Here's Looking at You, USA!
10.20.2012
Street art by Speedy Graphito
While April in Paris is the customary month for visitors, October is also huge. We like to say that we've had more visitors from L.A. (and elsewhere in the U.S.) in those two months than in the last five years we spent in Los Angeles itself.
Top question we get asked, after "How can *I* move here?" is, "Do you miss the States?"
How? It's impossible to walk more than a few blocks in Paris and not see some American iconography, or a reminder of that cultural tsunami.
Back in 1982, the incumbent French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, gave an incendiary speech in which he blasted the United States's "cultural imperialism," and advised that other cultures enact protectionist measures against the way the American cultural/consumer juggernaut "grabs consciousness, ways of thinking, ways of living."
In those days, to cite but one example, the Hollywood machine was squeezing smaller French films out of the marketplace in both countries, a cultural trend that required state intervention, Lang thought.
Interesting concept, but there was no way American culture wasn't going to overwhelm the world like a tsunami. The French Academy tried to ban English words like "weekend," and "hot dog," but what do the French now celebrate on Saturday and Sunday?--"le weekend," when they eat "le hot dog." McDonalds, Starbucks, and KFCs are ubiquitous, and American apparel stores dot the Champs Elysses like chocolate sprinkles on a cappuccino.
The list of American words is endless now, as are the American images, for better or worse, that form a great deal of the street art, and advertising, that we see daily.
So, a portfolio of Americana, as filtered through the French consciousness and reflected back. Then just for fun down below, another Paris Play Pop Quiz.
Street art by GZUP
Street art by Shadee.K
Street art by Jef Aerosol, legs by Jerome Mesnager
Paris Play Street Art Pop Quiz
Below you will find twenty more American-inspired images from Paris street art.
Look at each of the twenty images, then post a single comment listing the names of the person, character, or American cultural icon you see; i.e., #1 is ____________________, #2 is _______________________, and so on through twenty.
We suggest you enter your answers in your own word processing program, then cut and paste them into the comments section below, which sometimes eats or loses comments entered directly.
The first five people who get every one right will each get their choice of photograph from any 2012 Paris Play post, e-mailed to them in high-resolution, from which they will be free to make a single print for their own enjoyment.
Leave your e-mail when you leave your guesses, so we can contact you with your prize. We will favor longer than shorter answers (i.e. Michael Keaton as Batman), but these aren't essay questions.
If no one gets them all right, we'll take the answers with the best nineteen of twenty, or eighteen of twenty, etc. You have until midnight, Paris time, October 26 to get your answers in.
Good luck, and thanks for playing.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8. Street art by Jef Aerosol
#9. Street art by Jef Aerosol
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
#16
#17
#18
#19. Street art by Jef Aerosol
#20. Street art by Gilbert Shelton
Reader Comments (23)
Love your photos, Richard!
Fantastic collection!!!!!! Katharine Smith
In the words of Maggie Smith (Dowager Countess): "What's a week-end?"
Thank you, Rita. It's so rich an environment for art; hard to go wrong.
We are loving Jim's photos, too.
Hugs,
--RB and KK
Thank you, Katharine. Almost every street is an art gallery, too. It's another thing we love about being here.
Hugs,
--R and K
Connie:
A weak end probably gets that way because a dowager countess won't exercise.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Hugs,
--R and K
#1 Jimi Hendrix
#2 Keith Harring
#3 William S. Burroughs
#4 Popeye + female body builder
#5 Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre
#6 Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry
#7 Betty Boop + Marilyn Monroe
#8 Bob Dylan
#9 Jim Morrison
#10 Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali
#11 Charles Manson
#12 Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future
#13 Mumia Abu-Jamal
#14 Perry Mason
#15 Oscar the Grouch
#16 Sarah Palin (at an orgy)
#17 Ray Charles
#18 Leonard Nimoy as Spock
#19 Elvis Presley
#20 No idea
This was a fun challenge. Thanks!
K & R,
The multitude of iconic American images you provided is overwhelming. At least there is a feeling of synthesizing the tradition of street art with these icons. However, my body language is honestly cringing. I hope mom and I get out there before the rich art and literary culture there becomes too diluted.
A similar fate has happened to one of my favorite local getaways. I began going to Sedona 20 years ago, while it was still quite pristine. The Indians only went there for regeneration and would not live on this sacred land. I knew that wouldn't last. So I made sure to get there 2-3 times per year since. Of course, it's now proliferated with huge hotel chains, standard food and coffee franchises, etc.
It's only an hour flight to Phoenix and a 2 hour scenic drive to Sedona. It's a getaway that always renews me, as long as I get out before the tourists, pink jeep and helicopter tours.
I'm glad I made the most of it when I did.
Love,
Marguerite
Krazy Kat – 20
Elvis - 19
Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock from Star Trek - 18
Sarah Palin - 16
Frog from Sesame Street -15
Raymond Burr as Perry Mason - 14
Charles Manson - 11
Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X
Clint Eastwood - 6
Popeye - 4
William S. Burroughs - 3
Marian Anderson - 1
1 Jimi
2 Keith Haring
3 Wm Burroughs
4 Popeye female bodybuilder
5 Texas Chainsaw Massacre
6 Clint/Dirty Harry
7 Betty Boop
8 Dylan
9 Jim Morrison
10 Ali and Malcolm X
11 Charles Manson
12 Michael J Fox
13 Mumia Abu Jamal
14 Perry Mason
15 Oscar
16 Palin
17 Ray
18 Nimoy/Spock
19 Elvis
20 Garfield
1) Jimi Hendrix
2) Keith Haring
3) Not Humphrey Bogart, not a mobster, but who?
4) Popeye on Mrs./Miss Universe’s body
5) Sylvester Stallone?
6) Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry
7) Betty Boop on Marilyn Monroe’s body Booboopeedoo!
8) Bob Dylan
9) Jim Morrison?
10) Muhammad Ali with Stokely Carmichael?
11) Frank Zappa
12) Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future
13) Mumia Abu-Jamal (famous convict…thanks for the graffiti clue!)
14) Raymond Burr playing Perry Mason
15) Oscar the Grouch in his Sesame Street Garbage Can
16) Sarah Palin w/gay Americans
17) Louis Armstrong?
18) Leonard Nimoy as Star Trek’s Spock
19) A very young Elvis A. Presley
20) Either a stylized Garfield or your very own American chat Marley?!
I'm with Bayu on 1-19, and with Bruce Moody on Krazy Kat. (Although #9, to be frank, is not a great Jim Morrison. Looks almost like VAN Morrison.)
But everything's easier when someone else does the hard work for you!
Anna!
That's what young-uns are for, to do the heavy lifting while we sit under the shade tree we've earned.
Of course, young-uns aren't always right, so watch out for falling fruit.
Not to say she's not, either, so watch out for overripe metaphors.
Hugs,
--RB and KK
Same as Bayu except the last one is Gilbert Shelton's version of Krazy Kat. Underground comic artist whose greatest comic was in the early 60's called Wonder Warthog. A superhero hog who burst from the chest of a normal guy to snarf up baddies. I think it was originally a parody of the razorback Hog at the University of Arkansas. How'd I do?
Robert,
You did great, but I cannot tell who won until Saturday.
Thank you for Paris playing!
Kaaren & Richard
Bayu and Bruce, Suki and Carl,
Thank you for submitting! We'll let you know who won on Saturday, Oct. 27.
Playfully,
Kaaren & Richard
Dear Marguerite,
I was afraid of this: the bits of commercial Americana that are sprinkled around Paris do not obstruct its monumental beauty. When you zoom in on these images with a very good camera, it can be misleading. I think the mix of pop culture images among all the ancient splendor of this city just adds to it. Paris is like a goddess with such a magnificent frame and bone structure, it would be almost impossible to ruin her. She will be here in all her beauty to welcome you and your mother next year.
I know Sedona well. Our family has spent a lot of time there. It is gorgeous land, isn't it? I'm glad you were able to spend time there, too.
Much love,
Kaaren & Richard
K & R,
Great fun to look at these photos.
And, last photo, prise sur les Grands boulevards, of the first serie:
L'homme en velib, ses premiers cheveux blancs, lunettes de soleil, le sac à dos rose de sa fille sur le dos, pantalon étroit de costume gris sur boots à boucles, sa fille assise sur le guidon, les pieds dans le panier du vélo...
Qu'est-ce qu'un vrai bobo parisien de 40 ans en 2012 ? C'est lui.
(Le M de Mac Do n'existe plus en sa présence).
Amicalement,
patricia
Hi Patricia,
Thank you!
We love your blog about your dog, Raga's adventures in Paris. For our readers, it is: <www.ragaeditions.com>
And for our readers who don't speak French, I'll translate your message:
"And, last photo, taken on the Grands Boulevards, of the first series:
The man on his bicycle, his first white hair, sunglasses, pink backpack on the girl's back, tight suit pants, gray boots with buckles, his
daughter sitting on the handlebars, feet in the bike basket ...
What is a true Parisian bobo of 40 years old in 2012? It is he.
(The M of McDo no longer exists in his presence)."
What Patricia says is true: even the tackiest symbol of American commercialism fades into the background when Parisian elegance appears. Of course, we know that there is plenty of American-style elegance too, but this post is not about that.
Love,
Kaaren (& Richard)
Congratulations to the five winners of the Paris Play photo contest. Each of you (Bayu, you helped almost EVERYBODY, we think) did a stupendous job, but we are stunned that no one Googled Gilbert Shelton and got the correct answer to photo #20, which was Shelton's inimitable underground comix character, Fat Freddy's Cat.
Fat Freddy's Cat originally starred in The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comix. Here is a link to the cat in one of his guises, on some blotter acid: <http://www.blotterart.net/gallery/LSD/Fat_Freddy_s_Cat>. Shelton, whom Richard last saw here in 1985 (lost touch, sorry) allegedly still lives in Paris, and this photo was taken from the storefront of a Paris bookshop.
So, each winner is entitled to a high-resolution copy of any photograph that's run as a Paris Play illustration this year. You pick. We will send you the copy (probably a 10MB or so file) and you may have a print made for your own gratification, or use it as your desktop wallpaper, or whatever. You are on your best behavior to only make one copy (it's copyright, and we will come after you with very expensive lawyers and international arms dealers and all of that if you misbehave) for your personal use.
Thank you for playing, oh winners, who are:
Bayu LaPrade, 19 correct
Carl Haber, 19 correct
Anna Waterhouse, 19 correct
Robert Ward, 19 correct
Suki Edwards, 14 correct