April 09, 2008

Camille Bryen's illunations inspired by Jules Laforgue

In 1974, Camille Bryen, a subversive poet close to Dadaism and a pioneer of Tachisme, grabs the collection of Jules Laforgue L'Imitation de Notre Dame La Lune ( literally : the Impersonation of Our Lady the Moon), works on the page setting and "illune" (a made-up verb translatable by "to moon") the book with six original engravings. This special edition is dedicated to :

" Marcel Duchamp
dépassant considérable
je dédie ces illunations".

The matching between Bryen, a fan of automatic writing, and the decadent Jules Laforgue, is summarised in the introduction written by the art critic Jean-Dominique Rey :
"Between the poetry of Laforgue and his [Bryen] passes the same thread of black humour that causes the words to face new arpeggios. But one day words were not enough for Bryen. The style, relieved of the weight of language, became a furious chisel beating rock and air and plotting unusual runes for a language beyond forms. "

Currently, the librairie Loliée offers :
  • Bryen (Camille) – Laforgue (Jules). L'Imitation de Notre Dame La Lune. Selon Jules Laforgue. Illunée de gravures de Camille Bryen. Paris, Jean-Pierre Ollivier, 1974, in-4, in leaves under cover, casing. Edition illustrated by 6 original engravings each signed by Camille Bryen. Limited to 172 numbered copies, this one on velum paper.