He chose the pseudonym « Blek le Rat » in reference to an Italian comic book « Blek le Roc », using « rat » as an anagram for « art ». He started stenciling the walls of Paris in 1981 – when street painting had not yet become associated with criminal activity – spray-painting small black rats running along the walls of the fourteenth Arrondissement. He then went on studying architecture, learning the impact of space and the creative possibilities of the urban environment.
When he came back to France with colourful graffiti images in mind, Blek enrolled at Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris to study etching, seriography and lithography. When Blek le Rat visited New York in 1972 this was the very first time he had ever seen graffiti in his life. He is often described as « the father of stencil graffiti ».
Hugely influential to the present generation of street artists the importance of Blek’s work should not be underestimated as this quote from Banksy suggests: ‘Every time I think I’ve painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well.Recognised as the pioneer of Paris street art, Blek le Rat (born Xavier Prou in 1952 in Paris) has been painting committed pieces in the streets since the early eighties. Thought by many to be the father of stencil graffiti as an art form Blek began his unique, complex and intelligent stencil works on the streets of Paris in the 1980’s. Some of Banksy’s prints are selling for more than an Original by Le Rat and these are going up.Ī legendary figure in street art Blek Le Rat (Xavier Prou) was born in Paris in 1951. THAT is the day that Urban Art came of age. This is the start of the prices rising for Blek Le Rat – who is Banksy’s hero (see quote below) At the IMPORTANT Auction at Bonhams 5th Feb 2008 it was assumed by many that the Banksy pictures would fly away while the other artists would struggle yet one estimated at £3-5,000- fetched over £50,000 by Nick Walker, and BLEK’s made great money too. If you are thinking you have missed the boat / should have purchased BANKSY when you could have done – TAKE NOTE!
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