American Puzzle,
construit en deux temps et deux mouvements,
ce livre de 175 photos est le résultat de 17 voyages
aux États-Unis entre 1996 et 2011.
Ni reporter, ni photojournaliste, Jean-Christophe Béchet
a adopté le point de vue du visiteur, du marcheur,
de celui qui traverse les espaces et suit sa route
pour la confronter à sa mémoire et à ses connaissances.
En mêlant diverses matières photographiques,
il nous plonge dans un pays où transparaît un sentiment d'inquiétude.
Jean-Christophe Béchet,
né à Marseille (France) en 1964, il vit et travaille à Paris depuis 1990.
«American Puzzle» est son huitième livre.
Ses travaux photographiques ont fait l'objet de nombreuses expositions
et monographies dans lesquelles il mêle noir et blanc et couleur
mais aussi différents formats (24 x 36, 6 x 6, panoramique).
Autant d'instruments au service d'un oeil qui découpe, tranche
et laisse de côté l'accessoire pour se concentrer sur l'essentiel :
faire dialoguer une forme photographique et un point de vue sur le monde.
Sa photographie s'inspire de la musique, et notamment du free-jazz.
American Puzzle,
constructed of two movements and two time schemes,
this book of 175 photographs is the result of 17 trips
to the United States between 1996 and 2011.
Neither photojournalist nor reporter,
Jean-Christophe Béchet adopted the point of view of the visitor,
of the walker, of he who crosses spaces and follows his path
in order to bring it face to face with his memory and knowledge.
By mixing various photographic mediums,
he immerses us in a country that betrays a sense of anxiety.
Jean-Christophe Béchet was born in Marseille, France in 1964,
and has lived and worked in Paris since 1990.
"American Puzzle" is his eighth book. His photography has been featured
in numerous exhibits and been the subject of multiple monographs.
Blending black and white but also color, and using different formats
(24x36, 6x6, panoramic), his eye uses various tools
to cut through the incidental and concentrate on the essential:
the creation of a dialogue between a photographic form
and a point of view of the world. Music, and especially free jazz
whose improvisation leaves nothing to chance, has inspired his work,
in which "letting go" is the fruit of long years of practice and deep reflection
on the meaning of the score and its multiple interpretations.
