PA(rt)R(evolution)RIS

In today’s seminar we learned several remarkable events from the history of Paris.

One event that stuck out to me occurred May 1968, a group of designers distributed posters and flyers to raise awareness .People wanted to release frustration over poverty, unemployment, the conservative government of Charles de Gaulle, and opposition to the Vietnam war. Students and workers held strikes, walkouts, and demonstrations and both parties eventually occupied areas such as factories and universities. Students of Paris' main art school, the Ecole des Beaux Arts, were on strike while others established the Atelier Populaire. The Atelier Populaire was an art workshop for the people to produce posters and flyers as a form of protesting. Atelier Populaire promoted change and analyzed the social, economic, and political conditions of the country. All artists kept their work as anonymous and unfortunately were never recognized for their clearly, brilliant and influential work. I am taking an advanced media class and recently did a project on serigraph design. There was an art movement in the United States that used screen printing, once again proving the power of art. Centre Pompidou and Musée d'Orsay and Paris in the 19th Century are two walking seminars that can help further my knowledge of art and its powerful role in history. The Centre Pompidou contains more of the modern artworks while the Musée d'Orsay and Paris in the 19th Century is artwork from eras such as Romanticism. Seeing the different artworks and the evolution throughout each era would be intriguing however seeing how it relates to telling history is even better. The Musée d'Orsay and Paris in the 19th Century will allow me to better understand the relationship between art and history, history is often told with art.