Design
ART: Vice Meets Andre Saravia
by Raymond Herrera
André Saravia, aka André, aka Monsieur André, aka Monsieur A is a grafitti artist that made his mark on the walls and objects of Paris starting in the mid 80’s and finally rising to fame in that world in the late 90’s. If you’ve seen Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop film you may recognize his character Mr A, a round headed, single eyed (the other is an x), stretched out monopoly man. André is also the man behind the Le Baron night clubs, for which the idea behind the venues emerged when he was crashing in clubs after nights of working on grafitti.
Vice.com‘s series Vice Meets’s new episode takes on André Saravia’s past show at The Hole, NYC, which features a giant pink penis, which you can ride for a quarter, and a building with a glory hole on the side of it. Oliver Zahm of Purple magazine writes: “With this good-natured gesture, he reminds everyone that if he did contribute to the night scene with his clubs— which he continues to do — it is as an artist, and without ever giving up his vocation, which renders clear everything he does.” The exhibition closed August 10th but this video interview put together Vice.com will take you through the works and the artist’s ideas behind them. Had I been able to attend this opening, I would’ve showed up with all my laundry money.
Building, André Saravia