Street Art Recognized in France

Okay, I am just cutting and pasting this short blurb in today's New York Times. Recognition for the street artists at last!

March 30, 2009
Arts, Briefly
Toasting Graffiti Artists
Compiled by LARRY ROHTER
It’s not quite the same as having one of your paintings in the Louvre, but a French exhibition, above, is enhancing the international recognition of graffiti artists. Among those honored in the show, called “Tag,” at the Grand Palais in Paris, are four New York pioneers who have been active since the 1970s: Toxic, Quik, Seen and Rammellzee, the last of whom showed up for an opening event in a Darth Vader-style mask. The exhibition, which runs through April 26, was commissioned and organized by Alain-Dominique Gallizia, a French architect who became interested in graffiti as an art form when he encountered examples of it at his work sites. Some 150 graffiti artists prepared works for display in the show; most are from the United States or France, but countries including Australia, Brazil, Chile and Japan are also represented.