Abecedary
This Adecedary is part of Robert Delpire, C'est de voir qu’il s’agit, published by Delpire in 2017.
© Sarah Moon
A is for Les Américains: Neither Robert Frank nor I thought we were making a cult book in 1958. I am not sure I like the word. I am wary of formulas and religions.
B is for Bob: I always thought it was Robert Capa's name. But my grandmother decided otherwise and nicknamed me that. A long time ago.
C is for CNP: The happiest period of my professional life. In 1982 I accepted a two-year post as director of the Centre national de la photographie. I stayed for 15 years. I have never regretted it.
D is for Delpire & Cie: The ampersand is essential: I wouldn't have done anything without all the people I have worked with.
E is for éditon (publishing): I had to go through medicine to discover a passion. It is like in the countryside. The side roads are often the most interesting.
F is for Galerie Fait & Cause: The pleasure of being useful. Working in the social field with Michel Christolhomme as your contact: a dream.
G is for Grand Prix: Awards are like medals. There are those that make you feel good and those that make you feel indifferent. The gold medals for Sarah Moon's films are in the first category. The Lifetime Achievement Awards, whether American or Japanese, have the scent of incense, of funerals.
H is for Henri Cartier-Bresson: I miss him. Tinkering with photography, not a day goes by when I don't think of him. Of the man he was. The intelligence he had. Beyond the talent recognized so early on. Of the constancy of his friendship and trust.
I is for illustration: I can't sum up the chapter on illustrators with one name. But André Francois was another great friend for fifty years. A friend with a big heart. A great talent, multiple and of a confounding diversity. It was because of him that I published children's books. Les Larmes de crocodile, which he wrote, illustrated and designed, is for me a masterpiece.
J is for Jack Lang (former French Minister of Culture): I have never stopped singing his praises, and never will. And to thank him. For who he was. A minister like no other. Concerned about his role. Attentive to people. Effective like no other minister. If Photo Poche exists, it’s thanks to him.
K is for Koudelka: He is a monster. Of energy. Of passion. Of talent. As I've written before, he has a rage for seeing. And he sees better than anyone. He is one of those meteors that cross the history of photography, pure of all influences. Unclassifiable. A great man. A great friend, too.
L is for Lartigue: No one embodied the joy of life better than he did. And he put it into pictures. He is a haven of gentleness and kindness in a world of brutes.
M is for Memories: let's not talk about those who are longer with us.
N is for NEUF: With NEUF magazine, everything was new to me. A job I knew nothing about. The discovery of a passion that was as unexpected as it was unusual. The discovery, too, of all those authors who became my friends, whom I haven't abandoned, but who sometimes left us too soon. André François, Claude Roy, André Martin, Jacques Prévert and a few others.
O is for octogenarian: I am as old as my vertebrae. Too much sport, they say. But I really enjoyed it. Doing it, not talking about it.
P is for photographer: One says that photography is writing with light. Some photographers are dazzling. Marey, for example. I know others who are a little off.
Q is for Qui êtes-vous Polly Maggoo?: I've always been fascinated by the moving image. But I soon realized that I didn't have the resources to play that game. William Klein was an exception. A very pleasant one. Camera in hand, this old Bill is even better than with a Nikon. That says a lot.
R is for reconnaissance (gratitude): I would need a whole page to cover the subject.
S is for Sarah Moon: Two complementary professions. Hers. Mine. In perfect solidarity and mutual esteem. Never in competition. To speak only on a professional point of view. S for sentiment becomes a private matter.
T is for traditionalist: Not more than that. To me, a good photography has no label.
U is for unity: Unity in diversity. It’s not a question of ethics. It’s a question of nature.
V is for voir (seeing): I don't have a tired eye. I'm lucky. Yes, I still see good images. I still meet young, talented photographers who care more about people than about themselves. And I have nothing against conceptualists. As long as they don't think that the quality of a photo depends on its size.
W is for Werner Bischof: I met Werner Bischof a long time ago. He was the star of the Zurich School of Applied Arts. Excellent graphic designer. Great sportsman. He was both a refined aesthete and a citizen of the world. Japan enchanted him. He had found the country of his dreams.
X is for 190 x 125: If I were asked to choose one of our publications, I would say with no hesitation: "Photo Poche", which has the merit of still being in the making.
Y is for Yann Arthus-Bertrand: He is a photographer who has produced a methodical body of work. The reasoned and carefully organized nature of his approach makes him a pillar of the ecological cause.
Z is for Patrick Zachmann: He's a man in search of identity. His own. Of emigrants, whether from Mali or China. He shows both the host country and the homeland. This immersion gives his images a particular social dimension.
