Gainsbourg was a devotee of the initial “B”—from Bardot to Birkin to Bambou—beautiful women and velvety voices… The couple he formed with Jane in the 1970s embodies the very essence of the Gainsbourg style: his class, his elegance, his nonchalance, and his taste for exquisite eroticism. This screenprinted poster is a tribute to him, marking exactly the 25th anniversary of his passing.
I am very proud to present this new screenprinted poster dedicated to Serge and Jane. It is available in the art shop, printed on Fedrigoni Saville Row Dark Gray 300 g paper in a 70 x 100 cm format. A limited edition of 150 copies, signed and numbered by Zig. This fine art screen print features five matte ink colors, along with a glossy shade that catches the light—you won’t be disappointed! The story behind this poster is a crystallization of missed opportunities; it might never have existed. But sometimes, good news shines under the stars. Even though I never knew Serge in his time, this is my most passionate work—my comrade in nostalgia, my own Gainsbourg.
I had to retrace everything in reverse to understand what Gainsbourg left us and to pay tribute to the artist who passed away on March 2, 1991. When I watched the excesses of a provocative Gainsbarre on television in 1986, for the 13-year-old kid I was at the time, he was just a gaunt and disheveled cabbage head, stumbling and smoking… Like the Gainsbourg caricature, Mr. Hyde-style, as captured by Joann Sfar in the film Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. Behind the mask, it took time to rediscover the major artist.
At the beginning of 2013, I reached out to Maurice Renoma with a project: I wanted to create a tribute screen print based on a legendary photo of Serge and Jane. In this photo of the embracing couple (probably dated 1968), you can recognize the famous striped suit that the renowned brand Renoma – an avant-garde tailor and fan of sixties dandies – custom-made for him. It is undoubtedly the peak of Gainsbourg’s style and his most prosperous and inventive musical period in the sixties and seventies. Just before the reggae phase, with jeans and white Repetto shoes on his feet, unshaven, but that’s another story… Intrigued by this sublime photo, I wrote to Maurice Renoma, who encouraged me to continue my project: “Jane Birkin, who is very open to any artistic endeavor, would probably be interested in your work.” Unfortunately, the sought-after photo isn’t a Renoma advertisement like so many others shot by photographer David Bailey. He then directed me to Tony Frank, but not him either… A dead end, back to square one.
In April 2013, I asked for help from Gilles Verlant (biographer and friend of Gainsbourg) to search for the photographer of this famous image. He had—without knowing my name—noticed some of my work: “very beautiful work,” he told me. Supported by his generous encouragement and his address book of photo galleries in Belgium and London… At a furious pace, I embarked on a search that would never lead anywhere… For no one would ever find the photographer of this image or any trace of its first publication. In September of that same year, Gilles fell down his stairs and passed away suddenly. This tragedy brought a definitive end to my search, full stop.
In 2015, I pull out of the boxes this old project, working on around sixty sketches and typographic compositions to create my own Gainsbourgian alphabet, his astonishing modernity, his language. I dig up my old complete collection on CD and vinyl, press the starter, and begin listening to everything again from the first record of 1958, in total immersion. What a writer, what music! Uninhibited by Boris Vian’s audacity, Gainsbourg crafts his cynical songs with wordplay, pianistic and organic gimmicks, jazzy cabaret arrangements that establish his style without modesty (at least intellectually). In constant imbalance, trapped in his intellectual singer-songwriter persona on the Paris Left Bank, propelled by Juliette Gréco… Serge finally begins to live it up! Jazz is still there, but the style becomes more sophisticated with Afro-Cuban rhythms, a touch of classical music, Fender Rhodes piano, a few electric guitar riffs under the Fender bass, and the use of lyrics that make the British and French swing. “Here, it’s commercial but not shameful, I think. Of course, I prefer writing more biting and aggressive things. But rock and the twist, I’m all for it. That’s how you bring the general public to real jazz,” said Gainsbourg in 1963.
To make up for lost time, every day, I draw a few typographic pieces on paper: Black Trombone, Requiem pour un twister, New-York USA, true little melodic and rhythmic gems, not to mention Intoxicated man, which was notably covered by Mick Harvey (Australian guitarist for Nick Cave and late-blooming Gainsbourg fan) on a beautiful tribute album released in 1994. Naturally, seen by an English speaker, Gainsbourg is our Beatles… So, as I listen, the “classic Gainsbourg” reveals its light like a photograph in the developer’s bath. Dressed in black and silver swirls, like the walls of his townhouse at 5 bis rue de Verneuil in Paris… Like graffiti, I fill the page with song titles: New York USA, Chatterton, Sous le soleil exactement, Bonnie & Clide, Initial B.B., Requiem pour un con… Timeless, Gainsbourg! Serge is forty, and he’s finally attractive. I play La Ballade de Mélodie Nelson carefreely on repeat on the turntable, curled up in the seat of an imaginary Rolls Royce… Silver Ghost. In a cloud of Chinese ink, the silver Venus finally appears—it’s Jane Birkin.
Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg photographed by Benjamin Auger in 1971.
“Description: blue eyes, chestnut hair, Jane B., English…” An exquisite and slender muse, with an incredible fragility in her voice, Jane stands out and touches us deeply. Right there, a beauty through and through, twelve bullets to the heart, “slowly, I kiss Melody…” Jane loves Serge, and Serge loves Birkin—especially in “minor moan” mode—to spin the chic eroticism of Je t’aime… moi non plus in 1968. On the final screen print, the declaration is inscribed like a slogan beneath the embrace of these two inseparables. A monochrome fresco, tone on tone on anthracite-gray paper—I completed the visual’s printing in January 2016. A piece of personal history finally set to paper, a true virtual encounter with that cynical and witty dandy at the height of his art. I took my time, and I loved every second of it! It’s been 25 years since Gainsbourg and his Gainsborough took their last ferry-boat… How do we say goodbye? He would have been 88 today. I think Gilles would have liked it.
Read also :
Mike Harvey loves Gainsbourg: nor do I…
Dans les airs de Charlotte Gainsbourg
Thank you to House-Martin for the photographs taken in their lovely guesthouse in Brittany.
Screenprint poster Serge & Jane available in the art shop
Article and photos by Stéphane Constant © 2016 Dezzig
