Jacques Henric's 'La Balance des blancs': A Novel-Montage on Cancer, Desire, and the West
In a conversation with art press, Jacques Henric reveals insights about his book 'La Balance des blancs' (Seuil, coll. Fiction & cie), which draws from his experience with prostate cancer and subsequent surgery at Clinique Saint-Jean-de-Dieu in June 2007. The title alludes to a concept in photography, delving into the contrasts of black and white, desire, authority, and the delicacy of Eros. Henric juxtaposes the radiant 18th century of Venice with its more somber 19th and 20th centuries, while acknowledging various artistic influences. He also shares the poignant tale of Marius Bourbon, a female communist resistance fighter who was executed in 1942. The narrative spans Russia, Iran, and Africa, tackling themes of transsexuality and examining the distinct role of African art in sexuality compared to its Western counterpart.
Key facts
- Jacques Henric's 'La Balance des blancs' published by Seuil, coll. Fiction & cie.
- Title derived from Nikon D80 white balance definition.
- Book triggered by Henric's prostate cancer surgery at Clinique Saint-Jean-de-Dieu in June 2007.
- Interview conducted by J.-P. Rossignol.
- Chapter on Venice contrasts 18th-century luminaries (Casanova, Titian, etc.) with 19th-20th-century figures (Wagner, Aragon, etc.).
- Henric references Gauguin's 'Maison du Jouir' and colonial destruction of his works.
- Story of Marius Bourbon, a female communist resistance fighter executed by her party in 1942.
- Henric discusses transsexuality referencing Violette Leduc and his own novel 'Carrousels' (1980).
- Book includes travels to Russia, Iran, and Africa, questioning East-West binary.
- Henric collects African statuettes and cites Jean Laude on sexuality in African art.
Entities
Artists
- Jacques Henric
- Giacomo Casanova
- Titian
- Tintoretto
- Tiepolo
- Veronese
- Bellini
- Monteverdi
- Vivaldi
- Wagner
- George Sand
- Alfred de Musset
- Thomas Mann
- Luchino Visconti
- Louis Aragon
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Arthur Rimbaud
- Victor Segalen
- Paul Gauguin
- Pablo Picasso
- Masaccio
- Auguste Rodin
- Aristide Maillol
- Jackson Pollock
- Barnett Newman
- Violette Leduc
- Isidore Ducasse
- Philippe Sollers
- Bernard Dufour
- Romain Gary
- Abélard
- Alexander Pushkin
- Mikhail Lermontov
- Vladimir Mayakovsky
- Ernest Hemingway
- Joë Bousquet
- Ambroise Paré
- Casanova (surgeon)
- Sigmund Freud
- Georges Bataille
- André Breton
- Antonin Artaud
- Jean Genet
- André Malraux
- Pierre Klossowski
- Michel Leiris
- Charles Baudelaire
- Gérard de Nerval
- Gustave Flaubert
- Herman Melville
- T.E. Lawrence
- Paul Nizan
- Roland Barthes
- Louis Massignon
- Stendhal
- Tchouang-tseu
- Jean Laude
- Régis Debray
- Catherine Millet
- Pascal Quignard
- Nabokov
- Marius Bourbon
Institutions
- art press
- Éditions du Seuil
- Clinique Saint-Jean-de-Dieu
- France Culture
- Tel Quel
- Nikon
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Paris
- France
- Montparnasse
- Russia
- Moscow
- Saint Petersburg
- Iran
- Africa
- Senegal
- Marquesas Islands
- French Polynesia
- Rambouillet forest
- Occident
- Orient
Sources
- artpress —