Library Culture Picks: January 2016

The American Library in Paris is pleased to share our selection of cultural events going on in the city each month. Despite all that has happened recently in the city, December is a month that glitters and gleams in Paris, from the elaborate window displays of the grands magasins to the lights up and down the Champs-Elysées to the open-air ice-skating rinks. Here are our Culture Picks for December along with recommended books. Enjoy reading and visiting! 

Library Culture Picks: January 2016

WHAT: VOLEZ, VOGUEZ, VOYAGE – LOUIS VUITTON (exhibition)
WHERE: GRAND PALAIS
WHEN: 4 DECEMBER 2015 – 21 FEBRUARY 2016

The Grand Palais seems a natural choice to host an exhibition of one of France’s most beloved fashion houses. The exhibition “Volez, Voguez, Voyagez – Louis Vuitton” offers a 160-year view of Louis Vuitton, from the maison’s 1854 inception and its first travelling wardrobes to its establishment as a global brand. The exhibition also emphasizes that travelling isn’t just about getting from point A to B, but about dreaming and new beginnings. Expect to see beautifully crafted bjects and documents from Louis Vuitton’s Heritage as well as a selection of pieces lent by the Palais Galliera and Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.

Recommended books to read from the Library collection:

Louis Vuitton: Icons by Stephane Gerschel
Fashion: The Key Concepts by Jennifer Craik

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WHAT: ANOTHER STORY! 50 YEARS OF CREATION AT L’ECOLE DES LOISIRS (exhibition)
WHERE: MUSEE DES ARTS DECORATIFS
WHEN: 1 OCTOBER 2015 – 22 MAY 2016

L’école des loisirs, the jewel in the crown of children’s publishing in France, has been celebrating its 50th anniversary in different cities over the past year. The exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs does a great job at showing the creative process involved in making illustrated books as well as introducing the public to some of the publisher’s iconic characters. The exhibition showcases manuscripts, original drawings, and sketchbooks of their most well-known artists and authors including Tomi Ungerer, Claude Ponti, Kitty Crowther, Gregoire Solotareff and Nadja. Adults and children will enjoy discovering, and rediscovering, these classic children’s books.

Recommended books to read from the Library collection:

Crictor by Tomi Ungerer
The Chase: A Kutenai Indian Tale by Béatrice Tanaka
Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstern

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WHAT: WIFREDO LAM (exhibition)
WHERE: THE CENTRE POMPIDOU
WHEN: 30 SEPTEMBER 2015 – 15 FEBRUARY 2016

The Centre Pompidou is devoting, for the first time, an in-depth retrospective to the work and career of the painter Wifredo Lam (1902-1982), from the 1930s to the 1970s. The exhibition aims to reposition the Cuban artist’s work within an international history of modern art, to which he made a key contribution in both Europe and the Americas. With more than 400 works (paintings, drawings, photographs, reviews and rare books), the exhibition offers a completely new overview of the artist’s work in a chronological sequence. The scene-stealer is Lam’s stunning The Jungle, a masterpiece that MoMA acquired in 1945 and, until now, has never lent out to anyone.

Recommended books to read from the Library collection:

Wifredo Lam and his Contemporaries, 1938-1952 edited by Maria R. Balderrama
Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion by David H. Brown