Hip Art: The French Touch

Urban expression is en vogue. With Hip Art the French Touch, graffiti changes its status. We are a long way from a succession of badly organized and more or less blurred images. On the contrary, Kriss Montforts photographs provide us with an artistic vision of an urban phenomenon. This book was motivated by the desire to contribute to giving its lettres de noblesse to a major art form. If weve entitled it Hip Art, it stems from a desire to pay tribute to Hip Hop, a culture which has inspired artists throughout the world. The sub-title, French Touch, is an indication that this work deals with the French style we find in our environment, a particular art in that everything is blended (lettering, figurative art, diverse interventions, collage and a mixing of material, stickers, etc) and an art specific enough to warrant an entire volume. Hip Art is a copiously documented photographic study of French style (color, lettering). It also includes interviews from representatives of the French school: Jay, Mazout, and Bab2, an extensive bibliography, and an index permitting one to identify artists and their works.