Until Saturday, September 24, 2011, at the Louis Nucéra Library as part of the event “Contemporary Art and the Côte d’Azur – A Territory for Experimentation, 1951-2011.”
In March 1951, Picasso created his first original drawing for the cover of Le Patriote on the occasion of the Nice Carnival!
This event marked the beginning of a long collaboration with the artist, but it was also a foundational and significant moment in the newspaper’s relationship with contemporary art.
Thus, every year, artists, illustrators, and sculptors create original works to feature on the cover of the newspaper.
The exhibition showcases a selection of the most beautiful covers illustrated by artists from 1947 to 2011, including Picasso, Ben, Pignon-Ernest, Moretti, Vernassa, Miguel, Di Rosa, Lagautrière, Franta, Eusebi, Baudoin, Kijno, Meziani, and others.
The work is no longer meant to be exhibited but positioned on the front page of a media outlet, with all that this implies: visual readability, message clarity, technical printing constraints on a rotary press, newspaper format…
For the artists, this involves a reflection on the use of the press as a means of artistic expression, as a blank canvas. Le Patriote becomes a territory for experimentation without the sacred nature of an exhibition. The artwork is flipped through, crumpled, folded… and is offered simply by purchasing a copy.
For 60 years, Le Patriote has highlighted contemporary creation by becoming a territory for artists to experiment with the press, a place for reflection and critique on contemporary Côte d’Azur art in connection with popular culture.
