Futura's installation “Violent Treasure” is on view at the Palais de Tokyo until the end of 2020. - Palais de Tokyo

Bring art to the streets! On the occasion of its reopening and until the end of the year, the Palais de Tokyo offers an installation of Futura 2000, legendary artist of the New York graffiti scene of the 1970s and 1980s, visible to everyone by day. as at night, free of charge, on the museum windows overlooking the avenue du Président-Wilson in Paris. A pioneer of street art, Futura revolutionized the codes of American graffiti by freeing itself from the work of the letter to turn to abstraction. On the glasses of the Palais de Tokyo, the fragmented painting “Violent Treasure” becomes a monumental painting, printed as a window sticker. Meet this emblematic artist of the passage from the street to the galleries, who exhibited his work for the first time in 1981 alongside Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

We often introduce you as the “father of graffiti”…

I am not the father of graffiti, I am just a kind of student of this school!

A work of art in a museum visible to everyone from the street, is it a kind of summary of your personal artistic journey?

Absolutely ! It is an honor and it is quite wonderful to have completed this route over such a long period and to have my work exhibited in Paris, at the Palais de Tokyo. It is quite important for me of course at this point in my career. But, I also realize that it's not just about me. Yes, they celebrate me. I have a kind of double life, I am the artist but I am also able to live outside of this identity and to have a fantastic life by simply being a human being. But for my culture, for my history, it is important that the people of my community, of my movement obtain this type of recognition, especially if it comes from such an institution. It is very important to me, but not only. I am very grateful for the whole culture of which I am a part.

Can you present this work to us?

Initially, it was a painting from 1990, entitled "Violent Treasure". I particularly like this painting even if it has already been seen, it is already in thirty books. When I was asked to choose a work, I immediately thought of it. I love the colors, the composition, everything! Is there really a future for painting? I think we can say it. This work has a timeless appearance. When I look at it, I know how old it is, but it could just as well be recent or be painted in thirty years. The work has been fragmented. One of the aspects of my work in abstraction is that you can go inside. A detail or an area can live on its own. There, components of "Violent Treasure" occupy the windows of the Palais de Tokyo.

Was it difficult to work remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic?

I met the Palais de Tokyo team in January and we discussed the project. In this other world where we lived before March. The project was postponed due to the pandemic. In short, we planned this before the crisis.

Didn't have a chance to see the installation?

At night, you should be able to see the installation with the Eiffel Tower sparkling, it must be magnificent. I hope I can see that! It will be on display until September. But honestly, I don't know if I'm going to travel anytime soon, even if I will miss seeing her in person. But I have a lot of friends in Paris and I have already been sent some videos. Many have told me that I have done a wonderful job with the Iron Lady… I answer: “wonderful”!

While contemplating your work during the reopening of the Palais de Tokyo, I told myself that coronavirus and street art had one thing in common, virality…

In this particular case, I don't think so. But what you say is true. A few years ago, when this movement from New York became international, and more particularly in France, which was very important at the start, it was a kind of importation of our culture. And then it spread throughout Europe. I'm talking to you about the early 1980s. Almost forty years later, street art is everywhere. And long before this pandemic, SARS or Ebola, I always thought that graffiti was a bit like viruses ... Before talking about medical viruses, we were talking about computer viruses. Our movement has spread like a virus. But today and tomorrow, I don't want to make the link between my work and everything that's going on. I hope that with the reopening of museums, institutions and even shops, everyone will have the chance to return to a positive feeling. The fact that my work is hopefully aggressive or offensive. It's not political, it's just my art. And I don't want to use this moment for personal use. No, no, no, no, no, no, I don't want to do this! I want to talk more about racial inequality but certainly not about this virus. We have a very serious problem on the planet right now.

What did you do during confinement?

I was very busy in my studio doing graphic learning, 3D printing. All of these things that I have done in the past three months have been quite productive. I make the best use of my time. All of this made me reassess a lot of things including the fact that we screw everything up in the United States. See my life go back to normal? I want to use my time better and not be frivolous.

You were just talking about racial inequality… A movement like the one born after the death of George Floyd, does that inspire you?

I do my best all the time. I have tried to be a better person and to treat people properly all my life. What inspires me is what I see happening when I am going to be 65 years old. Even before I took a marker and wanted to become a graffiti artist, the same problem arose in my country! I grew up during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. I can't believe we are there today. What inspires me is to see that there are so many people who want change. The problem in the United States, in my country, is that so far too few people have cared about this cause. But now, thanks to George Floyd, I see people reacting all over the planet. People look at things differently, like statues in Brazil. When I was a child fifty years ago it was almost better, as bad as it was. I live in a society with these problems and if I can do something with my little audience ... I try to do my best to be aware of what is going on. It's great because I finally see these young people doing something good. These issues need to be addressed now, there is no other solution. In 1968, when Martin Luther King was killed, I attended a demonstration with my mother. It took 52 years for this to happen. What is happening is incredible, in my lifetime, I had never seen this country like this. I have never seen young people motivated like that! This year will be the year of change. I touch wood. Humanity is currently going through a trial. It's time to be more thoughtful. Now is the time to be more aware and more considerate.

Do you think that the recognition of graffiti and urban cultures in general could help the cause of black Americans?

It is not a question of knowing if that helps the black community of America, but simply of consolidating their history in this culture. Rap music as we know it, DJs on turntables, microphones, station wagon, dancers, etc. All of this culture came from New York. Black Americans have always had a head start in music: R&B, blues, jazz, etc. Hip-hop is the legacy of this contribution of blacks to this whole story!

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  • Culture
  • Paris
  • Street art
  • Graffiti