Like in so many European cities space is scarce. Generations have had to adapt rather than trashing and rebuilding...especially when a building is particularly beautiful or too difficult to smash. So making a mark here is usually ingenious and thoughtful.
It has been two years since we were last here and the streetscape has changed ever so subtly to expess new needs.
The most noticeable has been the street art that has evolved from the angry "tagging" that ravaged the innercity stone on our previous trips. The city fathers found that the best way of discouraging it was to have flying squads of removal experts taking them down the next morning. However they left what they judged to be really good. Now those artists who have persisted are doing bigger works in collectives. The
Chess HQ featured in a previous blog is a good example.
This is not just Bordeaux,
the movement is noticeable everywhere according to studies that have been done.
Anyway, my pics of some of the interesting features in the cultural quarter of the city:
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| A local artists' collective makes an impressive mark. The graffiti can boys move inside and upmarket. |
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| Graphic artists abound in this area and a popular theme of door art and stickers remains the reaction to the Charlie Massacre |
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| Don't panic, it is only an installation done two years ago at one of the city's rather drab parking buildings. |
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| Even this back street fish shop is dressed up |
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| A closed sculpture studio had this sign |
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| A mechanic's garage, well beyond its use-by date, armoured against vandals |
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| A boutique book shop has a little joke combining the names of famous people and French placenames...book and individual postcards available inside. |
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| Inside what must be one of best churches converted to a cinema in the world, Utopia, the irreverence continues |
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