For several trips, spacemen have been everywhere in Paris. You only have to look up to see them. All around town, above the beautiful facades of the houses and perfectly kept storefronts, spacemen abound.
They are landing – or taking off – as the case may be. Who knows? But, they are everywhere. Even imitation spacemen have been clinging to life and appearing around the city. These spacemen are not real, I guess. Rather, they are created in tiles that are affixed to the sides of buildings. They look right out of a video game from the 1980s when video games first featured aliens. And, these alien spacemen are in a rainbow of colors. Some subdued, some fantastic. No two appear to be the same.
Spaceman on the corner wall.
Mystery of the Spacemen
For quite some time, the spacemen have been a mystery to me. Finally, when perusing a modern art catalog from the auction house, Tajan, the mystery was revealed.
Invader (born 1969), the artist who creates these unique pieces, has multiple examples for sale in the Tajan November 6, 2019 sale. And, they are not inexpensive. The auction also features a couple of books. One has a micro mosaic cover! It is called, in my translation, “The Invasion of Paris (invasion Guide 01) 2003-2005”. Who knew???
The spacemen are amusing and fun to search for all around Paris. It can add a little hide and seek to your walks. Invader has expanded beyond Paris. Look in New York City, Miami, Marrakech, Tokyo, Seoul, Varanasi, Mumbai, all over Europe and Invader is heading to the farthest outposts. Have you seen any spacemen?
Take a look at the photos to see the real Invader work, as well as some imitations.
Look around the left hand corner….
Tajan Auction of a Few of Invader’s Art
Here is the Tajan auction of Street Art if you would like to take a look at a few of Invader’s works and see the books.
ART URBAIN (1939)
Nov 06 2019 7:00 PM
Espace Tajan
37 rue des Mathurins 75008 Paris
And, if you are really up for more, here is Invader’s website: https://www.space-invaders.com/home/
What a cool entry on Paris w/ Scott! Love “Mystery Solved” Thank you!
True confession – I would love to have one of these spacemen hanging on my wall at home!!!