What had undergone disneyfication was the Place du Tertre in Montmartre. Place du Tertre was originally an artist's paradise as many great artists like Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso used to live there to do their artworks. But because of this rich art background, it has attracted many tourists over to visit the place. Hence, many people saw this as an golden opportunity and they flock there with the sole intention of making a neat profit by selling paintings to tourists.
If you visit Montmartre now, two main groups of 'artists' can be easily spotted.
The first group of artists would be the ones painting the same colourful and romantic image as tourists stand behind and marvel at it. This process is a part of disneyfication as these artists are the performative labour due to the fact that their work as an artist is now seen as a performance. Add on to the fact that the similar paintings give a very 'themed' feeling whereby the image of Montmartre is now reduced to just that popular one. Previously a land filled with inspiring artists are now filled with artists who only concentrates on painting that same image.
If you visit Montmartre now, two main groups of 'artists' can be easily spotted.
The first group of artists would be the ones painting the same colourful and romantic image as tourists stand behind and marvel at it. This process is a part of disneyfication as these artists are the performative labour due to the fact that their work as an artist is now seen as a performance. Add on to the fact that the similar paintings give a very 'themed' feeling whereby the image of Montmartre is now reduced to just that popular one. Previously a land filled with inspiring artists are now filled with artists who only concentrates on painting that same image.
The next group of artists would be the scammers. The reason that they are scammers is because most of them are hardly 'artists' by nature and is only pretending to be one for the sake of ripping off tourists.
The following information I gathered was from www.virtualtourist.com, where real travelers gave their reviews on the place. Almost all the reviews there mentioned that these 'artists' would approach you and ask if they can draw you. But even if you turn them down, they would still continue drawing you. And when they are done with the drawing, they force you to pay them a ridiculous sum of money even though you showed no interest previously. Moreover, the paintings are horrible in most cases. But many people eventually give in and pay as they would not want to aggravate the situation. In one case, the 'artists' actually revealed that they actually play golf and tennis, which led the reviewer to believe that she was actually 'paying for their golf and tennis activities'.
This is the result that the growth of tourism has brought to the place. And these excellent words from Tourette, an artist living in Montmartre perfectly sums up this point. 'Montmartre is no longer about free spirit and creativity. It’s more than just chasing a dream; it’s all about business.'
Moving on, another disneyfication that has taken place is theming and merchandising. There are a number of merchandise shops in Montmartre. And the main merchandise they are selling is the brand of the 'Eiffel Tower'. Key chains, T-shirts, caps, figurine etc are all commonly seen. In fact, it is also not surprising to see tourists walking around Montmartre with the Eiffel Tower spotted on their shirt. The image of Eiffel Tower has no relation with Montmartre, specifically Place du Tutre where it is (was) a home for the artists. Hence it is edvident that theming has occurred. Furthermore, the selling of the Eiffel Tower branded goods in Montmartre is a result of merchandising.
The following information I gathered was from www.virtualtourist.com, where real travelers gave their reviews on the place. Almost all the reviews there mentioned that these 'artists' would approach you and ask if they can draw you. But even if you turn them down, they would still continue drawing you. And when they are done with the drawing, they force you to pay them a ridiculous sum of money even though you showed no interest previously. Moreover, the paintings are horrible in most cases. But many people eventually give in and pay as they would not want to aggravate the situation. In one case, the 'artists' actually revealed that they actually play golf and tennis, which led the reviewer to believe that she was actually 'paying for their golf and tennis activities'.
This is the result that the growth of tourism has brought to the place. And these excellent words from Tourette, an artist living in Montmartre perfectly sums up this point. 'Montmartre is no longer about free spirit and creativity. It’s more than just chasing a dream; it’s all about business.'
Moving on, another disneyfication that has taken place is theming and merchandising. There are a number of merchandise shops in Montmartre. And the main merchandise they are selling is the brand of the 'Eiffel Tower'. Key chains, T-shirts, caps, figurine etc are all commonly seen. In fact, it is also not surprising to see tourists walking around Montmartre with the Eiffel Tower spotted on their shirt. The image of Eiffel Tower has no relation with Montmartre, specifically Place du Tutre where it is (was) a home for the artists. Hence it is edvident that theming has occurred. Furthermore, the selling of the Eiffel Tower branded goods in Montmartre is a result of merchandising.
Finally, another impact of tourism in Monmartre is the case of an overload. The initial attraction of Monmartre was its scenic environment, gorgeous architects as well as the artistic background. And the concept of 'too much of a good thing can be bad' perfectly applies here. Too many tourists were drawn there and has resulted in and invasion of tourists. Every corner and street of Montmartre are filled with tourists. Hence, this has destroyed the beautiful image people once had of Montmartre. The swarm of tourists as well as the change in values of the artists brought about by the growth of tourism has been a letdown to many. Montmartre is no longer the place it used to be.
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