La Conversation / The Conversation

Phoenicia, NY: Woodstock Editions, 2000. Two volumes, unpaginated, with black and white photographs. Quarto ( x cm.), boards covered in butcher paper, boxed. Text in French and English. FIRST EDITION, limited to 2000 numbered copies signed by Gissinger. An exchange in words and images between photographer Hans Gissinger and chef Marc Meneau, this book provides a sharp contrast to what is usually considered "food photography". The black and white images reveal the grisly processes of haute cuisine; slaughtering animals, force feeding geese, stuffing sausages. Parallel to their meditation on food and its cultural significance are Gissinger's gripping photographs which find beauty, depth, and humanity in our relationship with what we eat and how it gets to the plate. Fine.