Launch of the exhibition catalogue Les fleurs américaines.
Based on the collections of the Museum of American Art (MoAA), Berlin and the Salon de Fleurus, New York, the exhibition Les fleurs américaines, which took place at frac île-de-france, le plateau from 13 December 2012 to 17 February 2013, recounted, through anonymous copies, the origins of the writing of the history known as the history of modern art, to question the notions of originality, uniqueness and authenticity of the work of art that still prevail today in the art world.
First publication in French dedicated to the MoAA and the Salon de Fleurus’ activities, this catalog expands on the issues raised by the exhibition through a range of texts and differently sourced images. Modeled on the catalog that accompanied the 1936 exhibition titled Cubism and Abstract Art that was organized by Alfred H. Barr, Jr. at the MoMA in New York, this catalog borrows some aspects of that original design to revisit the three moments of Les fleurs américaines : From the Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Musée d’Art Moderne and 50 ans d’art aux Etats-Unis, through an assortment of photographs, drawings and anonymously authored texts entitled Tales of the Artisans.
Also included are the transcription of and images that accompanied a lecture given by Alfred H. Barr, Jr. at le plateau on december 17, 2012, retracing some of the key episodes in the construction of the history and museography of modern art in Europe and the USA. An interview with Walter Benjamin, the post-mortem spokesperson for the MoAA, together with a text by the curators Elodie Royer and Yoann Gourmel regarding the exhibition and the activities of the Salon de Fleurus in New York and the MoAA in Berlin complete this publication.
Les fleurs américaines
Producted by frac île-de-france, in collabaration with the Museum of American Art (MoAA), Berlin
Text by Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Walter Benjamin, Xavier Franceschi, Elodie Royer and Yoann Gourmel
Designer : Coline Sunier and Charles Mazé
Bilingual version : french / english
Dimensions : 190 × 255 mm
256 pages (colors and B/W)
frac île-de-france / Les presses du réel
Price : 25€
19h – 21h
antenne culturelle
22 cours du 7e art
75019 Paris