Avant-gardes du XXe siècle, arts & littérature 1905-1930

Surrealism, Futurism, Cubism, these all ring a bell for most of us and they are movements we automatically associate to the concept of avant-garde. But what about Vorticism, Acmeism, Stridentism or even Anthropophagism? The latter are cousins of the former, and sometimes come from more exotic regions (Latin America and Brazilfor the last two). The interest of this large volume by Serge Fauchereau is to dig out other avant-gardes than the ones which have become big classics, and to present them by keeping the too often evaded close link they maintained between literature and plastic arts. We therefore stroll between painters and writers, juggling from scenic installations by Popova to prints on wood by Norah Borges (Jorge Luis’s sister). Behind the dense texts the iconography offers rare gifts: paintings by DH Lawrence, covers of Spanish literary reviews, photograms of the Golem or of Russian films decorated by Alexandra Exter. The notion of avant-garde becomes intimidating, deep like an ocean: so much the better …

•Avant-gardes du XXe siècle, arts & littérature 1905-1930 by Serge Fauchereau, Flammarion, 2010, 594 p., 49 €.