dark side of pinball book

Description

this Is a physical book, 172 color pages with hardcover.
this is the book of night photos of pinball. A new position to see the games.
I'm a french collector since 35 years.
this is an interview of me, for your explain my work.
An Interview with the author
Cedric, first tell us, why this book?
Because, while there are a lot of books about pinball out there, telling of the game’s history better than I could, none of them approaches the subject from an artistic point of view, while there is so much to be said from that perspective.
But why the “all-black” look, then ?
Pinball machines, once you turn off the lights, exert a fascination that you can’t experience when your attention is focused on playing the game. I wanted to make the best of this atmosphere and to encourage all those who own a game to enjoy the incredible beauty of these creations.
All the same, doesn’t the black setting drown out a lot of the detail of the games ?
Yes, that is true, especially for the playfields, which fail to register much detail when in an unlit room. The game lights were mostly used to illuminate game functions and not showcase the art. But I do not intend to stop at that, there will be other books highlighting different aspects of the game and the industry.
You keep using the word “industry”... For you, does pinball essentially come down to a moneymaking machine?
No, but I do not want to neglect its actual origins, because that is after all the reason why it was created. And there is no doubt that, had it not succeeded in bringing in so much money, it would have gone down history’s drain, like so many games bafore and after pinball have, over past decades and Centuries.
Are there machines that stand out, that are more beautiful than others?
Yes and no, it depends on many factors. On each person’s artistic preferences, on the tastes and aesthetic culture of each country’s people. Thus that which is considered the most beautiful will have taken into account the pangs of the people, of the plebeians, since ultimately, it is for them that it has been designed.
Is that why the most beautiful graphics are not necessarily on the most wanted games?
Absolutely, it's also one of the aspects that I wanted to shed light on with this book, trying to enlighten people about the games’ beauty, but it sounds very pretentious from me, for who am I to tell others what to think ?
Is this why you prefer to pay homahe to the artists ?
Exactly, I do it directly, or more subtly, depending on inspiration. Certainly I have my favorite designers. George Molentin makes me faint with his glamor look, and Jerry Kelley brought the cubist revolution to the world of automated games.
Do you draw parallels between these artists who worked on pinball machines and artists in other fields that gained recognition at the same period ?
Unquestionably, you can feel artistic inspirations everywhere. How could a designer from Advertising Poster not be inspired by pop art or other artistic trends of the time ? Kellerman, Warhol, Hopper and the others...
Marcel Duchamp too
Hm, that is difficult to ascertain.
Do all the games you shot pictures of come from your personal collection?
Mostly yes, except for some few that I took pictures of at game shows in France. I now have about fifty machines after some really drastic elimination, or I would have three hundred or more, like some of my friends do.
One inevitable question, what was your first pinball machine ?
I talk about it in the book, it's a 1962
Rack-a-Ball
that J.P. Cuvier sold to me. At the time, Jean-Pierre looked like a crank, people thought he was illuminated, because no one in France could imagine collecting such machines. He was the first to do it, and he was spoiled for choice.
You mean that games have become hard to find now?
Not really, but since pinball has gone from bars and clubs to private homes, the market has changed and the games have been increasing in value, not always with real justification, in fact.
How do you go about finding the rarer games ?
Globalization via the Internet means that searching for games is something you can now do on a global level. I brought games to France from the USA, where the machines were originally from, but also from South America.
Why South America?
These are countries there that have been hard-hit by various economic and political crises. In that sense, they have had to adapt in the gaming sector as well as in many other economic areas in order to survive, and the pinball companies made games specifically for them, models that you would never find in Europe.
Are these really rarities ?
Not always, but they are here in Europe. These games can have had huge production numbers in Argentina for instance and yet never have touched European soil. Scarcity is only a matter of where the game was supposed to be operated in the first place.
Are you still looking for some games ?
No, not really, I now have had everything I ever wanted pass through my hands, there are some games I regret having sold, but I do not see any game that I sorely miss at this point in time.
Not even a game designed by Molentin?
If you mention him, sure, I would love to own a
Skyway
, but I console myself with owning a backglass for that game.
At the beginning of the interview, you mention other projects.
Could a book showing the daylit version of your collection see the light of day some time ?
Yes, it might, I have lots of ideas in mind already.
Like what ?
You will see, perhaps a common project with friends.
This excites curiosity !
I will not say more right now. In the meantime, I am busy with other projects.
One final thing to add ?
I hope that you will take as much pleasure leafing through this book as I did assembling the pictures in it. Enjoy coming back to it regularly, as you should envision it like a photo album, not like a book about the pinball game.
Thank you !
It is I who must
thank you.