Parler en continu : je prends la parole pour donner mon opinion.
Did you know?
British street artist Banksy is famous for his activism and humour. Some other famous artists invade walls worldwide: New Yorker Gaia specialises in painting murals, Parisian Invader makes tile-mosaic pieces. Have you ever seen their work? Do you admire committed graffiti artists?
Exercice 1 : Beyond appearances
1
There is a contradiction in this picture. Can you explain it?
2
Try to imagine what other objects the man could throw, and explain why.
3
Imagine what the artist would say if he removed his mask.
Imagine four other catchphrases to express the power of street art.
Wall and Piece
Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business.
You owe the companies nothing. You especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.
The people who run our cities don’t understand graffiti because they think nothing has the right to exist unless it makes a profit. The people who truly deface our neighborhoods are the companies that scrawl giant slogans across buildings and buses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff. Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether to see it or not belongs to you, it’s yours to take, rearrange and re-use.
Banksy, Wall and Piece, Century, 2006.
Exercice 3 : Can graffiti change things?
1
Select positive words in the first paragraph. What is attractive about graffiti?