Blek le Rat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Blek le Rat
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Portrait of Blek le Rat by Martha Cooper, 2006
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| Born |
Xavier Prou
1952 (age 72–73) |
| Education | Beaux-Arts de Paris |
| Alma mater | École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-La Villette |
| Known for | Stencilling |
| Style | Street art |
| Movement | Graffiti |
Blek le Rat (born Xavier Prou, 1952) is a famous French graffiti artist. He was one of the very first graffiti artists in Paris, France. Many people call him the "Father of stencil graffiti" because of his pioneering work.
Contents
Early Life and Art Beginnings
Xavier Prou was born in 1951 in a town called Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris.
Starting Street Art
Blek le Rat started creating his art in 1981. He painted stencils of rats on the walls of Paris streets. He chose rats because he saw them as "the only free animal in the city." He also felt they "spread everywhere, just like street art." His artist name, Blek le Rat, comes from an old comic book called Blek le Roc. He used "rat" as a clever way to spell "art" backwards.
He visited New York City in 1971 and was inspired by the early graffiti art there. However, he decided to create a style that fit Paris better. This was because the buildings in Paris were very different from New York. He was also influenced by a Canadian artist named Richard Hambleton. Hambleton painted large human figures in the 1980s.
In 1985, Blek was part of the first big meeting for graffiti and urban art in Bondy, France. One of his oldest artworks still visible today is a copy of a painting by Caravaggio called Madonna di Loreta. He made this in 1991 for his future wife, Sybille. It was found in 2012 behind some posters on a house wall in Leipzig, Germany.
Working with Posters
In 1991, French police identified Blek le Rat. This happened when he was arrested while stenciling another copy of a Caravaggio painting. After this, he started using only pre-stenciled posters. This way, he could put his art on walls much faster. It also meant he would face less trouble if he was caught.
Blek le Rat has had a huge impact on today's graffiti and "guerilla-art" movements. His main goal is to raise awareness about social issues and bring art to everyone. Many of his artworks show lonely people standing up against bigger, powerful groups. In 2006, he began a series of images showing the homeless. These artworks show them standing, sitting, or lying on sidewalks. He creates these to draw attention to what he sees as a worldwide problem.
Influence on Banksy
Banksy, a famous British graffiti artist, and Blek le Rat admire each other's work. They have even talked about working together. In 2011, Blek was seen adding to a mural that Banksy had started in San Francisco.
Blek's art has greatly influenced many street artists today. Banksy himself has said: "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." This shows how much Banksy respects Blek's early work.
Art Exhibitions
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In October 2003, Blek le Rat had his first solo art show in the United Kingdom. It was held at the Leonard Street Gallery in London. In 2008, he took part in the Cans Festival in Waterloo, London. This event featured outdoor street stencil painting.
His first art show in America was at the Subliminal Projects Gallery in Los Angeles in 2008. This show included his paintings, screen prints, and 3D artworks. It also featured photographs taken by his wife, Sybille Prou.
Blek also had an exhibition in December 2009 at the Metro Gallery in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is a big center for street art. The exhibition was called "Le Ciel Est Bleu, La Vie Est Belle" (The sky is blue, life is beautiful). It showed his art from the early 1980s until then, including works on wood, canvas, and screen prints.
Even with these gallery shows, Blek le Rat prefers to display his art on the streets. He believes that an artist's true purpose is for their art to be seen by as many people as possible, not just sold or displayed in a museum.
In 2014, Blek le Rat showed three large original paintings and special prints at the Quin hotel in New York City. This was part of the hotel's Quin Arts program. He created some of these prints at the New York Academy of Art. This was during his time as an "artist in residence" at the Quin hotel, meaning he worked there for a period. The art show was called "Escaping Paris." The Quin hotel also has some of Blek le Rat's art in its permanent collection. Later, Blek le Rat created an image of Andy Warhol on the outside of the Quin hotel to celebrate their partnership.
See also
In Spanish: Blek le Rat para niños
- Banksy
- Shepard Fairey
- Tavar Zawacki
- King Robbo
- List of urban artists
- Street art
