C215 / Street Artist by Jerome de Gerlache on Vimeo

A portrait of C215/street artist, a short video by Jerome de Gerlache:

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…A couple of months ago I asked Christian Guémy some questions around ephemerality and preservation.

Here’s an extract from his answers…

…on ephemerality: There is nothing eternal and outdoor works disappear naturally.

…on buffing: I feel light and I am accepting it completely. People have to look quick for the pieces when done.

…on preservation by the community: Why not ?

…on being consulted about it: I think artists should not participate in the conservation process.

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In his desire to remain open to the world, Brassaï spent his life outside fashionable coteries, steering well clear of their petty concerns.

In the simplicity of graffiti he found a stunning modernity. His whole life through, Brassaï would hunt down these mysterious or playful marks on walls, on trees, even on the ground.

He was often in the habit of wandering around Paris, with a preference for working-class districts – the areas harboring the most old houses, their walls eaten away by damp – a happy hunting ground for graffiti.

In the notorious fourteenth arrondissement, on rue Medeath, rue Vandamme, and others, he would inspect long, chalky walls covered with deeply carved signs. There, he would take pictures of Aztec masks and impaled hearts. It was near Saint-Ouen that he stumbled across his Roi Soleil.

Often he would make a quick sketch of the discovery in one of the little notebooks he had for the purpose, recording the address of the building whenever he could. He preferred to wait until the lighting improved or for a certain effect before taking a photograph. Smoking cigarette after cigarette, he would wait with infinite patiente for the right moment to strike.