COLLAGES

Jacques Prévert
Click on any image for a bigger version

My first encounter with Jacques Prévert was in 1965 in a high rise just outside Paris in the newly constructed dormitory town of Sarcelles. I had been sent by the Alliance Française in Dublin under the French Government's programme, Connaissances de la France, which introduced foreigners to all aspects of French life.

I didn't actually meet the man himself but came up against a gut wrenching poem of his recited by a passionate young Frenchman. La Grasse Matineé has stayed with me ever since and never fails to touch me when I reread it.

Now the wheel has come full circle and Jacques has come to Dublin, to the Alliance Française. Well, not exactly, as he died in 1977, but the Alliance is running a Prévert Festival to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of his death. Part of this is an exhibition of his collages.

Prévert could not paint, but he could do collages. He produced his images with scissors and paste and a vast collection of visual images collected over the years. For him this was the same as words and conveyed the same message.

On discovering Prévert's collages, his friend, Pablo Picasso, said to him: You cannot paint but you are a painter.

His collages are a lesser known part of his work and the Alliance has taken the opportunity to introduce them to the Irish public in the course of this festival.

As I can neither draw or paint but can claim a modest level of competence in Photoshop, I am very much encouraged by Picasso's remark above which at least makes me a potential "painter" or "artist".

Ruairí "Daumier-Lautrec" Quinn
Minister for Learning and Lithographs
Checkout Ruairí's own cartoon here.
See works of Lautrec & Daumier.

My proudest achievement to date is this multi-layered cartoon of Ruairí Quinn, when he was Minister for Education.

The exhibition continues until 30 June 2017. Do drop in to La Cocotte for a decent cup of coffee and a bit of visual stimulation.