Modern mosaic, micro art object

Once, climbing up the hill of the Lepic street (rue Lepic) I noticed a very nice mosaic on the wall. What was making this mosaic even more interesting, it was the fact that it had a little piece of computer (or other device) inbuilt in it. This little piece, replacing one of the mosaic's stone, is creating a nice effect of the interlacing the past with the present, tradition with modernity. This kind of mosaic art is called micro art object.

Jerome Gulon - portrait of Eugene Varlin

Jerome Gulon

The artist who stays behind this art piece is Jerome Gulon. He's a French artist, who's very unique and contemporary approach is about to aggregate mosaic, architecture, urbanism and nature. From myself I would add also: a history. On this portrait we see Eugene Varlin, (qouting Wikipedia), who was a French socialist, communard and member of the First International. He was one of the pioneers of French syndicalism. This series of Jerome Gulon mosaics is called A New Generation.

Update 18-03-2013

Another portrait found today represents madame Louise Michel. Via Wikipedia.org: "Louise Michel was a French anarchist, school teacher and medical worker. She often used the pseudonym Clemence and was also known as the red virgin of Montmartre or French grand dame of Anarchy".

Jerome Gulon - portrait of Louise Michel

Jerome Gulon - portrait of Louise Michel

Bridges have eyes...

This was the very first street-art-piece that I've ever seen in Paris. Back in October 2009, when I was simply strolling around. After all, I've made some research on the web. What I found was pretty surprising, both about "eyes" as about the author. A long full description you can find on The Independent website, so I'll just describe him shortly.

He's a young french (French-Tunisian actually) photographer, called JR (he doesn't want to reveal his real name). Quoting The Independent: "The "eyes" on the Ile Saint Louis are the product of a two-year world tour called "Women are Heroes", intended to mark the courage and suffering of women enduring poverty and violence in Brazil, India, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Kenya and Liberia."

In the end JR has commented his own work like following: 

"By looking into their eyes, you see that they are not just victims but survivors. And now here they are looking out at the people of Paris. When the tourist launches go past at night and illuminate the eyes for just a few seconds, the effect is extraordinary: much better than I could have hoped for."

Update of the post - December 2014

JR is doing well and his artistic achievements still growing. Thanks to Artsy.net we can both read a great amount of the most recent information about him as sight a lot of art pieces. Also, there's possibility of having a quick look into his studio situated somewhere in NY city (to find here).

Quoting Artsy.net: "A semi-anonymous street artist of international renown, JR plasters giant, monochrome photographs of faces in urban centers—on rooftops and walls, in church windows, and along the sides of buses. Calling the street his gallery and “using art to turn the world inside out,” JR delivers a message of social action, telling the stories of the marginalized or voiceless."

"Action in Phnom Penh" 2011- Tomio Koyama Gallery

Courtesy of Artsy.net

It has started with Montmartre...

Stairs near Place du Calvaire

While walking around Montmartre and one of it's most beautiful stairs, I just found out, completely by chance, streetart pieces made by, among others: Madame Mustache, Fred le Chevalier or Joe Rage. This kind of streetart, that belongs to street poster art, is one of the least permanent from all of them. Unfortunately, because I need to admit, it's one of my favourite (next to  stencil graffiti).

Fred le Chevalier and Joe Rage's stencil graffiti logo
"Ou voyageais tu cette nuit? - Where are you going to travel this night?"

Madame Mustache
"J'ai toujours reve d'etre un thon - I've always dreamed to be a tuna"

Fred le Chevalier