Flaneuse

I have learned a new word "flaneuse" which is the female of the French word flaneur. To flaneur was the act of strolling about ,usually a top hatted (upper class) man who  walked around 19th century Paris  aimlessly  and reported on what he saw. More than likely things connected to the arts.Women at that time were expected to have chaperones and would not stroll about or flaneur on their own.

The Contemporary Arts Museum on the Texas Christian University campus has an exhibit on modern day flaneuses, from all over the world, reporting back with works of art representing what they have witnessed on their streets. I attended the exhibit with my art appreciation special interest group.

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This large photo caught my eye. It is by Martha Cooper who is a photojournalist from Baltimore. In the 1970's and 80's she  documented the graffiti artists in NYC. At that time 80 per cent of the taggers were men. Meet Lady Pink (taken in 1982) who  represented one of the very few female taggers of her time. Lady Pink today is 53yrs old and  a respected artist,muralist and tagger.