Chroniques de l'art vivant #42

34 pages
Text(s) by Jean Clair, Adrien Maeght, Maria Louisa Borrás, Lise Brunel, Daniel Caux, Alain Clerval, Hella Guth, Gilbert Lascault, Irmeline Lebeer, Dominique Noguez, Sevim Riendinger, Philippe du Vignal
Designed by Jean Toche
29.7 x 28 cm 
Language: French
Paperback
1973

Issue no. 42 of Chroniques de l’Art Vivant offers a dense and revealing snapshot of the artistic, cultural, and political tensions shaping the early 1970s. Published in August–September 1973, this issue captures a moment when avant-garde practices, underground cultures, and international exchanges were actively reshaping the boundaries of contemporary art.

The magazine notably features Ben Vautier at the Stedelijk Museum, marking a significant institutional recognition of Fluxus-related and conceptual practices. It also includes texts and reflections on Asger Jorn, whose thinking continued to influence post-COBRA debates around spontaneity, politics, and artistic freedom.

One of the standout sections is Une grande parade underground, dedicated to the graffiti of New York—an exceptionally early European editorial focus on what was still an emerging, largely undocumented urban phenomenon. Seen here as a cultural signal rather than a marginal curiosity, New York graffiti is framed within broader underground dynamics and countercultural expression.

Literary and critical voices are strongly present, including contributions by Bernard Noël, alongside wide-ranging surveys such as Trajectoires canadiennes (linked to the exhibition Canada, Trajectoires 73), features on Video Canada, and coverage of the 8e Biennale de Paris.

The issue further explores folk music’s revival in France (with Roger Mason and Steve Waring), German rock, experimental cinema and neo-decadence, as well as reports on underground parades, alternative lifestyles, and cultural “miracles” in cities like Toulon.

Both a period document and a research tool, Chroniques de l’Art Vivant #42 is an essential primary source for anyone interested in the intersections of contemporary art, underground cultures, early graffiti history, music, and critical thought in the 1970s. A key reference for collectors, researchers, and readers tracing the prehistory of today’s urban and countercultural practices.