Jo Hart and Jean Milleville release “Sacred Neighbors”, to highlight the passions of figures from Millau. The book will be in bookstores from November 23.
Michel, Claude, Jackie, Amélie, Angelina… Faces that have inevitably already been encountered in the street, at the corner of a zinc or during an event. From a simple polite discussion to a debate of ideas, exchanges with neighbors or simple acquaintances are varied and do not all have the same depth. Which explains why sometimes, we are not immune to pleasant surprises on each other’s journey.
Passionate people at the center of the book
For this, Jo Hart and Jean Milleville went to meet the Millavois to release this series of portraits. A double page for each, black and white photo on the left, color on the right. The layout is clean. A few lines under the black and white portrait to return to the subject’s life. “We chose passionate people,” says Jo Hart. “This allowed us to make a selection and we wanted people who exercise their passion, so that we could take photos of them doing it.” For his part, Jean Milleville “wanted to do photography again”, hence this four-handed project, after They live herethe documentary film which paints the portrait of around fifteen women from Aveyron.
Printed in Villefranche-de-Rouergue
18 months of work were necessary for the duo to release this work, which had just arrived from the Villefranche-de-Rouergue printing house. “After six months, we exhibited the photos at the Salon, people came in large numbers and it worked well,” admits Jean Milleville. And this first release of the portraits to the general public triggered other meetings which completed the collection and allowed the release of this work.
Throughout the pages, the portraits are varied. From Claude, a well-known master glassmaker in Millau, to Amélie, a SOM football player, including Olivier, the veterinarian, Jean-Hervé the wine merchant and Elea, a volunteer firefighter. “We did not do a psycho-sociological study in Millau to have a precise sample of the population,” smiles Jo Hart. “We tried to be as broad as possible in terms of the panel, to balance men and women, to ensure that all ages and as many activities are represented,” adds Jean Milleville. All subjects are called by their simple first name, no last name and “are on an equal footing,” notes the author.
The title was also debated, around the meaning of the word “Sacred”, here chosen to emphasize the singularity of the people whose portrait is depicted and not for its religious value. “There could be polysemy,” admits Jo Hart. “We didn’t know how it was going to be interpreted and after proposing it to several people, it was appreciated.”
“Millau is a city of dreams”
For this duo, Millavois for 40 years, the work was an opportunity to immerse themselves a little more in the life of the city of gloves, through meetings. “I was surprised by the number of activities there are for young people to do in Millau,” admits Jean. “Boxing, archery… I would never have entered these places without this project. Millau is a dream city, even for children.” “It’s not the same to return there on an official visit and in full activity,” continues Jo, who had the opportunity to see various places in the city in her capacity as First Deputy when Guy Durand was mayor. The fruit of these meetings will be found in the bookstores of Millau, from November 23 with a dedication planned for the 25th, at Caumes des livres. There will be a presence at the crafts fair at the Millau village hall on December 2 and 3. A beautiful object to place at the foot of the tree.
2023-11-17 06:06:00
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