Street Art à Rennes

How does art reflect a culture?  That is the question our students in Rennes have been exploring this week.  Today, they explored the often taboo topic of graffiti.  Is graffiti vandalism or for form of expression in modern art?  Have our streets become open air museum free to the public?  This was the topic of discussion today among our students during our visit in Rennes.  After class, the students parrticipated in their daily OZ le français activity in which they asked locals their thoughts of about the abundance of street art that exists in Rennes.  The reviews were mixed.  Many locals appreciate it, while others had clear opinions that it was vandalism.  In discussions with the students, several had strong opions that street art was nothing more than vandalism.  That changed once they had the opportunity to create their own artistic expression and left their artistic mark in Rennes.

The afternoon began with a short walking tour to see a few examples of street art styles. The experience was lead by a local association, Roazhon Colors.  Their mission is to change public perceptions about graffiti and to see its artistic value in the commuinity.  Several students shared that this experience really changed their perception about graffitti and now respect it for its artistic expression. During the tour, one student made this remark: "Where I live, my perception of graffiti is that it is destructive of personal property and it just looks like scribble.  But here in Rennes, there's some really cool images and you can tell there's a lot of talent behind the behind.  It really made me rethink in opinion of graffiti.  Maybe it's not a bad thing after all."   Our guide, a local street artist himself, made this comparison for the students.  "If someone tells your their a muscian, you will ask them what kind of music they play because there are some many different styles.  It's the same with street artist.  There not just one style of street art.  Street artists specialize in a style and perfect their skills over time."  

Our students chose the expression OZ le français for their mural.  Why?  Because it is so much a part of this experience in Rennes.  OZ is a play on words from the French verb oser, meaning to dare.  OZ, of course, referring to the classic film, The Wizard of Oz.  We "dare" students to speak French because "they aren't in Kansas anymore".  We want them to embrace their linguistic and cultural experience to its fullest.  And so far, they have :)

In recent years, street art has become more and more common in France.  Since 2002, the city of Rennes has partnered with Réseau Urbain d'Expression.  This partnership has guaranteed more than 30 spaces in Rennes where street artists can perform their work.  Fans of street art will recognize many works from celebrity street artists such as War! and Invader.  The local tourism office even offers guided tours to experience these now famous murals.