In the same generation of street artists are two(or rather three, you'll see why in a moment!)of my other favourites, Mosko et associes and Jerome Mesnager. They also started in the 80's. Mosko et associes are actually a duo of artists, Gerard Laux and Michel Allemand--the name Mosko refers to the Moskowa neighbourhood of Paris where Gerard comes from. In the book about them called Savanes Urbaines(Editions Alternatives)it says that the artists met in the Moskowa in the 80's--Gerard had already started painting on walls there and Michel was going around Paris taking photos of street art. Gerard challenged him to leave the camera and create himself--which he did. The artists have had a long and fruitful collaboration since then and their distinctive art, featuring animals from the savannah and the jungle, full of colour and movement and fun, appears on walls all over the place, delighting people of all ages, transporting them into a powerful and imaginative animal world.
Jerome Mesnager also began in the 80's. He was the founder of a movement called Zig-Zag, which zigzagged all over Paris creating street art and graffiti of all sorts. His well-known signature figure is the 'Bonhomme Blanc' or 'Corps Blanc' .That means literally 'White Fellow' or 'White Body' but that doesn't quite have the same connotation as in French--some people call the figure, in English, White Ghost and that has more of the mysteriously tantalising yet homely spirit of the French original, I think. He's haunted Paris now for 25 years but has also had adventures in places as far-flung as New York, Colombia, Cuba, China and more.
Unlike Nemo and Mosko et associes and Miss Tic and Blek le Rat and in fact most of the other street artists, Mesnager does not use stencils, but creates his pictures by freehand, very rapid painting(in some cases, he's said, in 26 seconds!) That sensation of freedom and swift movement is very apparent in his work.
Jerome Mesnager also began in the 80's. He was the founder of a movement called Zig-Zag, which zigzagged all over Paris creating street art and graffiti of all sorts. His well-known signature figure is the 'Bonhomme Blanc' or 'Corps Blanc' .That means literally 'White Fellow' or 'White Body' but that doesn't quite have the same connotation as in French--some people call the figure, in English, White Ghost and that has more of the mysteriously tantalising yet homely spirit of the French original, I think. He's haunted Paris now for 25 years but has also had adventures in places as far-flung as New York, Colombia, Cuba, China and more.
Unlike Nemo and Mosko et associes and Miss Tic and Blek le Rat and in fact most of the other street artists, Mesnager does not use stencils, but creates his pictures by freehand, very rapid painting(in some cases, he's said, in 26 seconds!) That sensation of freedom and swift movement is very apparent in his work.
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