Paris has a way of rewarding people who look closely.
You can walk down the same street a dozen times, admiring the balconies, cafés and old stone buildings, and then suddenly notice something you have never seen before: a tiny mosaic embedded in a wall.
That is where the scavenger hunt begins.
One of the artists whose work can be discovered this way is Morèje, the artistic name of French artist Jérôme Gulon. His mosaics are scattered through Paris, sometimes so subtly incorporated into the architecture that it would be easy to walk right past them.
But finding one is only half the game.
Look for the Story Behind the Mosaic
Morèje approaches street art differently from many mosaic artists. Instead of simply choosing an empty wall and installing an image, he has created what he calls parcours, or routes.
The individual mosaics become points along those routes.
One of the most fascinating is his Parcours de la Commune, devoted to people associated with the Paris Commune of 1871. Small portraits appear around Paris in places connected to the people depicted or to the history of the Commune.
So here are the rules for my Morèje scavenger hunt:
Find the mosaic. Identify the person. Then figure out why Morèje put it there.
Suddenly, street-art hunting becomes a history lesson.
Hunt #1: Jean-Baptiste Clément
One person to look for is Jean-Baptiste Clément, a journalist, political activist and participant in the Paris Commune. He is also remembered for writing the lyrics to Le Temps des cerises, a song that became closely associated with the Commune.
Morèje depicts him in a small portrait surrounded by irregular colored pieces of mosaic.
Finding the portrait is interesting.
Discovering who Clément was makes it better.
Understanding why his image belongs in that particular Paris neighborhood completes the puzzle.
Hunt #2: Louise Michel
Next, look for Louise Michel.
Teacher, revolutionary, writer and one of the best-known figures associated with the Commune, Michel spent part of her life in Montmartre.
Morèje incorporated her into his Commune project as well.
This is where the scavenger hunt becomes particularly fun. You aren’t searching for a giant mural covering the side of a building. You are searching for something small enough to disappear into the visual clutter of Paris.
Check walls.
Look beside doorways.
Study corners.
And don’t forget to look down.
Hunt #3: Gustave Courbet
Another name on the hunt is artist Gustave Courbet.
Courbet became involved with the Commune and famously opposed the Vendôme Column, which he regarded as a symbol of militarism. The column was pulled down during the Commune and later rebuilt.
So where might Morèje place a work connected with Courbet?
Place Vendôme.
This is exactly what makes the project so clever. Once you understand the history, the location becomes another clue.
Hunt #4: Paul Verlaine
Not every Morèje trail concerns the Commune.
Head toward the Batignolles and another literary clue awaits.
Poet Paul Verlaine lived with his family on Rue Nollet during his youth. Morèje created a tribute to Verlaine in the neighborhood, turning another ordinary Paris street into a place where literature, biography and contemporary art intersect.
This is the kind of street art I particularly enjoy. You aren’t simply photographing an object. You are discovering why it belongs where you found it.
Hunt #5: Find Something You Weren’t Looking For
This may be the most important challenge of all.
Forget the list for a while.
Put away the map.
Walk.
Morèje has been placing mosaics in public spaces for decades, and his work isn’t limited to conventional square ceramic tiles. Some pieces incorporate photographs, drawings, text and unexpected materials.
That means you have to train your eyes.
A tiny patch of color on an old wall may not be a repair.
A little portrait near a doorway may not be a plaque.
That strange collection of tesserae you nearly walked past may be exactly what you came to Paris to find.
Paris Becomes the Museum
Perhaps that is what I like most about turning Morèje’s work into a scavenger hunt.
There is no admission ticket.
There is no gallery entrance.
There isn’t even a sign telling you where to stand.
Instead, the streets become the exhibition space.
You begin with a mosaic. The mosaic leads to a person. The person leads to a historical event. And suddenly the building, street or square around you means something different than it did five minutes earlier.
Paris has always been a city layered with history.
Morèje simply gives us another reason to slow down and look for it.
And once you’ve spotted your first little mosaic tucked into a Paris wall, there is really only one question left:
Where is the next one hiding?
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