Poster, An American in Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet

French graphic designer and typographer Philippe Apeloig knows something about being a foreigner in a glamorous city—for five years he lived in New York working as a designer and teaching at Cooper Union and the Rhode Island School of Design. Apeloig has designed stunning theater posters for Châtelet since 2006, including Street Scene (2012), which is in Cooper Hewitt’s collection. Nevertheless, he was particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity to create the poster for the French production of the classic musical, An American in Paris. Apeloig has long been a devotee of modern dance, and his inspiration for the design was drawn directly from the choreography of Gene Kelly, who is best known for his portrayal of Jerry Mulligan, the American in the musical. From the beginning, Apeloig knew that his image would include the Eiffel Tower, and the question was how he would make the iconic, rigid iron structure dance. His solution was to reconceive of the monument in typographic form. While the elegant shape of the Eiffel Tower is retained, its inelastic lines become sinuous, curving back and forth as though the architectural form were the body of a dancer. Apeloig ingeniously created a double image, so that two corporeal Eiffel Towers appear to dance with each other.

Poster, An American in Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet; screenprint on paper; 149.9 × 100.3 cm (59 in. × 39 1/2 in.); Gift of Philippe Apeloig in honor of Gail Davidson; 2015-34-2

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color.