Here today, gone a week from Saturday
There’s a black wall on Rue Oberkampf in Paris. It’s called Le Mur — the wall. We arrived on Saturday when its transformation had begun. There was an artist known as Snake, a ladder, some cans of paint, a few folks watching.
He was already underway when we arrived for a street art tour. We’ve walked through street art in several cities now, which has turned disgust to curiosity and often unfolded beauty where there was blight: Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Lisbon. Now Paris. I don’t love it all, but I love the treasures and the insights that emerge.
At 2:00 we came back for lunch…
At 4:00 we left, but Snake kept on. At 5:00 he finished, and a friend kindly sent a final photo.
The wall changes 24 times a year as street artists whose passion is to transform walls illegally paint legally for a day, in full view. Almost — anonymity is preserved.
The art won’t last. A week from Saturday another artist will arrive and paint it over. That’s the nature of painting in the street.
