STREET ARTISTS IN EUROPE - Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

ANNEX 2 – SECTION B:
WHAT IS A STREET ARTIST IN EUROPE?
101
Street Artists in Europe
Contribution by Anne-Karine Granger – January 2007 – for the study on ‘Street Artists in
Europe’
1. Background
Street arts, unruly members of the live performance family, have evolved from a unique
combination of geographical, historical and cultural factors, rooted in Europe’s cultural heritage.
‘Religious or secular, political or hedonistic, light-hearted or intellectual, these experiences in
seeing and living have sometimes crystallised into knowledge and rules of varying degrees of
strictness 110 .’
Like the special place that theatre occupies in the collective memory, street arts cannot be
summed up in purely artistic terms. Looking at their position in society, historical movements,
cultural discourse and the field of academic research, street arts are a model of astonishing
diversity whose complexity derives from its apparent contradictions. They are now trying to
establish a place for themselves in the history of live performance, in which every European
country has created cultural emblems, choosing a period and a genre that it regards as classic.
Although theatre is a strong influence, it is not the only one.
We know that towns have been an integral part of the work of painters, novelists and poets since
the end of the 14th century. Towns are the physical and organic, historical and social fabric for
their creation. ‘Languages are intermingled in the urban environment and versatile performers,
orators and pyrotechnists, operators and technicians go along with that. For them, the town is a
site on which to build works in progress and a society to be challenged by intentional acts. That
is why they explore all its dimensions, from the historic centre to the outer industrial areas, from
basements to above the rooftops’ 111 .
So the connection between street arts and the evolution of towns goes beyond the strict confines
of art. How can we identify landmarks that help integrate them into the public imagination?
How can we define their collective identity? National social and political culture is partly
reflected in the hierarchy of authority and prestige in the theatrical world. Street arts, often seen
as a popular art form, have come to a crucial point in their historical development: at the risk of
losing their spontaneity, they are now being officially recognised ‘ 112 .
The reason many of the performers talk about the legacy of the 1970s is that that was when they
themselves became involved in the movement. The sociologist Philippe Chaudoir stresses the
unique nature of this movement, which is influenced by the past but deeply rooted in its time:
‘… [this] apparent resurgence of festive events, which derive from tradition but take more or
less new forms, is basically part of an urban, social and political crisis, by which they are largely
inspired … [These] new organisers, new shows, new events, engage with their period … the
fundamental aim [of this engagement] being to give new meaning to the idea of urban activity,
urban life 113 .’
110
Pradier, Jean-Marie, ‘Théâtre occidental, théâtre et société’, Encyclopédia Universalis 2006.
111
Wallon, Emmanuel, senior lecturer at Paris-X-Nanterre University, ‘Arts de la rue’, article in Encyclopédia
Universalis 2007.
112
Ibid.
113
Chaudoir, Philippe, Discours et figures de l’espace public à travers les arts de la rue, Editions op. cit.
PE 375.307