What We Leave Behind ; From Jean-Luc Godard’s Archive

What We Leave Behind ; From Jean-Luc Godard’s Archive – After a commissioned sound composition for Deutschlandradio, multidisciplinary artist Stéphan Crasneanscki (b. 1969, French) takes a closer look at his significant opus What We Leave Behind, based on the archives of French director Jean-Luc Godard, in book form. The book is divided into four complete sections: boxes, collages, still lifes and notes.

Invited to explore the founding filmmaker’s archive, Crasneanscki photographed Godard’s personal collection of shot films, reel-to-reel, and historical ephemera. The notes and references in the book bear witness to the passage of time, while being saved from oblivion; like a fragmented creative map of the artistic thought process of a master filmmaker. In addition to working with one’s personal effects and cultural heritage, Crasneanscki also adds his own interpretation and admiration to the constellation of ideas of identity, traceability, temporality, space, memory, existence, materiality and historicity of the material.

The book contains a foreword by musician, author and poet Patti Smith (b 1946, American), a conversation with filmmaker Abel Ferrara (b 1951, American) and an essay by film critic, historian and editor Antoine de Baecque (b 1962, French)