Miss.Tic (born Radhia Novat; 20 February 1956 – 22 May 2022) was a French

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

. She was known for her stencils of dark-haired women seen in the streets of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and associated with poetry. She was active as a street artist from 1985 onward.

Biography

Miss.Tic was born in 1956 in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to a

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n immigrant father and a French mother from

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. She spent her childhood there until 1964 when the family moved to

Orly Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius". Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the c ...

, in the southern suburbs of Paris. She lost her mother, her little brother, and her grandmother in a car accident at the age of ten; her father died six years later. She was then raised by her stepmother, a barmaid. She escaped from that world and quickly started to work on her stencils. In the early 1980s, she spent a few years in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, among

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

milieus of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She returned to Paris after the breakup of a relationship, and began her designs on the walls of parts of

Ménilmontant Ménilmontant () is a neighbourhood of Paris, situated in the city's 20th arrondissement. It is roughly defined as the area north of the Père Lachaise Cemetery, south of Parc de Belleville, and between ''Avenue Jean-Aicard'' on the west an ...

le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. It spreads across parts of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd and 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements on the Rive Droit ...

, Montorgueil, and la Butte-aux-Cailles. In 1985 she signed her first personal exhibition based on her art. Thereafter she spread her ideas through poems and wordplay on walls and in books and exhibitions. In 1985, she participated in the first meeting of the graffiti and

urban art Urban art combines street art, guerrilla art, and graffiti and is often used to summarize all visual art forms arising in urban areas, being inspired by urban architecture or present urban lifestyle. Because the urban arts are characterized by exi ...

movement in

Bondy Bondy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. Name The name Bondy was recorded for the first time around AD 600 as ''Bonitiacum'', meaning " ...

, France, on the VLP's initiative, with Speedy Graphito, Kim Prisu,

Jef Aérosol Jef Aérosol is the pseudonym of Jean-François Perroy (born 1957),Bio (in French)
Jefaerosol.com. Retrieved 2023- ...

SP 38 Sp or SP may refer to: Arts and entertainment * /sp/, the sports board on the Internet forum 4chan * ''SP'' (TV series), a Japanese TV series * Game Boy Advance SP, an upgraded version of the Game Boy Advance handheld video game system, released ...

, Epsylon Point,

Blek le Rat Blek le Rat (; born Xavier Prou, 1952) is a French graffiti artist. He was one of the first graffiti artists in Paris, and has been described as the "Father of stencil graffiti". Early life Xavier Prou was born on 15 November 1951 in Boulogne- ...

, Futura 2000, Nuklé-Art, and Banlieue-Banlieue. In March 2011, a series of stamps was issued for

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

inspired by some of her stencils. Miss.Tic died of cancer in Paris,

, on 22 May 2022, at the age of 66.

Collections

*Fonds d’art contemporain - Paris Collections. *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London, England. * Musée Ingres, Montauban. * Mucem, Marseille.

References

External links

Miss.Tic in Paris
1956 births 2022 deaths French graffiti artists 20th-century French painters 21st-century French painters Painters from Paris Women graffiti artists French muralists French women muralists French people of Tunisian descent People of Montmartre French expatriates in the United States 20th-century French women painters 21st-century French women painters {{Graffiti-stub