Talk:Le Mur (urban art)

Translation of the french wiki article for Le Mur
Le M.U.R. (Moldulable, Urbain et Reactif) is an association founded in 2003 in Paris, France, whose object is to promote contemporary art, primarily street art. URBAN ART

Le M.U.R. has a wall (Le Mur) in the 11th arrondissement of the city, where a new artist exhibits his work every two-three weeks. It provides a welcome middle ground for an artist to display their work by combining the concepts of a street and a gallery. Each new work on the wall replaces the last in a cycle that embodies the ephemeral nature of street art. Since 2000, this wall has been one of the main exhibition spaces for street art in Paris.

History

First Non-Official Period (May 2000-March 2001)
In May 2000 a large blank advertising board (showing publicity on a daily basis) on the intersection of Rue Oberkampf and Rue St Maur became a regular fixture of the street art URBAN ART scene in Paris.

: and a meeting point of artists like Zevs (artist), André (artist) and Space Invader 

The 8x3 metre space originally belonged to the famous French advertising company Giraudy but was repossessed by street artists urban artists in an act of culture jamming that perverted its original consumerist goals.

Second Unofficial period (March 2001-May 2002)
In March 2001, Jean Faucheur collaborated with Hephaestus to present a series of works that he had created ten years before. He started by displaying a tri-coloured scene entitled Gran’ Popa Scalp followed by several other pieces.

Hephaestus, and Jean Faucheur got the ball moving with respective ‘exhibitions’ of work by Nomad, Vast and L’Atlas.

In 2002 dozens of artists formed and solidified into a group called Une Nuit, whose objective was cultural jamming. In essence, their goal was to replace as many of the billboards as possible with their own original pre-made works of 4x3 metres in one night. They carried out their first ‘mission’ on the 24th May 2002.

Third Unofficial period (May 2002-January 2003)
In September 2002 Le Mur acted as the backdrop for the music video of So many men by Yossou N’Dour et Pascal Obispo. They covered the wall with a large sheet of blue paper to accomplish chroma key, a method of layering two images together. After the clip had been filmed, Hephaestus produced a huge double logo of Le Mur.

Period “Reserved for Autistics” (January 2003-January 2007)
In the first few days of 2003, the double panel belonging to Giraudy was removed and a new more modern panel was put in its place. This one was had Plexiglas on the left hand side and a little panel of 200cmx150cm on its right. Next to it was a placard that read: “Due to the general opinion of the artists, this panel is specially reserved to give free reign to your imagination.” A few hours later Thom Thom twisted the meaning by changing the phrase to “Due to the general opinion of autistics.” This situation lasted until 2007. During this period Une Nuit carried out two raids on the 9th May 2003 and then the 20th May 2005. Finally in March 2003, Le M.U.R. applied for proper status as an association and proposed a “wall-gallery” to the authorities. The Committee of Art in Paris gave their consent in September 2005. First Official Period (2007-February 2009)

George Sarre, the mayor of the 11th district of Paris was present for the official inauguration of the wall in January 2007. Clear Channel, a company that specializes in outdoor advertising, installed another double panel The first poster ‘legally’ stuck onto the wall was created by Gerard Zlotykamien. The last was a poster by RERO.

Second Official Period (May 2009-present day)
The new MUR which was a shade of puce sprung to life in June 2009 with the phosphorescent poser of Pierre Huyghe, which payed hommage to Manhu a sadly deceased member of the Freres Ripolin.

The inauguration of the wall was re-inaugurated on the 28th November 2009 by the new mayor of the 11th district, Patrick Bloche. From August to December the MUR presented posters first displayed by the Foundation Cartier called “Ne dans la rue-Graffiti” (“Born in the street-Graffiti”).

In October 2010 Kitchen 93 published the first editions of Le MUR/The Wall, a book/catalogue, which showcased all the works officially ‘exhibited’ from Gerard Zlotykamien to Ella et Pitr.

Le M.U.R. in action

The ways of displaying on the MUR are endless: the most important rule is that there are no rules. The artists use the materials of their choice: aerosol, acrylic, collage, ink etc to create pieces as big or as small as they desire, although they tend to stick the size of the panel (3x8m).

There is now a huge demand for artists to display their work in the MUR, and though naturally only a select few can be chosen. The programming principally demands people from street art.

In 2010, the association handed over the reigns for one week to the students of l’Ecole Superieure d’art du Havre and l’Ecole Nationale Superieure de Paris Cergy.

The Ironwork Ateliers

The mayor of the 20th district of Paris gave the MUR access to the ironmongeries in Belleville. They share the space with two other associations. In total there are four studios. The artists who contribute to le M.U.R. are allowed access to “La Forge” to prepare their work before putting it up.

“400ML”

The MUR is also in charge of the “400ML Project”, an exhibit started at the initiative of the collector Gautier Jourdain. The title of the project is a reference to the standard size of a spray can: 400ml. In essence the spray can is the unifying object, which best symbolizes street art (even though it is not used by all of them). The idea occurred to him when Jean Faucheur gave him a customized spray can. Jourdain devoted the two years of his life to create this unique collection of four hundred spray cans produced by four hundred different artists from all over the globe. When the project was finally finished, Jourdain turned to the M.U.R. to help with its dissemination.

The exhibit was displayed for the first time in November 2008 at the Maison des Métallos in Paris. The sheer size of the crowd forced the organizers to limit access to the establishment. The “400ML Project” continues to tour France and other countries.

Artistic collaboration

Le M.U.R. offers street artists advice and chances to collaborate with the association. , This emerging culture requires a certain amount of expertise because of its constant development.

An example of teamwork is the partnership between the M.U.R. and the Fondation Cartier who staged “Né dans la rue-Graffiti” from the 7th July 2009 until the 10th January 2010. The Fondation Cartier invited the collective of artists 1980, Alëxone, Fancie, Jean Facheur, WK Interact, Honet, NP 77, Poch, RCF 1, Sun7 and Thom Thom to create these public pieces. These works were exhibited for one month then stuck on the wall on Oberkampf.

Le M.U.R. established partnerships with Le Group IGS for Urb’art and Artaq, the first international street art award ceremonies in May 2010 at Angers.

Le M.U.R. also has an understanding with the city of Orleans to transform it from an industrial wasteland to a cultural and artistic centre. --Gozor136 (talk) 11:27, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

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