Edited by Tony Nourmand. Introduction by Christopher Frayling. Design by Graham Marsh. Text by Alison Elangasinghe.
The definitive celebration of the visual imagery of the French New Wave with its explosive and groundbreaking poster art
The French New Wave of the 1950s and 1960s is one of the most important movements in the history of film. Its fresh energy and vision changed the cinematic landscape, and its style has had a seminal impact on pop culture. The poster artists tasked with selling these Nouvelle Vague films to the masses—in France and internationally—helped to create this style, and in so doing found themselves at the forefront of a revolution in art, graphic design and photography.
French New Wave: A Revolution in Design celebrates explosive and groundbreaking poster art that accompanied French New Wave films like The 400 Blows (1959), Jules and Jim (1962) and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Featuring posters from over 20 countries, the imagery is accompanied by biographies of more than 100 artists, photographers and designers involved—the first time many of those responsible for promoting and portraying this movement have been properly recognized.
This publication spotlights the poster designers who defined the look of the French New Wave. Artists presented in this volume include Jean-Michel Folon, Boris Grinsson, Waldemar Swierzy, Christian Broutin, Tomasz Ruminski, Hans Hillman, Georges Allard, René Ferracci, Bruno Rehak, Zdenek Ziegler, Miroslav Vystrcil, Peter Strausfeld, Maciej Hibner, Andrzej Krajewski, Maciej Zbikowski, Josef Vylet’al, Sandro Simeoni, Averardo Ciriello, Marcello Colizzi and many more.
This 1959 poster by Christian Broutin for Robert Bresson's 'Pickpocket' is reproduced from 'French New Wave.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Airmail
The French New Wave film posters quickly became as groundbreaking as the 50s and 60s films themselves. [This] new book highlights the designers behind the movement’s explosive aesthetic.
Guardian
Killian Fox
Godard, Truffaut, Resnais…the 50s and 60s saw a burst of intense innovation in French cinema, a spirit reflected in the bold film poster designs of the time.
New York Observer
Editors
the designers were like the film-makers-young, energetic, creative. they broke all the rules
Creative Review
Megan Williams
A compelling new book [that delves] into the rich design history of la Nouvelle Vague, and illustrates how graphic art broke new ground during the seminal movement.
Huck
Sara Rosen
French New Wave: A Revolution in Design...reveals how French New Wave film posters became as powerful as the movies themselves, transforming the landscape of visual culture through art, photography, and graphic design.
CriterionCast
Joshua Brunsting
...an important and thoughtful text about one of film’s great movements, a series of brief artist profiles that re-contextualize this moment in history in a manner never truly done before. The epitome of a coffee table book, this will no doubt be the topic of any discussion you have after buying it.
Elephant
Emily Gosling
The poster design of the Nouvelle Vague reveals that the iconic era of cinema was about a lot more than intellectualism, eroticism and jump cuts: it was an international movement that changed the course of graphic design history.
AIGA
Jeremy Allen
These posters from all around the world have been collected in a new compendium—French New Wave: A Revolution In Design, published by Reel Art Press. Just as the energy and vision of the films changed the cinematic landscape, so too were the posters an explosion of Pop Art, Dadaism, and Abstract Expressionism.
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
The book illustrates the way groundbreaking cinematic style inspired an equally dazzling explosion of poster art around the world, presenting examples from over 20 countries and biographies of more than 100 poster-makers to prove its point.
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
beautifully illustrated book...from the examplary folks are reel art press
Bookforum
Howard Hampton
[French New Wave showcases] graphics worthy of their cinema sources: anarchic, dream-struck, recondite, and intoxicating.
It's Nice That
Jyni Ong
[French New Wave] delves into one of the most important movements in the history of film. Centred around the designers, the compendium, which is also edited by Tony, celebrates the distinctive flair embraced by poster artists in the latter half of the 20th century.
Double Negative
Editors
more ambitious than many a coffee table book- a sumptous and enlightening production
in stock $59.95
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Sunday, February 9 at 3PM, Artbook @ Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles Bookstore and Reel Art Press invite you to celebrate the publication of French New Wave: A Revolution in Design. Editor and publisher Tony Nourmand will appear in conversation with essayist Christopher Frayling. A Q&A and book signing will follow. Email bookshw-la@artbook.com or call 213-988-7413 to pre-order a signed copy with free shipping in the U.S.! continue to blog
This 1965 poster for Jean-Luc Godard's dystopian sci-fi thriller Alphaville was produced by painter, illustrator, comic and collage artist Andrzej Krajewski for the Polish release of the film. It is reproduced from staff favorite Holiday Gift Book,French New Wave: A Revolution in Design, featuring over 150 posters from more than 20 countries, organized A–Z by designer. "As a mass medium in Poland, the poster was under state censorship yet the individual artist had a remarkable degree of creative freedom," Alison Elangasinghe writes. "The poster as artform flourished in Poland from the mid-1950s onwards. Free of capitalist constraints, images of the stars—usually a big selling point in the West—were subordinated to highly original concepts. This 'Polish poster school' of artists that emerged effectively turned the street into their own gallery. Designs were striking and colorful; often disturbing and surreal; frequently poetic and humorous, with a vitality in stark contrast to the turgid backdrop of the Eastern Bloc." continue to blog
Clément Hurel's 1960 poster for Jean-Luc Godard's A bout de soufflé, aka Breathless, is reproduced from French New Wave: A Revolution in Design, a staff pick Holiday Gift Book for the cinephile in your life. One of two very different posters produced by Hurel for this singular film, it is an exquisite example of photomontage in poster design, according to Alison Elangasinghe's text on the work. Hurel uses a seemingly simple stylistic device—rotating the original photo of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg kissing, as well as the film's title, by ninety degrees counterclockwise—to great effect. "This twist is jarring and intended: is the couple fighting or loving each other?" continue to blog
Japanese manga artist Kazuo Kamimura's 1964 poster for Jacques Demy's Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) is reproduced from Reel Art Press's super-giftable new release, French New Wave: A Revolution in Design, named Criterioncast's Best Film Book to Give This Year. Joshua Brunstig writes, "Where to begin with this beauty. Topping this year’s book buyer’s guide is 2019’s most beautiful film book, the incredibly designed French New Wave… Diving into the history of the French New Wave via a discussion of design, this book is an important and thoughtful text about one of film’s great movements, a series of brief artist profiles that re-contextualize this moment in history in a manner never truly done before. The epitome of a coffee table book, this will no doubt be the topic of any discussion you have after buying it, and any cinephile should be proud to give or receive this deeply important work as a gift this holiday season." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 10 x 11.5 in. / 288 pgs / 250 color / 50 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $59.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $85 ISBN: 9780957261044 PUBLISHER: Reel Art Press AVAILABLE: 12/3/2019 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AFR ME
Published by Reel Art Press. Edited by Tony Nourmand. Introduction by Christopher Frayling. Design by Graham Marsh. Text by Alison Elangasinghe.
The definitive celebration of the visual imagery of the French New Wave with its explosive and groundbreaking poster art
The French New Wave of the 1950s and 1960s is one of the most important movements in the history of film. Its fresh energy and vision changed the cinematic landscape, and its style has had a seminal impact on pop culture. The poster artists tasked with selling these Nouvelle Vague films to the masses—in France and internationally—helped to create this style, and in so doing found themselves at the forefront of a revolution in art, graphic design and photography.
French New Wave: A Revolution in Design celebrates explosive and groundbreaking poster art that accompanied French New Wave films like The 400 Blows (1959), Jules and Jim (1962) and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Featuring posters from over 20 countries, the imagery is accompanied by biographies of more than 100 artists, photographers and designers involved—the first time many of those responsible for promoting and portraying this movement have been properly recognized.
This publication spotlights the poster designers who defined the look of the French New Wave. Artists presented in this volume include Jean-Michel Folon, Boris Grinsson, Waldemar Swierzy, Christian Broutin, Tomasz Ruminski, Hans Hillman, Georges Allard, René Ferracci, Bruno Rehak, Zdenek Ziegler, Miroslav Vystrcil, Peter Strausfeld, Maciej Hibner, Andrzej Krajewski, Maciej Zbikowski, Josef Vylet’al, Sandro Simeoni, Averardo Ciriello, Marcello Colizzi and many more.
