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Blek le Rat (; born Xavier Prou, 1952) is a French
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
artist. He was one of the first graffiti artists in Paris, and has been described as the "Father of stencil graffiti".


Early life

Xavier Prou was born on 15 November 1951 in
Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...
in the western suburbs of Paris.


Early career and influence

Blek began his artwork in 1981, painting stencils of rats on the walls of Paris streets. He described the rat as "the only free animal in the city",Reiss, Jon
Blek le Rat
. ''
Swindle A swindle is a kind of fraud or confidence trick. Swindle may also refer to: People * Swindle (surname) Places * Swindle Island, British Columbia, Canada * 8690 Swindle, an asteroid Films * ''Il bidone'' (English titles ''The Swindle'' or ' ...
'', Issue 11. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
and one which "spreads the plague everywhere, just like street art".Blek Le Rat interview
. UK Street Art. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
His name originates from the
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
'' Blek le Roc'', using "rat" as an
anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...
for "art". Initially influenced by the early graffiti-art of New York City after a visit in 1971, he chose a style which he felt better suited Paris, due to the differing architecture of the two cities. He also recognised the influence of Canadian artist Richard Hambleton, who painted large-scale human figures in the 1980s. In 1985, he was on the first meeting of the graffiti and urban art movement in Bondy (France), on the VLP's . Blek's oldest preserved street art graffito, a 1991 replica of
Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
's Madonna di Loreta, which he dedicated to his future wife Sybille, was rediscovered behind posters on a house wall in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, Germany, in 2012. French authorities identified Blek in 1991 when he was arrested while stencilling a replica of Caravaggio's '' Madonna and Child'', with the connection to Blek and his artwork being made by police. From that point on, he has worked exclusively with pre-stenciled posters, citing the speedier application of the medium to walls, as well as lessened punishment should he be caught in the act. He has had a great influence on graffiti-art and " guerilla-art" movements, the main motivation of his work being social consciousness and the desire to bring art to the people. Many of his pieces are pictorials of solitary individuals in opposition to larger, oppressive groups. In 2006 he began his series of images representing
the homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...
, which depict them standing, sitting, or lying on sidewalks, in attempts to bring attention to what he views as a global problem.


Influence on and opinion of Banksy

British graffiti artist Banksy and Blek have expressed mutual desire for collaboration; in 2011, Blek was seen adding to a mural begun the previous year by Banksy in the Mission District, San Francisco. Blek's work is hugely influential to the present generation of street artists, as alluded to by Banksy, stating: "Every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well. Only twenty years earlier".


Exhibitions

In October 2003, Blek le Rat had his first solo U.K. exhibition in London at the Leonard Street Gallery. He participated in the Cans Festival in 2008, which featured outdoor street stencil painting in
Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...
, London. His American gallery debut took place at Subliminal Projects Gallery in Los Angeles in 2008. It included paintings, silkscreen, and three-dimensional artwork, as well as photography from his wife, Sybille Prou. Blek also had an exhibition in December 2009 at the Metro Gallery in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, a centre of street art in Australia. The exhibition entitled "Le Ciel Est Bleu, La Vie Est Belle" (The sky is blue, life is beautiful), featured wooden panels, canvas, screen-print, and photographs, tracing the artist's oeuvre from the early 1980s to the present. Blek le Rat has nonetheless expressed preference for the streets over galleries, stating the integrity of an artist is to be seen by as many people as possible, not being sold or recognized in a museum. In 2014, Blek le Rat exhibited 3 large-scale original paintings and an edition of 25 unique monotypes with lithography in a setting that bridges these traditional spaces—the Quin hotel in New York City—as part of the hotel's Quin Arts program. The artist created the lithographs at the New York Academy of Art during his tenure as artist in residence at the Quin hotel. Collectively entitled "Escaping Paris," the exhibit was curated by DK Johnston of The Arts Fund. The Quin's permanent collection also includes Blek le Rat's "Love America" on the 14th floor and loaned works the "Great Wedding" on the second floor, "What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen" in the boardroom, and "Tango" in the lobby. Most recently, Blek le Rat commemorated this collaboration on the Quin's façade with an image of Andy Warhol.


See also

* Banksy * Shepard Fairey *
Tavar Zawacki Tavar Zawacki formerly known as 'ABOVE' (born 1981) is an American abstract artist living and working in Lisbon, Portugal. For twenty years (1996–2016) Tavar Zawacki created and signed all of his artworks with his street artist pseudonym, 'AB ...
*
King Robbo King Robbo (born John Robertson, 23 October 1969 – 31 July 2014) was an English underground graffiti artist. His feud with the artist Banksy was the subject of a Channel 4 television documentary called ''Graffiti Wars'', first shown in A ...
*
List of urban artists A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...


References


Further reading

* ''Stencil Graffiti'' by Tristan Manco. Thames & Hudson (2002). * ''Blek le Rat – Getting Through the Walls'' by Sybille Prou and King Adz. Thames & Hudson (2008). * ''Blek le Rat: 30 Year Anniversary Retrospective''. Art Publishing Limited. (2011).


External links

*
2013 Interview, ''Boygirl Magazine''



Grafiteros – ElPais.com

Fecal Face interview (04/2008)

Canned Goods – Blek Le Rat Interview (September '08)

"Blek Le Rat" The 30 Year Anniversary Retrospective (2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blek Le Rat French graffiti artists Living people 1952 births Pseudonymous artists Artists from Paris