Douglas Gayeton, creator of SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town interviewed by MarinOrganic

Paige Phinney: What was your inspiration to write this book and how did you choose Italy and this form of art to express yourself?

Douglas 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 ... and create "flat films". The book represents many years of trying to figure out what that might look like.

Paige Phinney: Was farming a part of your life growing up?

Douglas Gayeton: I was raised in Marin County. In Lucas Valley. My grandparents, specifically my grandmother, was an Italian immigrant from a village outside Modena. She settled first in San Francisco after the great earthquake then started a vineyard with my grandfather in the town of Fulton, near Santa Rosa. It's called the Russian River appellation now but back then the family just grew fruit for a local winery called Italian Swiss Colony.

Paige Phinney: Did writing this book have an impact on your view of farm life?

Douglas Gayeton: It did. I've always been attracted to the stories of people who lead simple, honest lives, a notion which I try to convey in my work.

Paige Phinney: Is there a story told in your book and how do your photographs tie into that story?

Douglas Gayeton: The book is a hybrid of sorts. It's part art book, part autobiographical memoir, part graphic novel. The narrative is really about my life in Italy, about how I went from knowing nothing about the slow lives of the people in Pistoia, Italy, to joining my wife in farm life as she became an artisanal food producer. The story is an immersive experience between writing and photography, one that's meant to slowly pull you into the lives of these amazing farmers, hunters, and gatherers I met in Italy.

Paige Phinney: What prompted you to continue your photographic memoirs of farmers and ranchers here in Marin?

Douglas Gayeton: The end of SLOW chronicles my move from Tuscany to Sonoma County, where I now live with my wife, Laura. She came here for the goats. Laura wanted to make goat milk ice cream and this seemed like the best place to start. It took a few years before I began shooting images in America. I guess I'd always associated those photographs with a period of my life that was now over. Lately that notion has changed. I've been stimulated by so many people I've met in West Marin, in Petaluma, Sonoma ... the inevitable happened and I started shooting. I like being connected to the people who make my food. I like learning about their work process, their value systems, and even their secrets. And I like finding a way to make the complex easier to understand.

Paige Phinney: What do you see are the differences and similarities between Tuscan food producers and Marin food producers? And why?

Douglas Gayeton: On a fundamental level, Tuscan and Marin producers 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 cornfed beef, partially hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup. Along the way local food producers are rediscovering the traditions of their ancestors. So, both end in the same place, but begin from opposite ends of the spectrum.

Paige Phinney: What are some typical responses farmers and producers had to your photographing them and the resulting art pieces?

Douglas Gayeton: I think more than anything, the people I photograph 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.

Paige Phinney: I see that your book supports Slow Food and that the upcoming event at Cavallo Point, pairing Marin and Tuscan producers, is a fundraiser for Marin Organic. Why did you choose these organizations?

Douglas Gayeton: These connections, to pardon a pun, have come together "naturally". You could even say "organically". We have shared visions and speak to the same audience.

Paige Phinney: As part of the movement to support sustainable agriculture, where do you think it stands now and what is your vision for the future?

Douglas Gayeton: With SLOW I used words and images to express the principles behind the Slow Food movement, and specifically to tell the stories of people who define those values. My next book project will use the same approach to explain a new language that is being invented before our eyes ... the lexicon of sustainability.

Paige Phinney: When does your book come out?

Douglas Gayeton: It will appear in bookstores around the country on September 22.

August 2009