Book launch "Mes écoutes" by Dominique Petitgand
Launch of the book « Mes écoutes » (ed. B42), by Dominique Petitgand, in the presence of Mathilde Villeneuve, director of the Sentiers collection at Editions B42.
« Through these 170 short texts, Dominique Petitgand describes how, in various situations of his daily life, he listens. Similar to a crossing of places and times, this evocation of sounds in their absence constitutes a possible fiction around a few themes: the course of a day from waking to sleeping, domestic or urban listening, travel, the rules of conversation, inner music, or sound obsession. For each of the situations described, the context, the moment, the circumstance but also the mental or physical disposition of the person listening, are as important, if not more so, than the description of the sound itself. This collection thus makes room for the unrepresentable sound and prefers to shift the reflection on its effects and its reception rather than on its description. It thus concentrates on a point of detail, resonances, resemblances, or is sometimes satisfied with simply stating a question. Particular attention is then paid to what is indirect, is at a distance, or is revealed after the fact.
The collection Sentiers of Editions B42, intends to publish literary texts nourished by multiple artistic practices (sound art, dance, visual art, cinema, theater…). Whether they borrow from fiction, poetry, or documentary, their sensitive writings trace possible paths to inhabit this world. Off the beaten track.
Dominique Petitgand was born in Laxou in 1965. He lives and works in Paris and Nancy. He is represented by the gallery gb agency (Paris) and by the label Ici, d’ailleurs (Nancy) for some of his records.
Mathilde Villeneuve is artistic director of the Buda arts center (Kortrijk, Belgium) since 2019, a place of research, creation and presentation of living arts. He is director of the collection Sentiers of the editions B42.
