Book excerpt: Jill Carrick's Nouveau R?isme, 1960s France, and the Neo-avant-garde provides the first in-depth historical analysis of the "New Realism" movement and the critical and theoretical debates it engaged. This text makes available a new corpus of material - the rich historical and theoretical analysis as well as the fascinating photographic documentation of artists and works - from one of the most significant French art movements of the post-World War II period, whose literature has up to now been dominated by the terms of its founder, Pierre Restany. The illustrations and surprising contextual material - many of which have been unearthed by the author's archival research - document artwork, artists' collaborations, and ephemeral events.