On the occasion of the nomination for mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics on UNESCO's Representative list, this book addresses the intangible cultural heritage of the Franco-Swiss Jura Arc region through photography as a contemporary artistic medium, offering new and sensitive approaches to the craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics.
Six professional photographers won the competition, selected on the basis of their artistic proposal and for the complementarity of their visions, for their ability to distance themselves from existing representations and to offer new approaches and perspectives on considering, showing and promoting watchmaking know-how. The idea was indeed to underline the inseparable character of material collections with intangible cultural heritage and to challenge the reader on his own conception of intangible heritage.

La Chaux-de-Fonds, MIH | Besançon, Musée du Temps, November 2020 - November 2021

Contents

Forewords
Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Isabelle Chassot, Anne Vignot, Théo Bregnard, Claude-André Moser

Introduction
Régis Huguenin, Laurence Reibel

One exhibition, two places, six photographers
Nicolas Waltefaugle

Museums relationship with intangibility as Mr Jourdain’s dilemna
Régis Huguenin, Laurence Reibel

The intangible condition of images, a practical interrogation
Nicolas Surlapierre

Worlds apart. Idealised images of savoir-faire in the heritagisation of watchmaking
Hervé Munz

Clocks and Clouds
Jean-Christophe Béchet

Astrarium Dondi
Raphaël Dallaporta

Face à Face
Joseph Gobin

Hu/Mains
Christophe Florian

Tempologie
Marie Hudelot

Blind Date
Thomas Brasey

Bibliography