The Age of Jazz
exhibition poster's century jazz
Garden Gallery
exhibition ticket or ticket matched
March 17 to June 28, 2009
Commissioner Daniel Soutif
Jazz, along with film and rock, one of the major artistic events of the twentieth century. This hybrid music marked the global culture of its sounds and rhythms.
The exhibition, designed by the philosopher and art critic Daniel Soutif, presented in chronological relations between jazz and graphic arts throughout the twentieth century.
From painting to photography, from cinema to literature, not to mention the graphic or comic book, the exhibition shows more particularly the development of jazz in Europe and France in the 30 and 40.
e route of exposure
Life, 1 July 1926 (FG Cooper, 1926) © Collection Philippe Baudoin
Life, 1 July 1926 (FG Cooper, 1926) © Collection Philippe Baudoin
The exhibition is divided into ten chronological sections connected by a "timeline", vertical window through which the exhibition will bring together works, objects and documents, scores illustrated posters, records and folders, pictures ... entrusted to evoke directly the main events in the history of jazz.
This structured timeline by year is the common thread of the exposure that follow the sections are themselves divided into themed rooms or monographs.
1. Before 1917
It is obviously impossible to precisely date the "birth" of jazz. But for a long time, it is widely considered the year 1917 as a decisive turning point. This date is marked by two decisive events: one is the closure of Storyville, the red light district of New Orleans, including the famous places of entertainment have been a crucible of jazz (crucible whose disappearance will cause immigration musicians to the northern United States, Chicago and New York in particular), the other pivotal event is the recording if the first jazz record, at least the first disc displaying the word "jazz" on its cover ( or, more precisely: "jass"). This 78 laps of the Original Dixieland 'Jass' Band had two titles: Livery Stable Blues and Dixie Jass Band One Step.
The warning signs - minstrel, gospel, cakewalk, ragtime ... - the musical phenomenon that was about to overturn the century have inspired many artists well before that date, African Americans, Americans like Stuart Davis or Europeans such as Pablo Picasso.
2. "Jazz Age" in America 1917-1930
The second section reflects the great popularity of jazz which marks American culture after the First World War. This popularity is such that after its use by F. Scott Fitzgerald as one of his books, the term "Jazz Age" will return regularly to describe the entire time, even a generation, not just its soundtrack.
This section begins with the work of Man Ray specifically entitled Jazz (1919) and met several other American artists or residing in the United States as James Blanding Sloan, Miguel Covarrubias and Jan Matulka.
The King of Jazz, the extraordinary film by John Murray Anderson dedicated to Paul Whiteman, mark as a bunch of fireworks by the end of these years we also say "crazy".
3. Harlem Renaissance 1917-1936
One of the most remarkable period of the "Jazz Age" is the emergence in Harlem (but also in other major U.S. cities) of African American culture. The music is certainly the most important aspect.
Under the guidance of some leading figures such as Carl Van Vechten and Winold Reiss, many artists (African-American or not) occurring during 20 years a considerable amount of literary works as visual music are often much more than a favorite subject. This section of the exhibition is an opportunity to discover, among other paintings, drawings and illustrations of Aaron Douglas, Archibald Motley, Palmer Hayden and Albert Alexander Smith.
4. "Jazz Age" in Europe 1917-1930
The story is fairly well known to the European discovery of syncopated rhythms made by the military orchestra of James Reese Europe, which was soon followed by shows from Harlem and, especially, the famous Revue negro who made Josephine Baker the darling of Paris - and a star of Paul Colin Poster Art.
Jean Cocteau, Francis Picabia, Kees van Dongen Fernand Leger, the virus penetrate jazz during the inter-war period all aspects of the culture of the old continent. In 1918, the Dadaist Marcel Janco entitled Jazz a large canvas ... This section also discusses the trip to Paris for a few figures of the Harlem Renaissance, as Albert Alexander Smith.
It will be up to the task Paul Colin illustrate this "black Tumult" through his famous portfolio.
5. Swing Years 1930-1939
At the "Jazz Age" succeeds fashion of Swing and big orchestras, including those of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman or Glenn Miller, who will dance crowds on the volcano in the Thirties.
With the advent of sound cinema, many films from that era, and famous artists draw their inspiration from the seductive beat of syncopated jazz, as Frantisek Kupka realistic or regionalist Thomas Hart Benton. During this period, most artists emerged in the context of the Harlem Renaissance, Carl Van Vechten as have naturally continued to work while other African-American painters like William H. Johnson begin their careers.
6. War Time 1939-1945
The Second World War was dramatically throughout the world culture. Armed with music and other V-Discs will be on all fronts. As a jazz and its repercussions in other artistic fields not of course escape the attacks of this cataclysm. Thus, it was during these years that Piet Mondrian, who emigrated to New York, discovers that determines the Boogie Woogie in an essential way his final masterpieces. During that time in Paris, while the outfit (Zoot Suit!) Of "Zazous" - probably so named from a song by Cab Calloway - ironically manifest opposition, albeit without great risk to occupant, Dubuffet takes some time passion for music are listening to these young people and draws some beautiful paintings and lively drawings. Matisse, meanwhile, prepares his famous Jazz in 1943 ... As American dance, the Jitterbug is now not the day, greeted by a magnificent series of paintings by William H. Johnson.
Events of major importance for the future, the end of this decade saw a young unknown designer named Alex Steinweiss, produce for Columbia's first album cover ...
7. Bebop 1945-1960
The end of the war coincides with the advent of Bebop, musical revolution launched by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and others. Jazz is modern.
Hand painting, Abstract Expressionism or Action Painting, is about to emerge. Some of the figures who will star find their inspiration not only among European artists exiled to the United States during the war, but also in the jazz music they listen without interruption, as is the case of Jackson Pollock. Figurative, but close by the spirit of this movement, the painter Larry Rivers, also a saxophonist, dedicated several tables to music that excites him. African-American artist, but undoubtedly figurative modernist Romare Bearden produced so many works related to the music community. In Europe, Nicolas de Stael dedicated some of his most important paintings to music that still draws crowds of young people ... about to turn to rock.
The postwar period saw also arise with the LP, a new artistic field, a minor but fascinating: that of the record sleeve (Record Cover). Anonymous or famous, like Andy Warhol, dozens of graphic artists will engage in the practice of seduction music format 30 x 30 cm. Major consumer of images, this art will be applied to some very big names in photography, including Lee Friedlander, a glittering career start. Other photographers specialize frankly, as Herman Leonard, conquer it considerable notoriety.
The cinema of the fifties was often left contaminated by modern jazz, so easily able to adapt its rhythms and expressive colors to black and white then: among dozens of other films, evidenced emblematically the Elevator to the Gallows Louis Malle (with music by Miles Davis) or the Shadows by John Cassavetes (one with Charlie Mingus).
8. West Coast Jazz 1949-1960
The vulgate of jazz history is that Bebop was black and from New York and he has responded in the shadow of Hollywood film studios, a West Coast Jazz, if "fresh and refined" than some n have not failed to try him effeminate. A significant nuance, this way of thinking is not completely false. Comparing the graphics of the record companies based on each coast illustrates this opposition: blond and sunny beaches circling to the west of the photographs of William Claxton, geometric lettering and portraits of black musicians in the east ... Many famous jazz musicians of the West Coast, mostly white, it is true, then earn a comfortable living by concocting the music of Hollywood, which is therefore their trace feature ... if this does not prevent them going on Sunday jam at clubs including the Lighthouse of 'Howard Rumsey will remain the symbol.
9. The Free Revolution 1960-1980
In 1960 appears the album Free Jazz Ornette Coleman. With his title with a double meaning ("Free jazz / free jazz"), this album whose cover opens on a replica of Jackson Pollock's White Light, marks a new pack of cards: after the modern period, it comes the libertarian vanguard ...
In this revolution Free "contemporary black liberation movements - Black Power, Black Muslims, Black Panthers ... ¬ - meet in the visual arts the work of artists like Bob Thompson meteoric. This period is also where, helping freedom, Europe gives his version of the Free music in performance at times close to the Fluxus spirit. Among the many effects of this opening, you can report notebook for an African Orestes (Appunti per un Orestiada africana), the amazing draft of movie in which Pier Paolo Pasolini invited improvisations of free jazz musician Gato Barbieri to meet both Aeschylus and Africa.
10. Contemporaries 1980-2002
The visual arts have begun to regularly use the adjective "contemporary" at the turn of the 60s, probably because the term "modern" does not stick very well to new forms while pregnant. The term "contemporary jazz", however, is not passed in the manners in "Worlds of Jazz" (to borrow the title of a book by André Hodeir), seasons and live today , marry and mingle sometimes. The exhibition gives an overview of the last two decades highlighting the predominance of three divisions: the first, led by Wynton Marsalis, the Bebop historicizes an almost academic, like the classical music, and invites regularly on the stages distinguished uptown at the Lincoln Art Center in New York, the second with John Zorn leader, continues and develops the libertarian tradition and avant-garde legacy of the Free and moved Downtown in small clubs and more less self-directed, which is often celebrated the Jewish component - Great Jewish Music, announces the title of a series of drives led by Zorn which contains such a tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg and the third is simply the world and especially Europe, where many talented musicians are proving every day the universality of jazz and its many offspring do more than that without reference to a U.S. model.
Also, the presence of jazz in contemporary art is still considerable. Evidenced by the number of tables impregnated Black Music painted by Jean-Michel Basquiat in his short career, this or that video of Adrian Piper, or Lorna Simpson, or that wonderful photograph by Jeff Wall inspired by the prologue of The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
Titled Chasing the Blue Train, the large installation created in 1989 by the legendary African-American artist David Hammons - with his little toy train still running, its piles of coal and its funds upright piano on the side - provides exposure whole the following conclusion: if the twentieth, the century of jazz is well and truly over, the train of the music that has accompanied, perhaps more than any other, is itself always in motion.
