The smell of coffee and the warmth of a cup of tea in your hands, when outside the cold turns your fingers blue… The Alfaro bar percolates comfort. “Egun on.” » Producer Pierre Oteiza enters the Aldudes bar with his family, including photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. An old friendship brings them together in the Basque village on Wednesday. “We met at the Agricultural Show 30 years ago,” recalls the man from the world bestseller “The Earth Seen from the Sky”. At the time, he portrayed French breeds of animals in the Parisian “farm”. “I started with a horse and I immediately understood that it is the breeder who is interesting. » The germ of the project “The French and those who live in France”. The one who, so many years later, brought Yann Arthus-Bertrand to the Basque village. With friend Pierre, of course.
Like the day before, the photographer deployed his nomadic “studio” in the jokoberri room (1). A large burlap in the background, lighting: the device has not changed since the first shots of cattle. More than 50 sessions throughout France and 27,000 people today make up “a true social portrait of France”. Yann Arthus-Bertrand refers to his peers August Sander, Seydou Keïta and Irving Penn. It brings together the faces of the country to show it in its reality, its humanity, and therefore its multiplicity.
Stand up straight, look at me. And send me love!
Comfort
In the jokoberri room, a burlap gives a tobacco tint to the portraits taken by photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
Émilie Drouinaud
“I ask people to come with the people they love. It can also be the tool of their trade, a uniform, an animal… Something important to them, which connects them. »Whoever wants comes. His assistants orchestrate the shots. “Come on, let’s go!” » Françoise Jacquot almost reads Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s thoughts. She already worked with him, at the time of the Salon. The Oteiza family, Pierre, Catherine and their son Frantxoa pass in front of the camera. “Stand up straight, look at me. And send me love! »
We move forward in chaos, but the humanity that I find in this work on the French allows me to live
Everything is said, or almost. “This work conveys a lot of love. It’s a great comfort,” relishes the photographer. He found there “a source of hope” in the face of the sadness of the time. The burning of Los Angeles, the devastation of Mayotte, the political procrastination in the face of catastrophe… The ecologist showed the beauty of the world to talk about its fragility. He thinks of “the kids who are 20 years old today”. “We move forward in chaos, but the humanity that I find in this work on the French allows me to live. » The others are warm.
Émilie Drouinaud
Yann Arthus-Bertrand draws “great comfort” from his work entitled “The French and those who live in France”.
Émilie Drouinaud
Yann Arthus-Bertrand with his old friend Pierre Oteiza.
Pierre Oteiza brought four Kintoa pigs, a breed he helped to preserve. “They are one of ten that we will show at the Agricultural Show in March. » The competition animals eat a piece of jute, forget themselves a little, but pose obediently with the swineherd Gracien Bordères and their personal driver, Éric Belgarde. TUUUT! Françoise Jacquot blows a call to make the pigs’ heads turn. “It works with humans too. » “A horse and a blended family” await their turn. “Is the pepper producer there?” », anticipates Françoise.
“The Thing of a Lifetime”
Émilie Drouinaud
In front of the camera of documentary filmmaker Sibylle d’Orgeval, Pierre Oteiza, Gracien Borderes, Éric Belegarde and their protégés.
Celia Paris comes forward with her pots, her brushes, her speckled work outfit. The young woman changed her life, left international trade, stacked containers for the tangible aspect of house painting. “I felt guilty about coming, because I’m working for a client at the moment. He told me, ‘Go ahead, it’s Yann Arthus-Bertrand, it’s the thing of a lifetime’.” She would like to say a word about the BatiFemmes network, which defends women artisans. “And then it makes me feel good to see myself in this image. » Slight tramblotti in the voice and veil on the eyes…
Being here is for me a way of saying that I am alive
“People give of themselves, they put themselves in a bit of danger,” knows Yann Arthus-Bertrand. He doesn’t play the role of authority, the relationship is simple and direct. “We’re cool. » At 78 years old, his experience as a media eco-punching bag for a bunch of narrow interests inclines him to put the pinnacle into perspective. “I’ve always had a blast, so you know, the holy monster…”
Émilie Drouinaud
A screen allows you to monitor the result throughout the shooting.
“Sexy smile”
Natasha Azais Kroupnic came from Biarritz and comes from much further afield: “I was born in kyiv, in Ukraine. With everything going on in my country, I’m in a bit of a desperate mood. I came for someone who photographs life. Being here is for me a way of saying that I am alive. »
Stop making her laugh! It’s magnificent! This is the most beautiful photo I have taken here!
Click-clack, hikers. Clic-clac, another family, a baker… “We have one hell of daylight this morning,” enthuses Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Shipping pros rush in with their packaging. The photo will work great as each model will receive one. But Babeth Munduate will be able to tell the story of the packed and packing woman. Now Françoise Jacquot wraps it in a sort of cardboard muslin, like a vestal dress. “That’s beautiful!” » The photographer is holding something. “Give me a sexy smile.” » “You’ll be able to sign autographs,” the colleagues quarrel. “Stop making her laugh, you people!” Look at me instead of listening to them! It’s magnificent! This is the most beautiful photo I have taken here! »
Émilie Drouinaud
Yann Arthus-Bertrand gives his instructions, supported by a team of five people.
(1) Half trinquet.
