.00 Uhr
