Tosh Berman's Blog, page 252

Gilles Verlant (June 11, 1957 - September 20, 2013)

Gilles Verlant and his subject matter Serge Gainsbourg

I would like to think that Gilles Verlant was my best friend, but the fact is I only met him face-to-face maybe half-a-dozen times in a short period of time.  The first time I met him was in Paris January 2012.  I and Paul Knobloch, the translator of Gilles’ magnificent biography on Serge Gainsbourg, was putting the final touches of this project which took us a long time to complete.  There were health issues involved on the American side, and just basic life stuff that delayed this book for a year or so. Also it was a major undertaking for the press due to the size of the book moreover being so detailed in information regarding the French pop music and its culture.  I needed to finish everything in 2012 due to production and distribution deadlines.   I was nervous at the thought of meeting the author of “Gainsbourg” because I felt so close to the book, that I almost forgot that there was a living author behind it.  I was so used to working with Paul mostly on the Boris Vian titles I publish, that I was totally not aware of working with a living author - until he wrote to me.  A very wonderful charming e-mail letting us know that’s he’s around to help, and that was a great help to our production of this book.   Over various e-mails to Paul, Gilles was very helpful and a great supporter of getting this “Gainsbourg” published in English.
So when I finally met him at a Paris restaurant, I was anxious.  On top of that he was late and i didn’t have a cell phone on me for this trip.  But I waited, and I dared not to move from our agreed spot to meet.  From a distance I saw a gentleman walking towards me and just by his walk there was a certain amount of character - I thought to myself “that has to be Gilles!”  It was and he was perfectly charming about being late and then for the next three hours over a meal we talked about Gainsbourg and his life.  I remember that I had so many endless questions to ask him about Serge, but not only that I was deeply curious about Gilles life as well. 
 From the very beginning he brought up the fact that he has two sons, and this I gather right away was a very important fact to him.  I know nothing about his parents but to him family meant his two sons.  Gilles appeared to be young, so I was kind of surprised to learn his two sons were around 19 to 21 years old because Gilles seemed ageless to me.  I think people who love rock n’ roll are ageless in a sense.  They are dealing with a passion that they picked up when they were young, and if it stays with you, it becomes an appearance of youth.  Gilles and I were from the same generation, so we shared that, but also a love of the pop music world and all the off-shoots of it.
Reading the “Gainsbourg” biography I was so impressed that Gilles met every leading figure in the French entertainment world.  Serge Gainsbourg is not only a pop artist, but also an entrance to the complex and wonderful world of the French pop world.  On one level, Gilles served as a tour guide to that world, where non-speaking French language people have an inside view of that fascinating planet known as the French entertainment world.  Gilles really conveys the importance of Gainsbourg, but also gives the bigger picture of what is French pop music as well as its cinema world.  So I was impressed that this man across the table from me interviewed almost every major iconic French star for his book.  As an American I couldn’t imagine being in the same room with these people, yet Gilles managed to talk to them and I just wanted to know what Juliette Gréco was like in person - but I was too shy to ask such a fan-type question. 
That summer he came to Los Angeles to promote the newly published edition of “Gainsbourg” as well as taking an old-fashioned tourist trip with his two sons.  It appeared to me that this journey was very important to Gilles.  One, because his book is being published in the States, but two, and even more important to him, he was with his sons.  Gilles strikes me as someone who likes U.S. culture a lot.  In that sense he reminds me of Jean-Pierre Melville, the great French filmmaker, who had an obsession with U.S. pop culture.   The fact he even took the name “Melville” as a nod to the great American author, that somewhat represented America to the iconic film artist.   With a short time it seemed Gilles and his sons went to every major tourist spot in Los Angeles as well as San Francisco.  The last time I saw him he was a shade of red, due to the sun from the desert. 
I think what really impressed him was doing an event for the book at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco.  Gilles couldn’t get over the fact that he was part of the City Lights world due to it being the most iconic American bookstore in the country.  It was like the filmmaker Melville actually met the writer Melville!  For both events, one at the D.A.P. space in Los Angeles and the other at City Lights was a total success.  The memory of it now makes me happy, because god anything can go wrong in the book world.  But alas, it was a series of perfect moments with the perfect guy. 
A couple of days ago I heard about Gilles’ death,either from a heart attack or falling down a staircase, which at  this moment, seems unbelievable.  For one, he was such a happy figure in my mind.  He really enjoyed life as it was happening.  Serge Gainsbourg had the perfect biographer, and Oscar and Victor, his two sons, I think had a great Dad.
Paul Knobloch, Tosh Berman & Gilles Verlant

The Inspiration Behind Lun*na Menoh's "Shirt Mask"

To read my little essay on Lun*na's inspiration go here:
http://blog.lunnaworld.com/2013/09/the-inspiration-behind-lunna-menohs-shirt-mask/

les noces de colin et chloee

Film en papier decoupé,cene du mariage de colin et chloée, tirée de l'Ecume des jours de boris vian, réalisé par Louise Mendoche, Bruno Chaix et Cielle Graham. Pour la piece de theatre l'ecume des jours

Annimated take on Boris Vian's L'´ecume des jours

L'écume des jours de Boris Vian

A documentary or reading of Boris Vian's "L'écume des jours (Foam of the Daze)

The Japanese Trailer for "Mood Indigo"

Slowly but surely it is being released around the world, but no word yet about an U.S. release.  I haven't seen the film, but what I have heard is not that hot.  Also the music used in this trailer really sucks.  But nevertheless the novel by Boris Vian is magnificent and I published it through TamTam Books.  My edition is called "Foam of the Daze" and it is translated from the French into English by Brian Harper.  The book includes detailed end-notes that one can read after the book.  Think of it as the bonus documentary on a DVD.

"Sun Of A Beach" Group Show featuring Lun*na Menoh

Visit Lun*na Menoh's "Shirt Mask" at this exhibition Sun Of A Beach  curated by Denis Brun.  Who knows, they may allow you to wear Lun*na's shirt mask.

"Locus Solus. Impressions of Raymond Roussel"

ISBN 9788475069821
My ideal perfect book on a without doubt a perfect writer, that being Raymond Roussel.  "Locus Solus:. Impressions of Raymond Roussel" is a catalog of an exhibition that took place in Madrid, and for some reason the literature here is translated into English.  Oh joy!  Not only do we get samples of Roussel's writings, but also commentary by Dali, Breton, Soupault, and a fascinating interview with the great American poet John Ashbery.   He is probably the only American in the 50's who had an interest in Roussel's work.  While he lived in France he contacted people who either knew Roussel or had a deep interest in his work.
Roussel was a man who had a small audience for his work, but like the Velvet Underground, each member started their own important band.  Roussel's followers were the DADA, the Surrealists, The New York School of Poetry, Georges Perec & his group, and basically anything that even stinks of the avant-garde that has a limb attached to the works of Roussel.   Probably the biggest influence on an artist is Marcel Duchamp.  The French, but New Yorker, genius based a lot of his ideas on Roussel's visual sense as well as his thoughts about the presentation of things that happen.   In his mind, Roussel thought himself as an equal to Verne and Hugo, but the truth is his work was not noticed at all in the bestselling group of writers.  He belong to the gutter of the avant-garde, but alas, the gifts he brings is endless and quite complex.  The greatest joy in reading Roussel is similiar to someone taking you for a ride in a very interesting neighborhood, a place you don't understand, but equally remarkable for its daring and perverse beauty.  
This book is a great introduction to the world of Roussel, and everyone from Dali to Mike Kelley allowed themselves to be touched by his genius.  And without a doubt Roussel was a genius.  To see the world with his eyes is a combination of a horror and carnival show mixed with a certain amount of beauty.  And it these images that he produces through his writing that had such a major affect on the contemporary art world - even to this day.  Buy and own this book before it totally disappears into the world of high-priced used books. 

Lun*na Menoh's "Shirt Mask"

I wrote a blog or small essay on Lun*na Menoh's new artwork "The Shirt Mask."  It will be exhibited in Marseille, France and curated by the artist Denis Brun.
Read it here:  http://blog.lunnaworld.com/2013/09/lunna-menohs-shirt-mask/

Tosh Talks: Interview with Kiichiro Yanashita

Tosh Talks.  Tosh interviews Kiichiro Yanashita, a translator, film critic, and a man of great taste. Kiichiro translated William S. Burrough's "Soft Machine," John Water's "Shock Value," JG Ballard's "Crash" as well as countless other great titles into Japanese.  To go to Tokyo and not to meet Mr. Yanashita, is for sure a sign of failure.  Nevertheless I have spent countless hours with Kiichiro to various bars, shops, and god knows what else in Tokyo.  Here we talk books, culture, the issue of translation, cinema, true crime and other fun stuff.

Lun*na Menoh's New Work

I'm the model for Lun*na's Lunna Menoh new art project - a shirt mask or a mask shirt. Handmade by her, it's a mask that is a small white shirt with collar, sleeves, and buttons. There is no reason why a shirt should 'only' be made for the chest area. Why not for the head!?!