Blek le Rat was born Xavier Prou in Paris in 1952.
He is considered by many the godfather of stencil graffiti art. He began his artwork in 1981, painting stencils of rats on the street walls of Paris, describing the rat as ‘the only free animal in the city,’ and one which ‘spreads the plague everywhere, just like street art.’ His name originates from a childhood cartoon ‘Blek le Roc,’ using ‘rat’ as an anagram for ‘art.’
Initially influenced by the early graffiti art of New York City after a visit in 1971, he chose a style which he felt better suited Paris, due to the differing architecture of the two cities. He also stated the influence of New York’s Richard Hamilton, who painted large-scale human figures in the 1980s. He is credited with being the inventor of the life-sized stencil, as well as the first to transform stencil from basic lettering into pictoral art.
Blek’s identity was revealed to French authorities in 1991 when he was arrested while stencilling a replica of Caravaggio’s ‘Madonna and Child.’ From that point on, he has worked exclusively with pre-stenciled posters, citing the speedier application of the medium to walls, as well as lessened punishment should he be caught in the act.
He has had a great influence on today’s graffiti art and ‘guerilla art’ movements, the main motivation of his work being social consciousness and the desire to bring art to the people. Many of his pieces are pictorials of solitary individuals in opposition to larger, oppressive groups. He has also been noted for his series of images representing the homeless, begun in 2006, which depict them standing, sitting or laying on sidewalks, in attempts to bring attention to what he views as a global problem.
British graffiti artist Banksy has acknowledged Blek’s influence stating ‘every time I think I’ve painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well, only twenty years earlier.’ The two have expressed mutual desire for collaboration; in 2011, Blek was seen adding to a mural begun the previous year by Banksy in the Mission District, San Francisco.
Blek initially disagreed with those who claim Banksy has copied his work: ‘People say he copies me, but I don’t think so. I’m the old man, he’s the new kid, and if I’m an inspiration to an artist that good, I love it. I feel what he is doing in London is similar to the rock movement in the Sixties.’ However, more recently in the documentary ‘Graffiti Wars,’ Blek took a different tone, stating ‘When I see Banksy making a man with a child or Banksy making rats, of course I see immediately where he takes the idea. I do feel angry. When you’re an artist you use your own techniques. It’s difficult to find a technique and style in art so when you have a style and you see someone else is taking it and reproducing it, you don’t like that. I’m not sure about his integrity. Maybe he has to show his face now and show what kind of guy he is.’
His work has shown in several prominent venues, but Blek le Rat has nonetheless expressed preference for the streets over galleries, stating the integrity of an artist is to be seen by as many people as possible, not being sold or recognized in a museum.
The Daily Omnivore 
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