Free event. Free parking.
Hosted by Shelley Stephenson and Keith Brown
Meeting in the Ironwood Classroom at Tempe Public Library
The Book: Making Paradise: Art, Modernity, and the Myth of the French Riviera, by Kenneth E. Silver
Detailed handout with discussion questions, additional links and background:
https://www.potluckdinner.org/misc/Beaulieu_TSC_Reading_Global_april_2025.pdf
City Information: Midway between Nice and Monte Carlo, Beaulieu-sur-Mer has about 5,000 year-round residents. It became Tempe's 6th Sister City in 1997. Burke Files serves as country director.
Author Bio: Kenneth Silver is a historian of modern art, who taught for many years at New York University before retiring in Fall 2024. For his work to make French art known internationally, he was made a Chevalier of the Order of Arts & Letters by the French government in spring 2010.
Historical Background: The creation of the Riviera myth
Tracing art and artists from the 1880s through 2000, Silver identifies France's Mediterranean coast as a "dream space for the twentieth century”. The "myth" he alludes to is the idea of the Riviera as a timeless, unspoiled paradise where artists, writers, and the wealthy elite could escape the pressures of industrialized modernity and find inspiration in the sun-drenched landscape. He lays out how art, literature, and tourism turned 150 miles of coastline into a place of artist freedom, sensual pleasure, and escape from industrialized modernity.
Reading Global Book Club: Tempe Public Library's Reading Global Book Club reads fiction and non-fiction books focusing on Tempe's Sister Cities. Each book is either written by an author from one of Tempe's Sister Cities, or focuses on those cities, and each book club meeting will include discussions led by individuals with deep experience in the diverse and compelling histories and cultures of these communities. The club meets once per month. All Reading Global Book Club meetings are held at the Tempe Public Library, 6:00pm-7:30pm.
What If I Have Not Read the Book? We find that most attendees at our book club meetings are excited about reading these books and come to the meetings having read all or part of the books. But everybody is welcome at the book club meetings, even if they haven't read the book! We have great discussions, great guests, etc., and everyone can enjoy and participate, regardless of how much they read.