The mystical street artist, who has attracted much attention and controversy in recent years, has been repeatedly asked for fines and three months in prison. This time, let's see how he turned those dream cities into younger labels, adhered to his own style, and turned graffiti into a beautified city that made people bright and even thought-provoking?
I have to say that many people have always had a feeling for Paris, feelings from movies, from imagination, from the panic of real life gradually becoming flat, imagining that the city seems to be related to romance. Perhaps, if you look at these two cities from another angle, it can be interesting, young and lively? Because you can stumble upon a cat in this city, which is exactly the work of a street artist, who carries his own label, carries the cat's impression of his own city, and goes to more places.
Many people may also have some negative impression of graffiti, which is a manifestation of rebellion. There may also be some unruly and villainous images in the mind, as if the graffiti people will put up their middle fingers in real life, destroy the beauty of the city, and pick up a spray paint in any building.
Graffiti, there is indeed an attitude towards the rules of confrontation. Once a doodle, a group of young people in the night, secretly finished and disappeared immediately, in order to avoid the eyes of surveillance, (Ps. Graffiti without the permission of the facility owner is generally illegal or criminal). Graffiti from the former branch of street culture, now gradually began to contribute to urban art, gradually artistic, beautifying the ruins and broken walls, making imaginative creations for bland buildings, and adding color and vitality to the city.
Paris - Monsieur Chat
Monsieur Chat — Chinese "Mr. Cat"
There is a street artist from France, Thomas Vuille, who was inspired by a little girl who painted a flower cat at a painting workshop in 1997, and decided to paint his own flower cat on the roof and chimney.
The first "Mr. Cat" was parachuted into the French city of Orléans in 1997, and then when he went to every city, he brought his "Mr. Cat" graffiti, Tours, Nantes, Rennes... Later, the city of Paris became his main canvas.
Gradually, Mr. Cat traveled the world with his cat, including Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, the Balkans, Ukraine, Australia, the United States and China.
How did he integrate Mr. Cat into Paris, then gradually let everyone notice his creations, and later travel all over the world?
Mr. Cat in Paris
Mr. Cat and the Tower appear on the same drawing board
Châtelet metro station in Paris
In the Paris metro station, and the French proverb: "Freedom, equality, fraternity"
In paris metro stations, "it's free like graffiti"
Paris Colon Fabien metro station
Paris bus station
How does Thoma Vuille explain his Mr. Cat?
Thoma Vuille: "It's a symbol, a naivety with semiotics. ”
Thoma Vuille: "My cat means human." In fact, these cats are always changing, just a cat has no soul. Once we add something, such as we draw a bird here, the cat's graphic base is a circle, and the bird is a spiral shape, and the bird image carries something, so we can deduce something interesting, as if yin and yang can complement each other and come alive. Similarly, for example, there are fish, we often see cats and fish painted together, and the cat holding the fish and the fish in the cat's stomach can be inferred from different meanings. ”
Mr. Cat will always appear on the rooftops of Paris
Why does Mr. Cat often appear on high places?
Thoma Vuille: "I came from the mountains, and when I arrived in Paris, I found that there were only streets full of shuttles, and we always walked in the narrow passages. In fact, the city of Paris is not very large, sometimes I will climb to the roof, standing on that high point to see the scene reminds me of the mountains, and find the feeling of being in the countryside. So I often paint my cat on the roof and put it in the sky, and it becomes like a bird. On the other hand, this is actually a protection for it, because it will be harder to remove. So I don't think it's just a condescending perspective, but I can say that it's a quiet loner hidden in the city. ”
Mr. Cat curtain at the BHV shop
Why is it a yellow cat?
Thoma Vuille: "Actually, this is also an accident, since I was a student, when many of our students shared an old villa and we needed to renovate it, so one of my friends chose yellow during the renovation because it was a positive color that was pleasing to the spirits. So later I used this color in my creation. ”
Thoma Vuille: "On the other hand, in Western culture, yellow is an abandoned color, because in the pre-Medieval tradition in France, yellow was only used in the condition that painters lacked golden powder, and we used yellow instead of gold leaf. In religion, yellow symbolizes money, something that corrupts the soul, and therefore becomes an abandoned color because of its negative connotations in various revolutions and the changing times. In terms of the human spirit, I think yellow is positive, but in other cases it is the opposite. I thought it was very interesting, so I kept using this "abandoned color", which was actually just a very simple color for me. ”
In 2004, he also painted the world's largest "Mr. Cat" in the square in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
This artist, with this cat, travels the world.
Mr. Cat in Cuba
Mr. Cat is at Fragnole's house
Mr. Cat at the soccer field
Mr. Cat is in China
Mr. Cat is in Japan
Mr. Cat in Tokyo
No man's land of the old French Embassy in Tokyo
Mr. Cat in Vietnam
Mr. Cat in Germany
Frankfurt
Berlin
Mr. Cat in Tangier, Morocco
Mr. Cat in São Paulo, Brazil
Mr. Cat in Korea
Next to the Lock Museum (쇳대박물관).
<h3>Seogang-don district</h3>
Han River Bridge
Mr. Cat in Vejer, Spain
Mr. Cat in Senegal
Sanit Louis is a reception at the door of a homestay villa
Mr. Cat's shelf artwork
Movie about Mr. Cat
Cats on the Walls of Paris and Chats perchés are documentaries by Chris Marker in 2001. The film records the entire social situation in Paris at that time in 85 minutes. The whole of Paris is displayed in a rather scattered way. Borrowing the image of Mr. Cat, the director has a metaphorical sustenance.
"A cat even changed humans" – "The Cat on the Wall of Paris"
In the film, a smiling yellow cat appears on the walls of many Parisians, inadvertently appears in different places and occasions, appears flash mobs, subway bands, and constantly inserts into the daily life of Parisian citizens. The director follows in its footsteps, through this unique graffiti cat, narrating a series of events such as the French election campaign and anti-war demonstrations in recent years, glimpses the strong antipathy to the war, and promotes the concept of "freedom" and "peace".
Do you now feel like me that Mr. Monsieur Chat Cat's smile is like mona Lisa's smile, full of meaning?
Hiding a little rebellion, some free will, some hope for a peaceful life, with infinite hope and optimism for the future, and the joy of the long journey, well... It's also a bit playful...