Daily Newspaper Libération Invaded by Space Invaders
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Invader, the renowned French street artist known for his pixelated mosaics, had once taken his art to new heights by invading the pages of the daily newspaper Libération. This unique project merged street art with print media, offering readers an unexpected and surprising artistic experience. Let us explore the Invasion of the daily newspaper Libération, from the origin to the final product.
What is Libération Newspaper
Libération, popularly known as Libé, is a daily newspaper in France. It was founded in Paris in 1973 amidst the protest movements, and it positioned itself as a voice for leftist and countercultural movements happening at the time.
Over the decades, Libération has carved out a reputation for its bold, investigative reporting and willingness to tackle controversial issues. The newspaper is also recognized for its distinctive design and layout, which often incorporates striking visuals and creative typography. With a focus on politics, culture, and social affairs, Libération continues to engage and provoke thought among its readership, maintaining its status as a significant player in the French media landscape.
The Fictitious Origin
According to Invader, the Invasion of Libération happened like this: “After the popular success of the Parisian exhibition ‘1000’, a space virus is launched against the servers of French newspaper Liberation on June 10th 2011. The results are visible on the next day edition where all the ‘a’s of the titles and subtitles have been replaced with a space invaders symbol. Invasion successful!”
Quoted from Libération, “Make ‘A’ says Invader, and there he is, sneaking in, removing the ‘a’s from your mouth, replacing them with his mascot with a video game and kidnapping your reporters.”
The Actual Origin
Although the story above sounds incredible, Libération, in fact, volunteered for this invasion.
This idea, in actuality, emerged from a phone call. Invader’s press officer, Cecilia Michaud, suggested that either Libération do a portrait of Invader or let him invade the newspaper. In the end the latter was chosen. A few weeks passed, and Invader and his designer had created a new typography in thirteen versions, matching the newspaper's layout. The new "a", which replaced the original a’s on the newspaper, was delivered on Thursday.
The Invaded Newspaper
In the morning of the 11th of June, when people picked up that day’s Libération newspaper publication, they found the “a”s a little peculiar. A small Space Invader was intruding on the bottom part of every single “a”. Soon, everyone in Paris started to spread the bizarre news that the artist Invader, famous for his pixelated style mosaics worldwide, invaded the territory of Libé.
The Invasion of the Libération lasted two days, from the 11th to the 12th of June, turning every single “a” in the newspaper into an Invader. Something to note is that “A” and “a” are different in shape, and thus there is a different Invader with “A” as the dropcaps. This significant change in the font draws readers' attention and sets the tone for the rest of the newspaper. This bold move challenged the traditional aesthetics of newspaper design, making a powerful statement about the potential for art to innovate within established media formats.
According to Libération, the image on the front page of the magazine was photographed with a Space Invader above a door on rue Béranger. But after extensive research, the only Invader resembling the image with the same location and color scheme is PA_955, placed on 24/04/2011, matching the date of publish of the newspaper 2 months later.
PA_955
10 Rue Béranger, 75003 Paris, France
Further Invasion
The Invasion of Libération didn't end there, as Invader took the invasion to an entirely new level.
When Invader was invited to take over Libération, he realized that the top floor of the newspaper’s office would be a perfect canvas for one of his invasions. After a long weekend of improvised painting, Invader and his companions arrived at the rooftop holding paint pots and rollers, applying color to the slabs little by little. Then the rooftop of the newspaper office, with its square concrete slabs, became the grid of a painting, which had a size that was visible from the sky. The product was a Space Invader with a color theme of white, black, and a touch of red.
Looking at my feet, I realize that the slabs are square. I've wanted to do something outside, visible on Google Earth, for a long time. I give it a try.
-Invader
Currently, if you use any Map applications on your smartphone with a satellite function, you can enjoy the piece yourself at 11 Rue Béranger, Paris, France. However, that is not the current address of the newspaper office because they have since moved, from the past location at Rue Béranger, 75003, to the current location, believed to be 2 rue du Général Alain de Boissieu.
If anyone is wondering if this painting is coded like Invader’s mosaics, it is not; Instead, there’s a smaller version of the same art in a mosaic form of ceramic tiles, which is located beside the painting.
PA_992
As a side note, this building was later used as the venue of the Invader Space Station (ISS).
Featured Artists for Freedom invasion
In December 2015, there was free entry to an exhibition about “Featured Artists for Freedom” at the Palais de Tokyo. Invader was one of the artists mentioned. For this occasion, he hand-painted on the Libération front page for “Artistes à la une”, translated to featured artist, to be exhibited and later auctioned off in January 2016.
However, it is unsure what medium or which edition of Libération he painted due to the lack of information online. At the same time, we believe that the Astroboy reference pays tribute to the name of the museum located in Paris.
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We do not own any copyrights to the photos used
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All rights reserved ~ We do not own any copyrights to the photos used ~
