In Rust I Trust
Attention: This is a preview of the first section of the book. It will be released May 1st, 2011 Please check with your local bookseller, or email us for inquiries at info@csfpublishing.com
IN RUST I TRUST
This edition © 2011 CSF Publishing, New Mexico, USA & Burgundy, France All photographs © 2010 by Pierre Toutain-Dorbec Introduction © 2011 by Joan Logghe Haiku © 2007 by Alvaro Cardona-Hine Published in 2011 by CSF Publishing, New Mexico, USA & Burgundy, France ISBN-13 978-0-9802432-0-8 ISBN-10 0-9802432-0-3 E-mail: info@csfpublishing.com 505 747 1177
Limited edition prints of the photographs in this book, signed by the photographer, are available. Address inquiries to info@csfpublishing.com or visit pierretoutain.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, whithout permission in writing from the publisher.
For Claudia
IN RUST I TRUST Photographs by PIERRE TOUTAIN-DORBEC Introduction by JOAN LOGGHE
after I touch it I see we have shared with rust the hands of others
INTRODUCTION by Joan Logghe
Rust is irresistible, like kisses it is transient, like memory it is crumbling. Photography has another job. The images are caught, captured with no further change. Moment against motion, in this case the slow dissolve of a car in New Mexico or the more rapid dissolution in the wet climes of Oregon. Car bodies, color, and time are the themes. The photographic method brings a saturated aesthetic pleasure. As soon as I heard the title of this new collection of Pierre ToutainDorbec’s work, I was hooked. We both inhabit the Rio Grande watershed where old car bodies are used to shore up the banks of arroyos, our dry washes. When the monsoon season comes, the power of the flash floods is legendary. The rusting carcasses are iconic, our attempt to hold back the river of time though we know we can’t. Pierre Toutain-Dorbec sees that the double-edged beauty in wreck and decay is not a contradiction. I too walk these arroyos and fall in love with the old car bodies. They are beings with soul, a by-product of that lost America yet they live on. Pierre lives in an America populated by these rusting cars, among northern New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Oregon where he 13
travels widely. Pierre hones in on the abstraction of decay, a painterly glaze here, a hood ornament there. He combines the eye of a sculptor and a photographer to encourage us to see the alchemy of rust, oxidation that occurs on an atomic level. The Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi is at work, finding beauty in the natural world, in imperfection, decay and authenticity. Wabi refers mainly to the natural world, the humble and ordinary, the wisdom in simplicity. Sabi has been defined as “the bloom of time” and taking pleasure in the faded, the old, and quiet beauties. The repaired tea cup, the ruin, and here, the rusted car body. The exploration of wabi-sabi may be a life’s work, but I want to mention it here and find that the word “sabi” itself means rust. The concepts are used together, and never let us forget transience. I put on my old Joan Baez record, Diamonds and Rust. It’s 1975 and she sings, in a pure note dropping voice, that memory brings us “diamonds and rust.” There is the invincible and there is transience, both with their natural powers. You give your love a diamond ring because it sparkles and shines with permanence. But don’t forget we 14
are rusting as we say our vows and eat the wedding cake. Part of the feast is the embrace, life and love entangled with death and departure. In our shiny new car culture we congratulate the new bride or admire the new ride, but let’s not forget the old auntie in the corner. Visiting with these cars reminds me of spending time with the elders. There is a wisdom embodied in both. We ourselves are rusting and beautiful, you can depend on it. The book’s title plays on the credo, engraved on all American currencies, that we trust in God, but maybe it might make more sense to trust in rust, a truth in lending beyond bank bailouts and inflation. Hearing the title, In Rust I Trust, the poetry of the title led me to believe I would easily fall in love with the contents, and I did. The almighty dollar is wed to the auto, our larger currency made visible, General Motors, Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Ford. How sturdy these old chariots are, even in decay. I am an unabashed fan of the icons of my past, and through his transformative seeing, a fan of Pierre Toutain-Dorbec. May our hinges work for a few more decades. May his camera shutter continually open to awe. 15
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In Rust I Trust Photographs by Pierre Toutain-Dorbec Introduction by Joan Logghe ISBN-13: 978-0-9802432-0-8 ISBN-10: 0-9802432-0-3 Publication Date: May 1st, 2011 Format: 5.5 x 8.5� - 140 x 216 mm
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