As we've noted, Paris knows a little about street art and graffiti. The city also celebrates public advertising, with traditional "Colonee Morris" columns lining the city streets and opening opportunities to anyone with a poster to paste. With that tradition in mind, American artist Shepard Fairey has teamed with French counterpart Andre for a special installation at Levi's new Champs Elysee flagship store. The installation includes a large scale sculpture that forms a mock cityscape. There is also an ambitious two sided billboard featuring work by both artists.
Fairey had this to say about the collaboration, "One of the things that so cool about the Colonne Morris is that its’ originally designed for posters. In the US you don’t have spaces designed for posters. Paris has already made that kind of communication more democratic by carving out a space that’s dedicated to it. In the US, those spaces have to just be seized. The origin of the Colonne Morris was that whoever wanted to could put up a poster. It aligns nicely with the spirit of my work, and it’s a really great surface that’s singular to France."
In addition to the installation, the store will also have limited edition T-shirts and Trucker jackets from both Andre and Fairey.
Photo Credit: Aeschleah DeMartino.
