Tag Archives: Invader

CAPITALE(S) 60 Years of Urban Art in Paris

October 23, 2022 butterfly

Butterfly Art News is pleased to partner with the Ville de Paris for the Exhibition ‘CAPITALE(S) – 60 ans d’art urbain’, hosted within the Hotel de Ville, Paris City Hall, and running from 15 October until 11 February 2023. Free entry, but booking is essential here

Through the creations of more than 70 artists, works from prestigious collections, archive documents, photos and videos, in situ interventions, painted walls throughout the city, CAPITALE(S) presents a wide panorama of the Urban Art Movement and the importance of the Parisian scene spanning across the past 60 years.

The exhibition starts with pioneers from the 60’s and 70’s like Jacques Villegle, Raymond Hains, Ernest Pignon-Ernest or Zlotykamien.

Then the early 80’s feature the white man figures of Jerôme Mesnager, robots by Speedy Graphito and the proliferation of stencils by Miss Tic, Blek Le Rat, Mosko, Jef Aerosol, Epsylon Point.

This period of intense urban activity allows the emergence of artists’ collectives such as VLP (Vive la Peinture) affiliated with the punk culture or the Ripoulin brothers.

French-American teenager Bando (b. in 1965) introduced graffiti in France after writing in New York, followed by the New York City Rap Tour in 1982. Graffiti writers invade the banks of the Seine and adorn the palissades of the Louvre construction site. Stalingrad, a spot found by graffiti writer Ash, becomes the Hall of Fame for the prolific graffiti scene until 1989, featuring writers like Mode2, Niels ‘Shoe’ Meulman, Lokiss, Nasty, SKKI and numerous graffiti crew. In parallel Psychose paints in the catacombs and the underground sewers system.

In 1987 Keith Haring paints the emergency staircase of the Hopital Necker to provide hopes of brightening the spirits of sick children in the world’s first pediatric hospital.

Like in the US, graffiti was severely repressed in Paris in the early 90’s. American artists like Futura, A-One or even Rammellzee gain recognition from the European artistic community and present their works in galleries and museums in Paris. JonOne will settle permanently in Paris.

In the 2000’s, urban art has become a global movement with a multitude of techniques: from graffiti to street art, paste ups, stickers, stencils, mosaics and more. International artists are coming to Paris to leave their mark: Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Banksy, Vhils.

French artists have also gained international recognition: Andre, Invader, Zevs, JR, Dran, Lek and Sowat, Seth, L’Atlas, C215, Ludo, RERO, Philippe Baudelocque to Levalet.

Specially for CAPITALE(S), Invader has put two new aliases to be flashed for all the Flash Invaders addicts and shared a fully updated map of his invasion of the streets of Paris.

The exhibition presents also immersive and playful experiences.

Kashink, Kraken and Madame have created 3 entirely virtual works, hidden in a secret room of the exhibition: “The Fifth Wall“. A hunt for clues in Augmented Reality can be found through QR codes to be scanned under the works.

Visitors can try out graffiti with a digital spray can through GRAFFITI DIGITAL Picturae.

Artist Cristobal Diaz has created a GRAFF BOX, an immersive experience combining urban calligraphic production with playful digital devices featuring 250 artists.

While it is difficult to include the full scope of artists that have been active in Paris in the past 60 years within the City Hall, the four curators Magda Danysz, Elise Herszkowicz, Nicolas Laugero Lasserre and Marko93 have gathered following artists:

• Jacques Villeglé • Zlotykamien • Ernest Pignon-Ernest • Surface Active • Captain Fluo • Edmond Marie Rouffet • Blek le Rat • Miss.Tic • VLP • Speedy Graphito • Jean Faucheur • Mesnager • Mosko • Jef Aérosol • Bando • Ash • Jay0ne • SKKI • Keith Haring • Mambo • Nasty • Slice • Psyckoze • Lokiss • Shoe • Futura • A-One • Rammellzee • Jon0ne • André • Zevs • Dize • Invader • Shepard Fairey • JR • Vhils • Swoon • Banksy • C215 • L’Atlas • YZ • Seth • Tarek Benaoum • eL Seed • Ludo • Rero • Dran • O’Clock • Tanc • Lek • Sowat • Cristobal Diaz • Philippe Baudelocque • Levalet • Madame • Kashink • Vision • Pest • Greky • Sébastien Preschoux • Romain Froquet • Kraken • 9eme Concept • Les Francs Colleurs • Saype

There is also a prolific programme throughout the exhibition:

New murals will be painted at the Pavillon Carré de Baudouin and in several Parisian districts,
A selection of pictures will be featured on the gates of the City Hall,
Workshops, conferences and screenings of films and documentaries.
A book accompanying the exhibition is available at Gallimard / Editions Alternatives

Big thanks to all the teams, artists, photographers, lenders and institutions that have participated to the exhibition, specially Clemence Demolling, as well as all the artists that have contributed to the scene over the past 60 years.

CAPITALE(S) – 60 ANS D’ART URBAIN

PARIS HOTEL DE VILLE ( Paris City Hall), 5 Rue Lobeau 75004 Paris

15 October – 25 March 2023

Free entry, but booking is essential here

Paris, streets

Paris: Banksy joins the celebrations of Mai 68 riots

June 30, 2018 butterfly

While Paris has been celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the May 68 Riots with multiple exhibitions, elusive artist Banksy has hit the streets of the French capital with a series of new artworks.

May 68 in France – Ten million workers on strike, young people in the streets, public services at a standstill, a paralysed economy: the state faced a major social crisis which threatened to shake its very foundations. The entire country was affected, including all sectors of activity.

Facing the entrance of La Sorbonne University, Banksy put up a dark stencil of a man hiding a saw behind his back while an amputated dog is salivating looking up at a bone. Could be a play on words ‘Saw Bone’ which sounds similar to ‘Sorbonne’, but also is a very cynical symbol of our society, raising questions of sacrifice and perceived rewards from the powers in place.

Placement and context are always very important. This is where the major student demonstrations took place. Interestingly, less than 10 meters away from this ‘Saw & Bone’ stencil, Invader placed a pixelated commemoration plaque on the Place de La Sorbonne earlier this May.

Click on the pics to enlarge

Banksy painted additional little rats characters, with the tag 1968 and the 8 falling apart and being transformed into the bow of the famous Minnie mouse, nod to Disneyland, symbolising with his stencils that the 1968 uprising has lost its luster and morphed into capitalism.

Next to the Centre Pompidou, which hosts Le Musee d’art Moderne, the largest museum of modern art in Europe, Banksy painted a mischief rat, which was later transformed into a bigger one holding a cutter. He posted the caption on his Instagram: ‘Fifty years since the uprising in Paris 1968. The birthplace of modern stencil art.’

The entire city is celebrating the 50th Anniversary, from the streets to institutions. For further historical context about the 1968 riots, the Hotel de Ville is presenting historical pictures by photograph Gilles Caron who documented the student revolts while the Archives Nationales are showing the events of May-June 1968 as seen by the authorities of the time. Earlier in May we also shared the intervention of Spanish artist ESCIF on the external walls ‘Open Borders’ of the modern art institution Palais de Tokyo ( see full coverage here).

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Stay tuned as we continue our coverage of Banksy invasion of the French capital…

Paris, Street, streets

Paris: Invader PA_1266

February 8, 2017 butterfly

In parallel to his current show ‘Hello My Game is’ at Musee en Herbe (covered) , French artist Space Invader is back to the streets of Paris with a new large mosaic featuring a self portrait in action, masked and running away with a ladder after putting up a framed invader in a starry night. For all Flash Invader addicts it is PA_1266.

Space Invader - Paris 2017

View the full set of pics here

Hello my game is… will run until 3rd September at Musee en Herbe, 23 rue de l’Arbre-Sec, 75001 Paris.

Paris, Shows, Uncategorized

Paris: Invader – My Game is…@ Musee en Herbe

January 30, 2017 butterfly 1 Comment

Invader takes over Le Musée en Herbe in Paris for an exhibition entitled Hello, My Game Is… with over 100 new works on show.

It’s the first exhibition of Invader in Paris since 2011 (see our coverage of the 1000 exhibition) . The title refers to the name stickers, popular in the graffiti scene, with a twist on the name emphasizing the playfulness of the work as Hello, My Game Is… seeks to engage with the inner children within us all.

Invader explains – ‘I have myself often drawn inspiration from the world of childhood. Besides, who other than an adult with a child’s soul could devote his life to invading the world with video game characters? Also, this exhibition is very close to my heart because children represent the future. Education and dialogue with children are the key to a good future for humanity and tomorrow’s world.’

Upon entering the museum, children and fans alike can collect stickers from the vending machines and swap any doubles.

Since the creation of the Flash Invader app many years ago, which involves hunting down his street pieces across the world, the level of engagement with his work has been deepened with 13,000 registered users to date. For all Flash Invader fans eager to top up their score, the most recent mosaic has been placed inside the museum.

The first room references both video games such as Pac-Man and Q*bert and characters from children’s animation including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Miyazaki’s Ponyo that have inspired Invader’s work. People from all ages are invited to try and play the infamous arcade games.

A large-scale interactive map of the world is showing the 67 cities which have been invaded over the course of the last 20 years as well as lifesize ‘alias’ mosaics that have been installed across the world, from London CCTV flower (covered), Toulouse Pink inavsion (covered) to the one in the ISS station.

The Rubik Cubism room is a nod to the 80’s Rubik’s Cubes game. Rubik Cubism pieces on display include Disney characters as well as Peter Pan, who previously appeared in PA_1085. This particular work is made from 1,320 Rubik’s Cubes making it his largest such piece to date.

A magnet wall allows children, both young and old, to create and remake their own 8-bit inspired creations. The last room presents works on paper as well as a series of masks used during Invader’s streets interventions and a glimpse of the artist’s studio.

A 40-page book containing games and stickers published by Casterman also accompany the exhibition.

View the full set of pics here

Hello my game is… will run from Monday to Sunday (10am to 7pm; 9pm on Thursdays) until January 2018 at 23 rue de l’Arbre-Sec, 75001 Paris.

Videos

Video: ART4SPACE with Space Invader

December 14, 2016 butterfly

Back in 2012, prolific Parisian artist who has ‘Invaded’ cities around the world took over a new territory by sending a piece into the stratosphere, becoming the first artist to send an artistic creation this far above the earth’s surface.

While preparing his exhibition for the Pulse art fair with Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Miami the artist-activist took advantage of his proximity to the Space Coast, making his first space foray, a project he had long been planning.

On August 20, 2012, the mosaic Space One flew aboard a special device designed by the artist who adapted advanced technologies with his own resources. Equipped with a camera, the weather balloon crossed terrestrial atmospheres for a short stay in space before returning, bringing the premier astronautic work back to Earth along with a series of photographic images showing the mosaic work’s perspective distance from space.

Along the Florida coast adjacent to the NASA launch pad, the mosaic One Space blasted off in August 2012 into the stratosphere, thus becoming the first artwork from Invader to travel in space. The ART4SPACE film documents this eponymous project as the artist invites us to follow him through this artistic expedition and embark into the galaxy.

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The documentary movie ART4SPACE was screened only in selected locations like Miami, New York or London up to now.

On his instagram account @Invaderwashere the street artist has finally released the full ART4SPACE movie online via his Youtube channel both in French and English versions

A year after the launch of SPACE1, Invader continues to conquer space, this time with the help of the European Space Agency (ESA). On July 2014, a new mosaic SPACE2 took off with Ariane 5 towards the International Space Station (ISS). It floated aboard ISS for several months until the arrival of astronaut Samantha Cristoferetti who on arch 2015 installed it inside the Columbus Module.