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Lettrie à ouvrir des horizons nouveaux

1966
Not on view
Lettrism, an artistic movement born in postwar France, sought the liberation of language by destroying the ability of letters to convey meaning or act as representations of something other than themselves. Sabatier’s pages integrate images, utterances, hieroglyphs, musical notes, fragments of text, letters, and even complete words. Forms are dispersed across the surface, challenging the traditional manner in which pages are read, words are spoken, and language is interpreted. The term “lettrie” refers to a Letterist poem, which group members believed was a blank form that could “open new horizons” for both the author and the reader, as well as society at large. Like many Letterist works, the title, Lettrie à ouvrir des horizons nouveaux, also evokes a variety of things, such as characters from the alphabet, writing, literature, lettré (being well read), and decorative letters found in books, as well as the Letterists themselves.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lettrie à ouvrir des horizons nouveaux
  • Author: Roland Sabatier (French, Toulouse, 1942–2022 Paris)
  • Artist: Roland Sabatier (French, Toulouse, 1942–2022 Paris)
  • Artist: Man Ray (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1890–1976 Paris)
  • Artist: Micheline Hachette (French, Paris 1938–1993)
  • Artist: Alain Satié (French, Toulouse 1944–2011 Paris)
  • Artist: Aude Jessemin (French, born Preuilly-sur-Claire, 1937)
  • Artist: Isidore Isou (French (born Romania), Botosani 1925–2007 Paris)
  • Artist: Jacques Spacagna (French, Paris 1936–1990 Paris)
  • Artist: Alain de Latour (French, born 1932)
  • Artist: Viviane Brown (French, Alençon, born 1940)
  • Dedicatee: Dedicated to Jean Petithory (French, active 20th century)
  • Publisher: Editions PSI
  • Date: 1966
  • Medium: Book with lithographs, etchings, drawings in ink and in gouache
  • Dimensions: 8 9/16 x 5 5/8 x 11/16 in. (21.7 x 14.3 x 1.8 cm)
  • Classification: Books
  • Credit Line: John B. Turner Fund, 1967
  • Object Number: 67.765.18
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Roland Sabatier/ADAGP (France)
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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