He was a party crasher for 10 years in Paris, London, even New York. He sneaked in fashion weeks and cocktail receptions with his legendary Kodak disposable camera: his name is Jean Motell. The man gained notability in late 2000’s only by sneaking in VIP events, without invitation. Always with a gentleman style.
“I love Champagne and wanted to see the privileges of the jet set. Dom Perignon was too expensive for me so I invited myself” says Jean Motell, party crasher turned mogul: today he manages his own art gallery in Los Angeles, drives a Bangkok based magazine and produces niche books, alternative music and short experimental films. And seems to have surprising connections with american mainstream icons.
“I made a book about what I saw in the jet-set world: “How To Make It When You’re Broke And Nobody”. Now I take photographs, write books, make music and shoot music videos. Expand your creativity, you can make it! ” says Motell with enthusiasm.
Jean Motell is an independent artist, born in Paris in 1979: he developed a unique style, lo-fi, always with humor and an alternative touch. His last single is a kind of joke about prick faces of famous DJs and it’s a lo-fi dance anthem on youtube. His last book in English “The Smiley Dictionary For Old School Text Messages” is a collection of text designed smileys with humoristic explanations.
His success seems to be quite confidential: he’s rather an alternative parisian figure than a rising “it boy”. But Jean seems to be quite close to some famous celebs he shot with his Kodak disposable camera: for instance Tommy Hilfiger or Eva Mendès. As an artist, he’s affiliated to Yael Kanarek, seems to be close to Olivier Zahm of Purple Magazine. Recently, Jean approached Katy Perry, with a creative consultant proposal of a million dollars. Quite expensive for an underground icon.
« You don’t need millions of followers to have an impact on culture and to influence artists. VHS trend in the musical video industry comes from underground artists like me, so I’m convinced my alternative references would bring something to a major artist » assures Jean Motell.
This man remains a mystery: how a kid joe with no money, connection in the music industry, in fashion world, can approach international jet set, A-list celebs and socialites? Even the Casio watch Jean Motell wears is intriguing: “A gift from Lindsay Lohan in Paris, years ago. I guess she doesn’t remember me, but I remember her…”.
You can follow Jean Motell on instagram, listen to his music on spotify and discover his books on amazon.