The Parisianer, a real Paris !

Paris, as seen in the illustrations

December 2013 marked the start of an exhibition of magazine covers. I can imagine you projecting yourself among the mythical covers of Elle and PlayBoy, from the 80s to today. You're not there at all. Look further east, think United States, think illustration, graphic design.

December 2014 saw the release of The Parisianer. Based on the fetish model of The New Yorker (which we already told you about in this article), over 100 artists were brought together to illustrate the front page of an imaginary magazine.

An imaginary magazine could mean free subject matter, but it's precisely this rigor that the two creators of The Parisianer impose on their illustrators. There will be no content for this magazine, only a cover. But this cover will reflect Parisian life from every angle. The Parisianer will be a portrait of the astonishing Paris that we fall under the spell of.

The New Yorker is a full-fledged weekly launched in 1925. Although positioned as a humor magazine with world-renowned cover designs, it is first and foremost a cutting-edge, sophisticated medium. It features articles on New York's urban culture, short stories by selected writers, scientific essays, reports on business and politics, and, of course, cartoons.

Source photos : “Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn,” by Adrian Tomine, “Second Line,” by Kadir Nelson, “The Endless Summer,” by Mark Ulriksen, “Summer Sky,” by Christoph Niemann, “Baseball Ballet,” by Mark Ulriksen.

At the origin of the Parisianer project is the association La Lettre P, keen to bring young image talents to the fore, by creating exhibitions, events, illustrated concerts... in France and abroad. Today, a whole collective of artists - the list is long - all equally gifted, are united around this project.

The book of the 1st edition already sold out, the second comes out in November 2014 and invites 40 new artists. In addition to numerous exhibitions in France and abroad, the Parisianer continues to blaze his trail. In September 2015, as part of COP21, he was invited by the Quai d'Orsay to imagine the cover of an imaginary Paris, 35 years later. Utopies 2050 was born, with 14 illustrators looking at a capital they imagined to be modern and transformed by climate change or technology, but still Parisian.

It remains to be seen whether these artists will inspire the Paris of tomorrow, although we're hoping to produce wine on the forecourt of the Louvre !

Source photos : Erwann Surcouf, Lionel Serre, Philippe Mignon, Clémence Pollet, Michael Prigent, Amélie Falière, Pierre-Emmanuel Lyet, Aurélie Pollet, Vincent Bergier

Text : Tiphaine Guillermou