graffiti vu à la rue des frigos
Graffiti has been around for a very long time. It can be seen everywhere. Why would I be surprised then and disappointed when I arrived in Paris in early 2000 and, while taking the train to the Gare de Nord from the airport, feeling cheated as mile after mile passed, seeing walls and poles and bridges dressed with graffiti?
The City of Light was not immune to defacement.
Graffiti is beautiful. On an out-of-the-way street in the 13ème arrondissement in Paris is La Maison des Frigos, a restaurant in a former artist squat. Here, graffiti is beautiful. The building is covered. Walls have no free space. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)
I learned about the graffiti from an article in The Hip Paris Blog, which dates from December, 2013 so meals might be served. It was closed when I visited, possibly for the August vacation. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)
Another favorite source for places to visit in Paris is Tout Paris en Vidéo. It offers a short film of street art at Frigos.
The address is 19 Rue des Frigos, Paris 75013.
un Voyageur 
One person’s defacement is another person’s art. And vice versa. Reminds me of the bus shelters in Portland that have an etched graffiti-like design all over, to discourage graffiti. A pre-emptive strike. Not that the Maison des Frigos did that, their effort was probably more artistically driven. Did you notice any graffiti on top of the ‘art’ graffiti? I’m curious how the people who do graffiti would respond.
Interesting too that the breasts on the naked woman are on the small side. Somehow that seems very French. Maybe it’s true that the French prefer amplitude in fesses, not so much in seins.
Very cool. I have seen some truly artistic graffiti in Lausanne,Switzerland (a place where there’s very little graffiti). Then I saw some in Spain that were plain ugly.
Hey, I noticed Japanese writing under La Maison Des Frigos. Probably for the Japanese tourists.
Most of the graffiti I see are squiggles, defacements, and clearly there for marking, much like what dogs do, when they lift their legs on walks. The little restaurant La Maison des Frigos is owned by a woman named Mariko, Osaka-born.