ARTE Distribution

"Insights" : Christian de Portzamparc - "A potted history" of the Blow chair - "Rising trends" : The return of the illustrator - "What to do with" asparagus ? - "Insights" : Ton of Hollande (The Hague)

"Insights" : Christian de Portzamparc
Christian de Portzamparc is the only Frenchman to have won the Pritzker prize, the Nobel of architecture. His work as an architect and town planner is closely linked to the way he sees the city. Whether for his large buildings, his towers, or his portions of city, he creates spaces for users that always answer to the existing urban context. He breaks with the Haussmannian and Le Corbusier visions of the city, and creates a new style of convivial town planning with a human face.

"A potted history" of the Blow chair
The story of the Blow chair started in 1967 in Milan in Italy, where a group of young architect designers De Pas, D'urbino and Lomazzi sought to create a new design for youth. Their thoughts therefore turned to objects and pieces of furniture that could be mass-produced, inexpensively. And for that, they used pneumatic technology. A total revolution! When in 1967 the Blow chair left the factory, it became the symbol of a new generation. From its very creation, the Blow was all the rage. Anti-snobs, anti-conformists, anti-bourgeois, anti-this and anti-that eagerly adopted it. Out went overly square, traditional sofas in which people sat a little awkwardly. From now on, trendy people would seat their guests on a Blow chair to get them nice and relaxed.

"Rising trends" : The return of the illustrator
Magazines had forgotten them a little, but now they're back - fashion illustrators are back with a vengence, reconquering the ground they'd lost to photographers. Magazines are rediscovering paint, ink, pencil and watercolour, and even if computers get a look in here and there, the atmosphere of each illustrator remains unique, both realistic and dreamlike. We met several rising talents.

"What to do with" asparagus ?
Asparagus is a precious and delicate food. It has now become democratised and is widely eaten boiled, and served with a vinagrette or a sauce. But it can also be cooked in the way chef Christian Le Squer suggests. His recipe for green asparagus, grilled grapefruit and tapenade sauce is simply mouth-watering!

"Insights" : Ton of Hollande (The Hague)
Dutchman Ton of Holland is a colourful artist. For Chic !, he welcomes us to his home in The Hague. An immense, highly colourful living area, in his image. It is here where he lives, works and cultivates his art of living, surrounded by others. Chic ! went to mingle with his creations and his friends.