Miss Van describes he artwork as a medium for her to establish her own identity. One could argue that that is what all artists are aiming for. When I look at these Graffiti paintings, I see a little bit of myself; an eccentric type of girl with fun quirks as well as a feminine and sexy side. Her elaborate paintings make you want to embrace the oddities about female beauty. Miss Van shows that it is beautiful to be weird and weirdness is fun, sexy and can help one express themselves.
Miss Van started wall-painting in the streets at the age of 18, initiating the feminine movement in street art. Miss Van’s sultry female characters began to pop up on city center walls in the mid 1990s, they instantly possessed a timeless quality, as if women had always painted such graffiti in the streets.
Miss Van, Vanessa Alice Bensimon (also known as Vanessa Castex), born in 1973 in Toulouse, France, is considered one of the best known painters of the graffiti scene. Her drawings are of sloe-eyed women, covering a varied array of female forms and expressing many different emotions. Her work has provoked a negative reaction from some feminists due to the portrayal of women in her graffiti.
"At the beginnings, my dolls were self-portraits. Graffiti has a very megalomaniac side; instead of writing my name, I chose to represent myself through my dolls. I felt a real need to affirm myself, maybe because I have a twin sister and I had to show my difference." -Miss Van
"My dolls convey a provocative image, sometimes a bit erotic. I wish they
disturbed and provoked fantaisies. I want them to make the viewer react,
no matter the reaction. I would like them to make people forget their daily
lives.” -Miss Van
Miss Van chooses to use acrylic paint instead of the usual graffiti medium, spray paint. She feel that paint allows her to portray her dolls in a brighter and sharper way.
