Blek le Rat

French graffiti artist

Blek le Rat is Xavier Prou.[1][2] He was one of the first graffiti artists in Paris, and has been described as the "Father of stencil graffiti".[3]

Xavier Prou (Blek le Rat) at the gallery opening and book signing at the 941 Geary Gallery, San Francisco

Xavier Prou was born on 15 November 1951 in Boulogne-Billancourt in the western suburbs of Paris.

Early career and influence

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Blek began his artwork in 1981, painting stencils of rats on the walls of Parisian streets. He described the rat as "the only free animal in the city",[4] and one which "spreads the plague everywhere, just like street art".[5] His name comes from the comic book Blek le Roc, using "rat" as an anagram for "art".[3]

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References

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  1. Januszczak, Waldemar (8 June 2008). "Blek le Rat, the man who gave birth to Banksy". London: The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  2. "Blek le Rat: This is not a Banksy". London: The Independent. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Blek le Rat: biography of a street artist. Stencil Revolution". Archived from the original on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  4. Reiss, Jon. Blek le Rat Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. Swindle, Issue 11. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  5. Blek Le Rat interview Archived 2011-04-18 at the Wayback Machine. UK Street Art. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2011.