The personality of Josephine Baker (1906-1975) inspires our time. Publications and exhibitions offer a new reading of her pioneering course in the body of the 20th century, between the intolerant side of America and the vastness of France.

The most recent public mention of her case was a recently opened exhibition in Bonn (Bundeskunsthalle). The exhibition, titled “Josephine Baker: Freedom – Equality – Humanity” runs until September 24, 2023, and presents Baker as one of the symbols of the last century. Baker was a breakthrough artist, she had a star. And at the same time, he was opposed to racism, which he experienced from a very young age.

Singing and dancing, with the body of a snake, a harbinger of sexual liberation, a philanthropist and a giver, Josephine Baker also became a symbol of French resistance to the Nazis in World War II. He passed through all the gates of heroization. In the 1920s, Paris and all of Europe went crazy. In the 1940s, she earned respect for her attitude. In the 1970s, in 1975, four days before her death, she gave her last performance at a gala hosted in her honor by Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly.

To this day, it remains an emblem of dignity and self-determination. Although she was primarily an international star, Josephine Baker was also loved for her fight for freedom, the body, and the nation. He believed in everyone’s right to happiness, regardless of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, at a time when homosexuality was taboo in public discussion. “No one scares me,” he said. “There is only one race, the human race.” Josephine Baker was born in 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. As a child, she faced severe discrimination and racist abuse. In 1925, when she was 19, her creative pursuits took her to Paris, where she experienced freedom. Paris was still the center of Europe. From there, settling in France, he conquered all of Europe and became a star. She succeeded and became the highest paid dancer of her time and the first African-American female superstar. In 2021, she was posthumously admitted to the Panthéon in Paris and has since been officially a national heroine of the French.

NY
Cypress Van Gogh
A new exhibition at the New York Metropolitan is dedicated to Vincent van Gogh’s cypresses. The exhibition will run until August 27, and this is the first time that Van Gogh is associated with the forms and symbolism of cypress trees. During his stay in the south of France, he admired the green “flame” rising on the horizon. More than 40 works talk about this perspective, which expands it.
its topography.

MADRID
Prado and writers
The Prado Museum is launching a new collaboration program with writers from all over the world. The first guest is the Nobel Prize-winning South African writer J. M. Cutsi, who will be in Madrid for three weeks (late June – early July), and will focus on the Prado, which will also become a source of inspiration. He will write a short story, which will be included in the museum edition with texts by invited authors.

LONDON
New gallery
The Halcyon Gallery has received a new home in central London at 148 New Bond Street. His work opens with an exhibition by British digital artist Dominic Harris (pictured). This address has been associated with art for over 150 years. It used to house the Fine Arts Society. Dominic Harris offers a complete sensory experience and refraction of the concept of space through his works.

NY
The Brooklyn Bridge is 140 years old.
The Brooklyn Bridge, New York’s emblem, was a titanic engineering project. It was opened in 1883. It was the largest suspension bridge of its time, and a few days ago it celebrated its 140th anniversary. The completion of the bridge was celebrated with celebrations and fireworks as a great achievement. It was designed by the German-born engineer John August Rembling (1806-1869). Until 1950, it was also crossed by I.Kh.

WASHINGTON
East meets West
The National Gallery in Washington DC has announced the acquisition of four photographs by Cheng Kuong Chi (1950-1990) from his famous East meets West series (1979-1987). In the series, he is depicted dressed in typical oriental clothing, next to the iconic landmark buildings of Western civilization. He has described himself as “a curious traveller, a witness to his time, and a controversial diplomat”.