edible marin & wine country

Celebrating the harvest of Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties, season by season

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PhotograPhy of Douglas gayeton • Bill & nicolette niman • teD hall’s comPositioncalifornia’s other golDen elixir • thanksgiving Wine Pairings

Issue TwoFall 2009

edible marin & wine country fall 2009 | 21

I n his new book, SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town (Welcome Books), Petaluma-based photographer Douglas Gayeton takes an

unprecedented personal journey into the heart of hidden Tuscany, a region steeped in culi-nary traditions. Gayeton’s images celebrate the principles that define the Slow Food movement and pay tribute to the region’s kaleidoscope of vibrant characters, whose shared culture revolves around the everyday pleasure of growing, preparing, and eating food. It is a rivet-

ing story told in a riveting way: each image is comprised of multiple photographs taken over a period of time that can range anywhere from ten minutes to several hours, and is layered with Gayeton’s handwritten notes, recipes, facts, and sayings.

On the cover of this issue of Edible Marin & Wine Country and on the following pages, Gayeton also presents us with subjects a little closer to home, offering a sneak peak at “work-in-progress” portraits of local Marin food producers, paired with their Tuscan counterparts. Despite the cultural differences between the people Gayeton has captured in his photographs, his images reveal a shared ideology and love of the land and sea that knows no borders.

SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town will be available September 22, 2009. www.rumplefarm.com

TuSCaNy aNd MarIN CouNTy:a PicturE PErfEct Pair

slow by d o u g l a s g ay e t o nlife in a tuscan town

I n t r o d u c t I o n b y A l I c e w A t e r s p r e f A c e b y c A r l o p e t r I n I

“These photographs are rich and undeniably authentic, and could only have been made by someone with the deep sensitivity and understanding that goes beyond the boundaries of nations and languages, and represents the principles at the heart of the Slow Food movement.” —Carlo Petrini, Founder of the Slow Food movement

exploring the narrative boundaries of still photography propelled artist Douglas Gayeton on a remarkable journey of discovery into the heart of hidden Tuscany. His magical

portraits of rural Italians celebrate the rich cultural traditions associated with the simple everyday pleasures of growing, selling, preparing, and eating food. Gayeton provides an absorbing first person account of his transformative immersion in this rarely glimpsed world, offering an intimacy that carries us deeper into the images. With an anecdotal charm reminiscent of Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence, and the visual vitality of Peter Beard’s collage journals, Slow’s interplay of pictures and words conveys a thrilling sense of narrative that transcends the page and transports you halfway around the globe.

Gayeton’s imaginative and interactive photographs are layered with handwritten notes, anecdotes, recipes, quotes, historical facts and sayings that cleverly bring context and color to the subject of each sepia toned image and draw us deeper into this romantic and rustic world. You will fall in love with the region’s kaleidoscope of charming local characters: the mushroom hunters and sheep farmers, the winemakers and fisherman, the bakers and butchers whose lives are profoundly bound to the rhythms of nature and inherently exemplify the popular principles that define Slow Food, an international movement dedicated to preserving local food traditions and honoring local farmers and producers.

Each photograph is titled with a traditional Italian saying and its English translation (e.g. Meglio Spendere Soldi Dal Macellaio Che

Dal Farmacista: “Better to spend money at the butcher than the pharmacist”). The rich use of language intertwines the literal with the figurative, resulting in a photographic approach critics have dubbed the “flat film.” It is a riveting story told in a riveting way: each image is actually comprised of multiple photographs taken over a period of time, ranging anywhere from ten minutes to several hours. With this process, Gayeton has managed to introduce the concept of time, both compressed and exploded, into his photographs. The result is exhilarating, and marvelously complemented by Gayeton’s compelling personal tale.

DouGlaS GaYETon is a multimedia artist who has created award-winning work at the boundaries of traditional and converging media for national Geographic, PBS, Warner Brothers and Sony. Recent documentary projects include Lost In Italy, a series Gayeton created and directed for Fine living network, and Molotov Alva for HBo. Gayeton is also co-owner of laloos Goat’s Milk Ice Cream in Petaluma, California, where he lives on a farm with his wife, laura, and their daughter, Tuilerie.

alICE WaTERS is an internationally renowned chef and the co-owner of Chez Panisse, the restaurant where she helped define California cuisine. a passionate advocate of cooking with locally grown and seasonal ingredients, Waters has written several books on the subject, including The Art of Simple Food (Clarkson Potter), and Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea (Chronicle Books). She is the Founder of Slow Food nation, President of the Chez Panisse Foundation, and an International Governor of Slow Food International.

CaRlo PETRInI is the founder of the Slow Food movement and author of several books on the subject, including Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair (Rizzoli). He is the Founder of the university of Gastronomic Sciences, and President of Slow Food International.

slowlife in a tuscan townp h o t o g r A p h s A n d t e x t b y d o u g l A s g Ay e t o n

I n t r o d u c t I o n b y A l I c e w A t e r sp r e f A c e b y c A r l o p e t r I n I

front Cover: Giuseppina’s Hands.baCk Cover: Conosco I Miei Polli [I Know My Chickens].

Edited by Katrina FriedDesigned by Gregory Wakabayashi

176 pages, 11" x 13" (landscape)100 sepia toned tritone images, 8 gatefoldsacetate jacket & 3 acetate tip-ins printed with text from

underlying imagesIncludes approximately 20 authentic Tuscan recipesHardcover, $50.00 ($62.00 Can)ISBn: 978-1-59962-072-5on sale: September 2009

PHoToGRaPHY/FooD

Published by Welcome Books®

an imprint of Welcome Enterprises, Inc.6 West 18th Streetnew York, nY 10011tel: 212.989.3200fax: 212.989.3205www.welcomebooks.com

To place orders in the u.S., please contact your local Random House sales representative, or call Random House customer service, toll-free: (800) 733-3000. Eastern and Central accounts: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. –5:00 p.m. (EST); Western accounts: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m. –6:00 p.m. (EST)

To place orders in Canada, contact your local Random House sales representative, or call (888) 523-9292, Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (EST).

Copyright © 2009 Welcome Enterprises, Inc.Photographs and text copyright © 2009 by Douglas Gayeton

This is an uncorrected proof.

Printed in China

To learn more about Slow and see a preview of the book, please visit: www.welcomebooks.com/slow

22 | edible marin & wine country fall 2009

The following is an excerpt from an interview of Gayeton con-ducted by Paige Phinney, Membership Communications Program Manager of Marin Organic. The full interview is available at www.ediblemarinandwinecountry.com.

phinney: What inspired this book and how did you choose Italy and this form of art to express yourself? Gayeton: Well, I lived in Italy for ten years. While I was there PBS asked me to do a project about the Slow Food movement. I am a filmmaker, so the obvious thing was to shoot a documentary, but I became attracted to the idea of somehow mixing narratives with photographs. Ultimately these became “flat films.” The book represents many years of trying to figure out what that might look like.

phinney: What are the differences and similarities between Tuscan and Marin food producers? And why? Gayeton: On a fundamental level, Tuscan and Marin produc-ers arrive at the same point from different directions. Tuscans have always maintained a tradition of being attentive to what they grow and eat, so they have the weight of history behind

them. Here in America, and certainly in Marin, producers are motivated by an intense reaction to how our culture treats food and the cultural practices associated with it. Marin producers have rejected a philosophy put forth primarily by agribusinesses and factory farmers... these faceless purveyors of corn-fed beef, partially hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup. Along the way local food producers are rediscover-ing the traditions of their ancestors. So, both end in the same place, but begin from opposite ends of the spectrum.

phinney: What are some typical responses farmers and pro-ducers had to your photographing them and the resulting art pieces?Gayeton: I think more than anything, the people I photo-graph are generous. They all have an eagerness to share their knowledge, their experiences. I guess you would say their passion is what they share most. And that sort of energy is infectious. On one level my photography is selfish. I want to learn. I want to have my life changed... and I keep looking for people who have that impact on me.

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