Boris Vian, incandescent and splendidly insolent, fascinates. Talented, a musician, author of L’Ecume des jours, L’Arrache-cœur and several other novels, writer of surprising plays and poetry, the artist knew how to play with convention. 
His Parisian life and his attachment to the world of St Germain-Des-Prés are well known and documented. His childhood, less so. Le Contentin unveils part of it in a dense exhibition.
The Tourp manor house, a 17th-century farmhouse, is the setting for the presentation. It highlights the highlights of his life as an artist, as well as the more intimate moments of his childhood. 
Six hundred documents, photographs, … An attractive walk.
From 1920 to 1939, Boris Vian’s family vacationed in Landemer, on the Cap de la Hague. Where do you come from, Boris? refocuses the exhibition, allowing us to glimpse, touch by touch, the contradictions, the quintessence and the scope of his art. Photographs, writings and various manuscripts offer a glimpse into his life and his genius. Some items loaned by the family offer an unusual insight into his life.
Film excerpts reveal him as an unexpected actor in family dramas and secondary roles in major productions and short films (St Tropez, holiday homework, the Mona Lisa, etc.). (St Tropez, vacation homework, the Mona Lisa, etc. ). Screenplay booklets show his involvement in their writing.
Listening stations let you indulge in the surrealism of his songs. 
Some 500 are to be counted to his credit. La Java des bombes atomiques, Le tango interminable des perceurs de safes, … are just a few of the thrilling examples of his work. Some archives mention his artistic links with Salvador Dali and Serge Gainsbourg. His collaborations with Duke Ellington and Miles Davis are well known, as are their friendships. His commitment to jazz led him to join several orchestras. An ingenious trumpeter, he attracted the attention of other great talents. Many of his contemporaries admired him and rightly praised his ability to transform things and people. Quéneau, one of them, wrote in the preface to l’Arrache Cœur, his confidence in the artist, “Boris Vian is going to become Boris Vian’.
A beautiful and moving perspective on an exceptional work and an era. This exhibition brings us closer to this incredible being. The visitor, as if on a journey to an exhilarating elsewhere, becomes a witness to the transfiguration of reality into Art.
Three animated sculptures, or ‘objouets interloquants’, punctuate the route. 
They were created by Guénolé Azerthiope and include allusions to his Contentin childhood. As well as their aesthetic interest, they are a playful reminder of Boris Vian’s attachment to surrealism.
Where do you come from Boris?
Exhibition until December 23, 2012
02 33 01 85 89
www.letourp.com
Free admission
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