"La déferlante hip hop" at C-A-L-M / Lausanne / Switzerland
MAY 3 - JUNE 29 2025 VERNISSAGE: MAY 2 - FROM 4:00 PM
Graffiti is often misunderstood by the general public, mainly because it is confused with street art. Street art represents a framed version, controlled and assimilated by cultural policies, derived from graffiti writing, perceived as vandalism. However, the systematic characterization of graffiti as vandalism requires careful consideration. It's true that this artistic practice had its origins in illegality as early as the late 1960s in New York, pushing the boundaries of the forbidden in order to offer an alternative voice to the authorities in power. The term “street art” was popularized around 2010 thanks to the release of Banksy's film “Faites le mur!” (Exit Through the Gift Shop) and the massive dissemination of images via Instagram, launched the same year. The concept also encompasses other urban artistic productions, using a variety of techniques and broadening the traditional spectrum of signature and spray. The first graffiti on canvas illustrate the shift from a strictly urban practice to a studio approach, literally translating the aesthetics of the subways onto supports suited to the art market. By the end of the 1970s, he was exhibiting in galleries and museums in the United States and Europe.
Entitled “La déferlante hip hop”, the exhibition will feature works and archives by Lausanne's first graffiti artists (1984-1989) alongside those of New York artists who exhibited in Switzerland between 1982 and 1985. Works and archives by A-One, Daze, Crash, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Phase 2 and Rammellzee are presented. Created specifically for the exhibition, , a painting on paraglider canvas by Lausanne-based graffiti artist César Bilavie, celebrates the vivacity and resilience of this cultural movement, more than ever present today.
