January 19, 2007

{     Blek Le Rat -Stencil Pioneer dvd- UPDATE     }    

Apologies for temporarily pushing down the great 'I Want your Skull', but there is an interesting update about our friend Blek Le Rat.

King Adz, the realized of the dvd, contacted me letting me know that he is already working on a book about Blek, due to be published next year. This is pretty much great news since the literature on this artist until now was pretty much zero and only now, after his first solo show last year in London, he seems to be getting the due exposure. He also directed me to the website of the production company 100 Proof, which produced the DVD and where you can read Truth, an online a PDF zine all about Urban Culture. Truth deserves a post for itself you will get to read later, but you can get a head start and start browsing right now: it's definitely worth your time. And now back to the original article.

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You likely have never heard of him before: the dude is not exactly new on the scene but he has been long overshaded by younger artists. If you add that one of this websites is a .TK kinda deal and the other is also hosted for free on some ad rid space, you are allowed to wonder if Blek Le Rat really wants to be famous. Since in 1992 he was harshly punished for vandalism, maybe you get why remaing in the shade works for him. But that won't really be easy from now on...

Blek Le Rat is by many considered the father of urban stenciling and the first real artist in this field. He started his activity as an underground stencil artist in 1981, in Paris, and he definitely has produced some of the best stencils ever: caustic and meaningful, he often toyed with politics and made great fun of the big spheres of power.

If this was not enough, after being caught in 1992, in order to avoid himseld further heavy fines, he invented a way to damage less the public areas he was going to use as canvas. Guess what? Paste-ups were born! Is he a giant, a genious or what?

It does not matter if Banksy is in your yay! or nay list, but the fact that he praises Blek Le Rat with these words:

"Every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well. Only 20 years earlier..."

Now, I am not sure how I feel about a DVD: I think a book would have probably served Blek Le Rat better, but anyway 100 Proof Films has just relased this documentary about him, which is now distributed by the German editor Die Gestalten Verlag.

» text=Blek Le Rat site number 1
» Blek Le Rat site number 2
» Get the DVD...(online trailer available)
» 100 Proof
» Truth