Yves Saint Laurent at Petit Palais
  • 27
  • Mar
  • 2010

Until August the Musée des Beaux Arts at the Petit Palais has its first ever exhibition dedicated to haute couture; it is fitting then, that it should be a retrospective of the work of a man who embodied the ideal of fashion designer as artist like no other, France’s beloved last great couturier: Yves Saint Laurent.

Charting his lifetime’s work through a selection of over 300 original creations, from his beginnings at Dior, through the height of his experimentalism during the 70s, to his later refined exoticism; the exhibition celebrates the astounding range and beauty of his accomplishment, both technical and artistic.
Displayed alongside contemporary films, photographs and drawings, the work is placed in its proper cultural and historical context. It is evident that Yves Saint Laurent had an incredible capacity to draw inspiration from everything and anything – from 19th century theatre, Mondrian canvases, and Moroccan spice markets to kids on the streets of Saint Germain des Prés. Original sketches and images from his atelier prove that he saw himself above all as a craftsman, working obsessively hard to master the tools of his trade, with a deep understanding and respect for form, fabric, cut and the importance of detail. The greater significance of his work is also emphasised, showing how this relentless moderniser changed the world of fashion forever, freeing women from narrow and outdated ideas of style, and democratising high fashion by making ready to wear respectable.

Like the hundreds of mourners in Le Smoking trouser suits who lined the streets at his funeral in 2008, the retrospective at the Petit Palais promises to be a great tribute to one of France’s greatest artists of the twentieth century.

read at Vingt Paris, March 2010

Musée du Petit Palais, Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris, M° Champs-Elysées-Clémenceau or Concorde

Videoclub off the beaten track
  • 23
  • Mar
  • 2010

Already for 7 years, Stéphanie Heuze has a videoclub where you can hire movies of the beaten track. It’s a very cosy shop where you hire Visconti, Rossellini, Lars von Trier and others.

More than 2000 titles, almost a collection. The owner is very passionate about movies and loves to discuss it. She did watch 92% of it.

Videoclub, 4, rue de Nemours 75009

Izis, Paris des Rêves at Hôtel de Ville
  • 19
  • Mar
  • 2010

Asked why he chose Paris after having fled the persecution of Jews in Lithuania in 1930, Izis replied, “Because it excited my imagination. It was the City of Lights. For me everything was happening in Paris. Liberty, Equality of man and Culture, that’s what made us dream.” The retrospective of his photography at Hotel de Ville “Izis, Paris des Rêves” invites us to discover this dreamlike poetry in the everyday life of Paris.

The exposition opens with a series of portraits of maquisards, the French resistance fighters. Izis who joined the French Resistance army during the war, decided to portray of his companions soon after liberation of Limousin in 1944 using only a white background and no retouching. It is precisely this raw quality of the portraits of men with bright eyes and timid smiles that makes their heroism more credible and palpable. The portraits of famous French people Izis took during twenty years of collaboration with Paris Match also capture their unrehearsed dignity.
Together with other photographers such as Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sabine Weiss and Willy Ronis, Izis represents the French Humanist photography in the second half of the 20th century. Every one of Izis’ photographs of children, workers, flower and bird vendors, vagabonds or cripples emanates with the beauty and grace of the human being.
“I was often told that my photographs are not realist,” Izis admits “Maybe they are not realist, but this is my reality.” extract out of text by Joanna Bronowicka for Vingt.

Hôtel de Ville - Salon d’accueil,5, rue Lobau, 75004 Paris, M° Hôtel de Ville

Until 29th May 2010
Open every day from 10am – 6:45pm except Sundays and public holidays.
Last admission at 6:15. Admission free.

Artazart Bookshop
  • 15
  • Mar
  • 2010

If you happen to stroll along Canal Saint-Martin, try not to miss this bookshop, specialy if you like graphic design.

Artazart stocks a staggering selection of books on photography, architecture, art, web design, graffiti, journals, magazines, children books, bags, cameras, art resources and anything of a stylish visual nature.

This shop is perfect for finding the ultimate coffee table book to give to your graphic designer friend, a rare international photo journal or merely for whiling away some hours with this impressive collection of delectable visual treasures.

Artazart Design Bookstore, 83, quai de Valmy,75010 Paris