In the Parisian districts of Belleville and Ménilmontant, the walls tell stories, and invite us to think about the world around us. “Look, there are gradients in the colors!”
Siegfried exercises his talents as a guide for the Paris Antoinette agency. Over the course of an hour and a half, it reveals ephemeral works of urban art, created with different techniques: stencil, graffiti, collage, display. “It’s an area that is rich in cultural diversity, there is a tradition of urban art in Belleville and Ménilmontant.” And as the English street artist Bansky says, in this open-air museum “no one is reluctant to pay the entrance ticket.”
Hidden or exposed, several dozen wild works adorn the walls and sidewalks of Rue du Retrait. And for good reason: a local residents’ association, Le Ratrait, has brought together dozens of artists since 2001 who have created frescoes at its request. Like the monumental one representing a little girl perched in a tree, with blue, pink and yellow branches, it seems to meditate and come straight out of a fairy tale imagined by the artist Anis.
“She is calm. You could say that she is gaining height, she is in her world. Anis worked on the graffiti letters, and gradually found his style, half-abstract, half-figurative. With the colors done in aerosol spray and the outlines in black, exactly as we do for lettering. It’s also Hergé’s clear line, it makes it easy to read the drawing.”
Rue de la Mare, we suddenly come across Leonard… This multicolored elephant is painted with geometric shapes and a palette of bright colors, in the style of an impressionist by Long. A committed artist who reminds us here that the city is a wild jungle.
Le Long gives a dreamlike dimension to his creations, where he evokes freedom and the interaction between man and nature. “This artist, originally from Nice, walks around with his book, he comes knocking on your door, he presents his works to you and he says to you: so you have a beautiful wall, can I paint here? And it works! It’s that way he has ‘illegally authorized’ walls.”
Then the guide calls out to his walkers. “Look at this little street with its little pavilions! It’s really too cute, and the little grass growing in the middle of the cobblestones is really old Belleville.”
We also come across “the men in white”, emblematic characters of François Mesnager, one of the most influential street art artists in France. These human silhouettes with clean lines symbolize hope, freedom and the quest for identity. Here their poses seem to indicate that they are doing a trapeze. A reflection of the delicate balance between the individual and society. “So what do trapeze artists feel towards each other? Trust, and perhaps it’s also the idea of solidarity.”
Then head for the Belleville Belvedere (called Willy Ronis after the humanist photographer), with its breathtaking view of Paris, and its poetic atmosphere, distilled by the works of the artist Seth. He paints silhouettes of children crossing walls, like a wall pass. “I find that he gives children a lot of voice, and that’s important because we don’t give them enough place in our society.”
“It was very interesting, I learned a lot about street art, you can see the different ways of painting on the walls, so I really liked it.” confides a young 12-year-old visitor. Another participant explains that she even “discovered the drawings of a friend who lives in Ménilmontant.”
This street-art walk in the Parisian districts of Ménilmontant and Belleville is offered all year round. To reserve: [email protected]
