VOX JLG - Du plomb au film

By Paule Palacios-Dalens

17 x 24 cm / 172 pages / December 2024

isbn : 9782351373828

-

How do you make a book while making films, or vice versa? Based on the work of Jean-Luc Godard, this essay examines the relationship between the world of books and that of film in terms of editing. To establish the genesis of his graphic know-how, whether unconscious or assumed, I compare his work with that of Maximilien Vox, a key figure in the history of French typography.  Despite the considerable gap between their respective universes, whether in terms of their fields of activity, their belonging to distinct generations, their aesthetic registers or their political implications, one fundamental trait unites them: each in his own discipline occupies the same historical and symbolic place. The family bond that unites the two men, ignored by critics and concealed by the main parties involved, was the trigger for my investigation. The recourse to similarities, which are not mere references, is concretized here in the layout by the material confrontation of various reproductions - book pages, photograms, videograms or collages - taken from their work. The aim is to show how the works interact with each other, and to exhibit the results. Between these two poles, neighbouring constellations emerge, notably Chris Marker, concerned with books, publishing, cinema and Godard.He acts as a revealing link between tradition and modernity.The graphic confrontation between Vox and Godard highlights the close correlations in their respective works, which are illuminated in a new light by this prism.Vox is present in Godard's graphic prehistory, as well as in the filigree of his cinephilia.