For the fast approaching holiday season, we wish to introduce you to a selection of exciting books about the arts -- music, modern art and cinema…

Rebelles : Une histoire du Rock Alternatif by Rémi Pépin published by Hugo Doc.
The author, a former punk musician, relates the history of punk in the 80’s notably with descriptions of squats and clandestine concerts.

Les femmes artistes dans les avant-gardes by Mari-Jo Bonnet published by Odile Jacob.
A controversial book about numerous French women artists who have been relegated to minor status by the art establishment. The author exposes the sexist clichés and conformity in contemporary art.

Marcel Duchamp by Judith Housez published by Grasset.
A biography of the real life of the “anartist” who influenced many artists such as Picabia, Man Ray, Rauschenberg, John Cage, and Andy Warhol. He invented our modernity and is the symbol of contemporary art.

Jeune fille by Anne Wiazemsky published by Gallimard.
Set during the filming of Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, this work opens a door to the soul of the adolescent Anne Wiazemsky, selected by Bresson to play the heroine of this film when she was 18 year old. Strictly speaking not an autobiography, this work based on the author’s life is striking for its emotional veracity in relaying the transition from child to adult, from schoolgirl to actress, and then to writer.

Les musiciens de Jazz et leurs trois vœux by Pannonica de Koenigswarte published by Buchet Chastel.
Between 1961 and 1966, Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter asked three hundred jazzmen acquaintances and friends of hers what they would ask for if they could be immediately granted three wishes.

Ballaciner by Jean-Marie Le Clézio published by Gallimard
A cinema excursion revealing the power of the "seventh art" to depict reality and the outside world artistically, in contrast to books which have an “inside voice” and the power of words.

Boys in The Band by David Brun Lambert published by Denoël.
In the year 2000, two lost boys (Pete Doherty and Carl Barat) meet and create a rock band. Leaving Liverpool for London, a long path to glory awaits them. But their tremendous success was not enough to keep the band together.

Art contemporain et lien social by Claire Moulène published by Cercle d’Art.
This book portrays artists as deeply linked to society through their exploration and and analysis of our world; it shows how artists allow us to ponder reality in a different way.

Les voyages du Sel by Frédéric Denhez published by Kubik edition
The reader is invited to travel across the routes for the salt trade which, in this beautifully illustrated work, are vaguely reminiscent of abstract art. It offers 200 photographs of landscapes, men, and the history of this precious material.

Tribus musicales, spiritualité et fait religieux: Enquête sur les mouvances rock, punk, skinhead, gothique, hardcore, techno, hip hop by Jean-Louis Bischoff published by L’Harmattan.
Using a philosophical approach mixed with history and sociology, this book shows how musical tribes are related to spirituality and the religious.

Best wishes,

Fabrice Gabriel
Anne-Sophie Hermil
Laura Brimo - Evin
Anne-Sophie Rosell

Special thanks to Paula Cianci and Alessandra Benedicty