Editions Bessard
Chattanooga The Green Factory
Pierre Bessard
126 pages
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-2-9537204-0-2
“I vaguely remember some of the landscapes of Cormac McCarthy’s first novels. The moist atmosphere of some plays written by Tennessee Williams in the region. But once I arrived in Chattanooga, I discovered a totally different country. A life separate from the one I had briefly glimpsed while covering stories for French newspapers in major U.S. cities. Something very different from what Europeans, sometimes stuck in their stereotypes, could perceive from the other side of the Atlantic.
When I arrived in the city and in the factory I had a lot preconceived artistic project that I wanted to experiment. But after a few days there, I decided to try to erase myself from my work in an attempt to show through the images, in the most faithful way, the daily life and aspirations of this America. The idea of this original assemblage of pages, designed to suggest a direct access in those stories and lives, imposed itself naturally as fast as did the choice of vivid colors, contrasting with the use black and white in my previous work. I found that it was important to recreate the warmth and generosity of these encounters.
I was very touched by the way the staff and the executives of Alstom great me and helped me in my work. They opened their homes without reluctance to “the frenchy” whose English skills are often uncertain. They showed me their intimacy and even agreed to share, in their own words, their idea of happiness. We have never talked about luxury sedans, trips to exotic destinations or stock market index but simply about basic values. As I hope I manage to suggest throughout the book, they cherish their work, sundays with the family, health and happiness of their children. Welcome to their home.” – Pierre Bessard.
A meditation on the American Dream by Pierre Bessard in this ambitious and impressive production. Beautifully presented hardback with multiple gatefold pages housed in a clamshell box. All text in English. Signed and numbered edition of 200 copies.
