Book Description

First published in 1939, An American Exodus is one of the masterpieces of the documentary genre. Produced by incomparable documentary photographer Dorothea Lange with text by her husband, Paul Taylor, An American Exodus was taken in the early 1930s while the couple were working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) The book documents the rural poverty of the depression-era exodus that brought over 300,000 migrants to California in search of farm work, a westward mass migration driven by economic deprivation as opposed to the Manifest Destiny of 19th century pioneers. This facsimile edition of the original volume reintroduces this sought-after work of art-a pioneering book that was among the first to combine photographs with oral testimony-to a contemporary audience, providing an insight into the struggles of the Depression as well as offering a profound and timeless look at the human condition. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

On the road, Thirties style.
A well printed paperback facsimile of the original 1939 hardback edition of this famous book. The 112 photos, one to a page with a short headline and quote, capture the desperate times thousands of farmers and their families endured in the South and Midwest and their migration to an uncertain future in California. Nearly all of the photos were taken by Dorothea Lange and this includes forty-six that she took for the Farm Security Administration between 1935 and 1938.

In the back of the book there are two essays, one by Sam Stourdze, is an excellent explanation of how Lange and Taylor compiled the book. The sales fell well short of their expectations and Stourdze comments "the rigor of its approach, the verism of its oral testimony and the radicality of its photographs were hardly designed to have mass appeal" Quite right I think, having looked through the book many times I don't think the powerful photos are backed up by adequate captions. All the photos are anonymous, even the ones with people, and surely any reader would want to know who are these folk, what is their story? This information was available because Lange took detailed notes on all her photographic assignments. It's as if the author's thought the only way they could put their point across was in an abstract way and ignore the very human turmoil the photos clearly show. In 1937 photographer Margaret Bourke-White and writer Erskine Caldwell compiled a similar photo book about the living conditions of the desperately poor rural underclass, called 'You Have Seen Their Faces' (reissued as a paperback in 1995) but here the photos and captions blend together better.

'An American Exodus' is a book of remarkable photos and well worth having if you are interested in America during the Depression years. BTW, the book reproduces the back dust jacket of the original and the New York publisher, Reynal & Hitchcock, list other "Vital books of our Time" and for three bucks you could buy 'Mein Kampf' by Adolf Hitler, "The blueprint of the Nazi program by the man who is shaking the world. No American should miss it".

Heart-wrenching vignettes of depression-era refugees
These heart-breaking black & whites were shot while Lange and her husband Paul Taylor were under contract with the Federal WPA and chronicle the exodus of dustbowl refugees of the Great Depression and the anguish of their daily struggles for survival in the 'promised land' of California. Some of these photographs are difficult to view, giving an infinite depth-of-field perspective of the arid, ruined farms and starving families of the midwest hitch-hiking or walking (sometimes barefoot) to find a better life. For it's superb detail, brutal realism, and captured raw emotion, this collection is regarded as one of the most important photographic documentaries published during the 20th century. It is criminal this masterful work has not been reissued in affordable hardback binding. Scholar, amateur photographer, and layman will surely peruse these monumental pages with pleasure for years to come. ... Read more

Book Description

The road of body modification, piercing, and mutilation is untraveled by most people, yet it holds an undeniable fascination for many. This book, the first monograph devoted to Musafar’s photography, chronicles this compelling topic in an amazing collection of 140 photographs taken by Fakir Musafar, the "father of the modern primitive movement." A world-renowned shaman, artist, master piercer, and body modifier, Musafar has devoted most of his life to the personal exploration of body decoration, photographing himself and others since the 1940s. Revealing a modernist edge, these photographs are beautifully composed and printed. Their power as images, however, resides in the intense, unexpected beauty of Musafar’s exploration of the spirit/flesh connection. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great Book
This book is very well made. It was not exactly what I expected but I was not disapointed. I was hoping for more piercing pictures or scarification or suspension but all in all it is still fun to look at. I think if you are into bondage it is a good book for you. I myself am not but I still found the pictures inspiring.

Awesome in the true meaning of the word
Spirit + Flesh - Anyone who picks up a copy of this remarkable book to admire the photographs should first read the tender forward written by Mark Thompson. The forward is a guide to understanding the story behind the beautiful, artistic photographs taken by Fakir over many years. Some people may find them disturbing or shocking, but there is more to the photographs than images of body modification, visual beauty, and our own perceptions of pain that might have been endured to reach the altered states represented in some of the photos. Leafing through the book and studying the stunning photographs, a story of a remarkable and unique man emerges. This is a book to linger over and share with friends whom understand what it is like to be "different". I am very pleased I added this book to my library.

Libidomag.com review by Jack Hafferkamp
...Fakir Musafar's personal transformation from nerdy teenager to seeker of transcendental sublimity is measurable in this collection from brave little Arena Editions. With knots, corsets, tattoos, piercings, suspensions and body modification tools not easily describable, Farkir goes where few dare.

Be forewarned, this book, beautifully designed and realized as it is, is disturbing. If you think Robert Mapplethorpe went too far, this is probably not for you. The images we run here in the Libido Review Gallery are on the cuddly end. Others in the book make me wince no matter how often I see them.

Not all of the images in this book are of Fakir, but most are. And this is as it should be, because it is clear that Fakir is the centerpiece of his own universe, in which the TV idea of the makeover is taken to an extreme hard to imagine without seeing it.

After the initial shock wears off, one can't help but wonder why, one would want to poke very large nails into one's self or hang one's body from giant hooks like so much cattle carcass. Why would one do this to one's self.

The answer is found both in the photos and Mark Thompson's excellent introduction. For me the question turn on the point at which performance art becomes a public spiritural quest. For Fakir, pain is a portal to the divine; he has turned himself into a "technician of the sacred," using his own body much the same way flagellants from a variety of religions use pain to seek the divine.

The only difference is that Farkir has documented his experiments with a photographic artists's eye.

Spirit + Flesh showcases the photography of Fakir Musafar
When a young 13-year-old named Roland first began experimenting with body play in South Dakota, he carefully took and developed pictures of the rituals he was imitating from books and National Geographic magazines. Nearly 60 years later, this boy is now a man named Fakir Musafar, who coined the term "modern primitive" and who teaches piercing and leads shamanic rituals in northern California and around the world.

Collected here are images Musafar has taken of himself and friends as they have experimented personally, using body modification methods as a way of exploring themselves and as an alternative to other methods of achieving altered states of consciousness for spiritual growth. This is a high quality publication, the first monograph focusing on Musafar's photography of these journeys. Many of the images are intense, closeup and highly personal. For those unfamiliar with modern-day body modification, some of the images (body piercing, kavandi bearing, ball dancing) may be shocking or uncomfortable.

In the past, Fakir contributed to underground publications, or produced his own small books, or his more recent magazine "body play" as a way of showing his art and photography. Even if you have been seeking out and collecting these random small publication, this is the definitive collection of this artist's work. These images are powerful, intense and unexpectedly beautiful. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1968, just before Easy Rider roared its way into American consciousness, Danny Lyon published The Bikeriders. A seminal work of modern photojournalism, this landmark collection of photographs and interviews documents the abandon and risk implied in the name of the gang Lyon belonged to: the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club. With images and interviews that are as raw, alive, and dramatic today as they were three decades ago, this new edition includes startling new images: 15 additional black-and-white photographs and 14 color prints--long thought missing--of works originally published in black-and-white. With a new introduction by the author, The Bikeriders rides again, capturing like never before the dawn of the counterculture era. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Bikeriders
More a photography book than anything but also has interviews with the people who grace these pages. Chronicles the early years of the Outlaws MC, the pics in this book are amazing. The bridge being ridden across in the photo "Crossing the Ohio River" which is considered by many to be the greatest motorcycle photograph ever is about a five minute ride from where I live. Every time I ride across that bridge I think about that pic. The Bikeriders is one of the few, if not the only, non-sensationalized books having to do with outlaw motorcycle clubs.

An excellent history of the early Mid-West outlaw bikers.
This is a cool book. Great pictures and good copy although I would have liked more details. In that it was primarily written about the Mid-West, it focuses on the OUTLAWS MC and the roots of the club. It's always good to find information about other 1% clubs (since the HELLS ANGELS MC has always been the major focus of most "outlaw biker books"), however more details on other clubs would have been a plus. It does remind one that there was a time when the OUTLAWS and ANGELS could ride and party together and didn't feel a need to shoot each other on sight. It's also helps us remember that the early outlaws bikers didn't all ride Harleys. While I believe the book's a little pricey, if you're into Outlaw Bikers, this should be in your collection.

An absolutely essential document
If you're interested in bikes, the biker lifestyle, or how the 'outlaw' subculture developed, you must invest in this book. Danny Lyon rode with the Chicago Outlaws in the early sixties and his photographs form a unique visual documentary about the life of the early bike rebels. The photographs are superb; the accompanying texts revealing and fascinating. If nothing else, this book illustrates the origins of the Harley-Davidson 'chopper' and the prevalence of British bikes in motorsport 40 years ago. Simply one of - if not the - finest books on motorcycle culture ever published.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF IT KIND, EVER!
This is one of the best books ever done on the sixties biker culture. It is filled with testimonials and pictures, the kinds that you don't see anywhere else. It's fantastic that this book has been re-released because originals are next to impossible to come across!

A classic.
What a great book! Danny Lyon is a national treasure... this book redefined documentary photography, practially inventing the participant/observer stance. ... Read more

Book Description

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, photographer Édouard Boubat (1923-1999) captured the magic of fleeting moments with tenderness and warmth. A contemporary of Robert Doisneau and one of the most influential French photographers of the 20th century, Boubat made elegant, poetic images, beginning with intimate views of everyday life in his native city of Paris and moving on to striking pictures taken on his travels in Kenya, India, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and China. His photographs were the subject of a major exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou in 1976, the same year he published the first major book on his work.

Now, five years after his death, this luxurious volume presents the entire range of Boubat's work in 300 beautiful tritone photographs. All of his most famous images are here-including those of his muse, Lella -along with texts on the artist by writers Michel Tournier, Jacques Prévert, and Marguerite Duras, and Boubat's own writings and notebook excerpts. Developed in close collaboration with Boubat's son, Bernard, this authoritative collection is the only existing monograph on the enduringly popular photographer. AUTHOR BIO: Bernard Boubat is a photographer and the son of Édouard Boubat. ... Read more

Book Description

World renowned makeup artist Francois Nars started photographing just two years ago. Deciding to art direct his own marketing campaign, Nars started casting and shooting models. The results were smashing: soon ads appeared in W, Harpers Bazaar, and Allure, featuring stunning full-frame images of strikingly elegant women, in very untraditional casting, showcasing his new, blazing hot NARS line of cosmetics.

The famed designer decided to expand his vision: create an enormous art book with over two hundred richly stylized presentations of elegance, featuring his favorite personalities from the worlds of fashion, design, film-even passersby on the street: people who personified to Nars the very notion of bold and audacious chic.

Nars then set about travelling the globe and inviting each individual to sit for him, styling each portrait session according to the sitters metier, personality, and elan. The results are simply stunning: 240 immense color portraits-creations, really-extracting the essence, as with an X ray, of the worlds most remarkable individuals: Alexandra Von Furstenberg, Alexander McQueen, Amber Valletta, Angelica Huston, Anna Sui, Betsy Bloomingdale, Boy George, Bridget Fonda, Dave Navarro, Donatella Versace, Eartha Kitt, Francesco Clemente, Grace Jones, Hamish Bowles, Isabella Rossellini, Ivanka Trump, Jacqueline de Ribes, Juliette Lewis, Kate Moss, Lauren Hutton, Lauryn Hill, Marc Jacobs, Paloma Picasso, Penny Marshall, Polly Mellen, Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, RuPaul Charles, Stephanie Seymour, Sylvia Miles, The Divine David, Tim Burton, Verushka, and many, many others.

X-Ray is not fashion photography: it is a portraiture of style that is meta-fashion. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

An excellent example of the power of cosmetics.....
Francois Nars' first collection of portraits is a fascinating "read"(there's only a few pages of text). The images, the fantasy, the creative process are what is important.

Nars photographs his subjects simply, against a white background in most cases, although some have more extensive set work. The emphasis is on the face and of course, the makeup. The makeup is, in a word, stunning. Nars mixes wild and fanciful theatrical makeup with more subdued, practical makeup. Understandably, the wild makeup makes a deeper impression, but the range of the makeup highlights Nars' skill. My particular favorites are Shalom Harlow as Snow White(though I've seen a less graphic version of the portrait where's she's simply showing her garter, not her panties), Susan Sarandon looking stunning in wearable, pretty makeup, and the picture of a performance artist in full-body makeup with wild wig and face. There is full frontal nudity in this book, but it is not portrayed in a sexual way. In fact, if anything, many of the subjects who are fully clothed are more sexual than the nude ones.

It's hard to judge Nars' caliber as a photographer. Are the photos stunning, or is it simply what the pictures are of that makes them so intriguing? It's a fine line, but the pictures are playful, attractive, and well thought out. The subjects are famous people, many presented in a new and different way then we've seen them before. I definitely would advise people to check it out.

A portrait photo book of models & adult images
This is a large 11 x 15 book of portraits of 241 subjects. The book is attractively printed in Italy. There basically is little writing: a one page introduction by Andre Leon Talley and a one page end by Nars. It is in summary not a thing of beauty but a freak show. The makeup looks like circus grease paint. Nars writes: "Though I worked for years with some of photography's greatest artists, I never planned to be a photographer. It happened naturally when I started my makeup line in 1994 and needed to create an image for the product. Having no budget for a star photographer, I decided to do it myself." Big mistake. Nars should have remained a makeup artist. His idea of portraiture is white backgrounds and light tent even lighting which really is product photography lighting. Models like Karen Elson who appears in the Nars catalogue are shown in unattractive poses sucking on a cigarette and looking plain. Joceyln Wildenstein is a subject next to a model dressed up as little red ridding hood. There is a particular attraction to head on full frontal male nudity. Grace Jones is shown grabbing her crotch. Smokey eye makeup is highlighted on the boys. And a young teen "school girl" is shown suggestively in lingerie. It is hard for me to believe that the majority of purchasers of Nars' makeup would want to look like the images in this book and I find the release of this book ironic at the same time Nars has a national magazine highlighting his digital makeovers. This is definitely an "adult" book with images some may find offensive.

X - Ray
This book is amazing. The subjects used are surreal. The effect Nars gives is futuristic and sexy. His portraits are spectacular. At first glance, the collection may seem overwhelming, but concentrating on each picture made the book very enjoyable to look at. I recommend this to any collection of photography books.

Great Makeup, ok pictures
The makeup in this book is great, the book is also great, the only thing I dont like is as a photography who does beauty photography I see no change in camera angle. All pictures are shot from one position. But all and all it is an amazing book.

Amazing- Pure talent
After looking at the amazing photographs in X-Ray, I wanted more, the book is awesome and the pictures vary vastly from page to page. I have two words for you Pure Talent! ... Read more

Book Description

Sexy, famous, beautiful-a Testino portrait is as unmistakeable as his subject. MARIO TESTINO: PORTRAITS features the cream of the crop in our celebrity-obsessed age: Naomi Campbell, Jude Law, Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow-those whose names have become the hallmarks, almost the logos, of the fashion world.

Testino's relationship with his subjects is simply and succinctly summed up by Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue: "People love to be photographed by Mario." His innate sense of fashion, which has made him the most sought-after contemporary photographer today, has transformed many of his portraits into icons. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Mario Testino: Portraits - An Amazing Exibition!!
This book shows the portraits of the exibitions that took place in 2002 in London (England) and in 2003 Edinburgh (Scotland). I went to the one in Edinburgh and it was amazing. If you have the oportunity to go and see it your country don't miss it.

its good, but is it art?
Everyone praises mario testino because he captures the true person inside of his subjects. This may be true for celebrities and fashion favourites, but can it be said for the lesser mortals? to begin he fails to photograph anyone unless, it seems its for money in this book. the portraits lose intimacy and emotional depth. The photographs may be glamorous but most fail to have soul and true deeper meaning. None of the photographs are of normal people, and everyone has a cheesy grin.

approach with caution.

stunning simply stunning
if this is the year that the name Mario Testino passes from the surgically altered lips of fashion's congnescenti to the bowels of the masses, this book will show you what the hype was really all about.
the prints are amazing, vibrant and detailed. the portraiture is stunning and all mario. i know that his previous books were always a bit of a disappointment since they tended to hilight a completely different style then the one by which he was so successfully making his living. as a believer and a fan, this book is the proof that mario may be fashion's greatest living photographer.
here it is and well worth the wait. the perfect south beach cofee table book.

Eye popping colors!!!!!
If you catch this exhibit in London, you will be amazed at how many of the photos you will recognize not knowing who the photographer was. No wonder Princess Diana allowed only one man to catch her as she truly was, simply a woman. The fashion shots and ad campaigns are great. His celebrity photos are ok, but Testino is fashion and that is where his best work lie. In either b&w or color, these photos speak!! ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Physical perfection here captured by a stunning artist.
Something about these photos nourishes my soul. I am not a photographer, don't even own a Brownie camera, simply noticed the book at a check-out counter in a bookstore. The cover alone is worth 100 times the price........ a perfect nude dangling from an enormous tree limb that hangs out over the ocean. Cindy Crawford? Maybe. It's lyrical, stunning, art of the finest sort. . Patrick Demarchelier makes an incredibly profound statement with each photo. Buy it simply to soothe your soul........over and over and over and over again

A masterpiece from a prominent fashion photographer
With this wonderful depiction of form and expression, Demarchelier shows his mastery of presenting the face, the body, and the mood through an incredible feel for lighting and contrast. His adeptness at capturing the nude female form brings out incredible beauty without the slightest hint of pornography.

What you get: 82 black-and-white photographic plates, most of which are formatted to fill the entire page. With a few exceptions, all were taken from the late-80s to the mid-90s, and about half were taken from fashion magazines or designer ads. Most are of people, the majority of whom are recognizable (to me) celebrities. About one-forth feature the nude or semi-nude female body. For good measure, a couple pictues featuring members of the Demarchelier family are also included. All photographs are presented "stand-alone," with no notes or credits; however, this information is clearly referenced at the back of the book.

What you see: a straightforwardness of subject matter. Where other photographers might dazzle by snaring a moment in time from an event (e.g., Robert Doisneau), Demarchelier presents his subjects with no mystery as to what the viewer is to behold: the intricacies of the baobab branches in contrast to its massive trunk; the variations in lighting between two figures, one illuminated, one silhouetted, seated in front of a window; or the calm, confident gaze of Christy Turlington wearing only a tangle of wet hair, and a sheet around her hips. The side-by-side photos of Helena Christensen are perhaps the best of her ever, as may be the one of Turlington. Not to forget the face: the shots of Versace, César, Corbassière and Nastassja Kinski are absolute gems. I'm having a hard time puting this book down, and I'd love to know who that is hanging from the tree on the front cover.

The Wonderful Art of Patrick Demarchelier
Patrick Demarchelier is one of the best artist of this age; his Photographs are pieces of history. Into this book you'll find his masterpieces: emotions in B&W!

Extremely Good Photography
A must own book for people that love b&w photography. Patrick is excellent at getting the perfect angle for the image. The way the natural light and shadows enhance the objects is great. The true persons are drawn by the way the pictures are taken.

Beautiful Display of photography
My 12 year old saw this book on one of the display tables, picked it up... for the cover (naked lady) and glanced through it. He then later came running up to me saying... Please buy this book. The pictures are excellent. Well now, my son is interested in photography as a hobby. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Outstanding retrospective
This book is a wonderful introduction and overview of the career of Micheal Kenna. Kenna's long-lived exposures and unusual eye for his subject material are unmistakably unique It is no wonder he is considered one of the world's most collectible photographers and apppeals to collectors just beginning to develop an interest in photography. ... Read more

Amazon.com

At the age of 6, Joel-Peter Witkin witnessed an automobile accident in which a little girl was decapitated, her head rolling to a stop at his feet. This experience may have had a bearing on his lifelong obsession with the macabre, but does little to prepare the viewer for his bizarre photographs of hermaphrodites and other human grotesqueries. Imagine the fruits of a collaboration between Diane Arbus and Federico Fellini that might be rejected for being a little too extreme. Imagine what Larry Flynt might publish for residents of the Twilight Zone. Two of the milder images: the disembodied, almost skeletal heads of two gnarled old men locked in an intimate kiss; and an obese woman in a cone-shaped mask, breast-feeding an eel. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Hypnotic Dreamscape Daring You to Look Away
Strange, decadent, daring, lush, sacred, gorgeous, hideous, nightmarish, dreamlike ... this is Witkin, a mass of contradictions capable of stirring so many mixed emotions that you may find yourself feeling a bit dizzy or queasy or struck mute in some sort of hypnotic trance. These photos are not to be ignored. They demand you to either look away and hide your head beneath a pillow as you struggle to erase them from your memory (good luck) or stare transfixed as their obscene beauty pierces your soul and leaves its indelible mark. Either way, honey, you are doomed - but in such a wickedly wonderful way.

Witkin makes no apologies for his art nor should he. He is a loathe it or love it kind of master surrealist who layers one assault to reason upon another. The freakish and ethereal images that live in his photos belong to an alien world as much as they exist in this one and in us. It doesn't necessarily take a brave heart to enjoy his work but it does take one that is willing to accept that beauty is capable of thriving even in the inkiest black regions of decay or disfigurement; it dances there, haloed in its own light, while waiting for us to join it.

Art that is capable of eliciting such strong emotions is worthy of our attention and the fight to preserve it.

A Very Sad Book
This is a book about a sad man who choses to photograph dead babies and corpses.

Very Highly Recommended - Biggest Visual Impact
I appreciate Joel Peter Witkin's photos for a few years, before I can actually own this book finally. This book makes my experience complete.

A comprehensive collection of Joel-Peter Witkin's work, which belongs to the dark side of human. The careful composition of human body, objects and background, sometimes with cross-reference to classical paintings, invites a surreal, poetic, and miserable feeling.

If you only think that his photos are terrible, you need more time and more patience to read his images, through understanding. Extract from what Witkin said - 'When people see my work, there is no 'grey area' of response. What they experience is either love or hate.'

For all photography books I have ever read, this one is the most visual impacting ! Joel Peter Witkin's work is inspiring, original, and creative.

Very highly recommended, if you want to look into our human side.

The Definitive Volume
Be forewarned: Witkin's photographic art is wholly unique and strange and bizarre and macabre.....and wondrous. How often do we really have the courage to face our nightmare demons, real or imagined? Here is an artist who has devoted his life to addressing the dark side of our minds. Yes, these are photographs of "freaks" manipulated to states beyond which even they can go. Some people are put off by these images, finding them cruel and disgusting. But why do these same people pack the theatres and movie houses that continue to grind out rehashed Dracula, Frankenstein, Phantoms of the Opera, and other creatures from the black lagoon of invention? Perhaps the fact that these are photographs and not drawings or paintings makes them fall into the realm of possible rather than make-believe. But here they are, like a sideshow, with incredible presence, lighting, theatrics, and pain. For the unafraid, Witkin's photographs are beautiful. And so is this volume!

The original and best: A master of the Macabre
Witkin is an extremely original and spiritual artist who never strays from his own personal vision. He also comes recommended by the best: Clive Barker is a fan and Nine Inch Nails made a music video based on his work. His work is often imitated but his unique style which blends the freakshow, the gothic and the baroque with imagery of death and religion, can never be matched. Witkins photographs are often horrific and deeply bizarre but are always beautiful. This book contains the best quality reproductions of a great number of Witkin's photographs that I have ever seen, as well as lengthy and informative essays. I highly recommend it for initiated fans of Witkin or as an introduction to his work. ... Read more

Book Description

With his Big Nudes, in the 1980’s Helmut Newton created a quite unprecedented long-term bestseller.Simultaneously, it provided a concentrated image of his aesthetic agenda.Powerful women were presented in all their naked truth – without fig leaves or fashion frills.This series of black-and-white photos, produced between 1979 and 1981, also marked a stylistic change in Newton’s work.Elaborate layouts full of luxury and decadence gave way to an unambiguously formulated and monumental statement – "Here they come!"Dressed only in their indispensable high heels, Newton’s amazons self-confidently paraded on show.They rippled their muscles and marched individually as well as in formation toward the observer.Helmut Newton’s classic work was published by us in 1990 for the first time.To date, 45,000 copies have been printed worldwide and the 9th edition is on its way! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Photography finds its own Rocky
We are living in an age of sequels. From Star Wars and Matrix of Hollywood to the Gulf Wars, it is repetitions with the same premises and towards, dull or worst, tragic effect. Wegman's early work with his dog Man Ray captured everyone's imagination with its wit and sometimes thought provoking concepts. Wegman like his dogs also became a star, subject of documentaries and an advertising model for Gap clothing. Alas, there was no one to tell this talented artist when to stop, and from doing the children's fables to an episode of Hardy Boys adventure, Wegman's canine companions have found more newer uses including featuring as various alphabets in books for nursery children as well as in between graduate courses offerings in a New School for Social Research catalog.

Like Sylvester Stallone's Rocky that raided the Oscars cupboard in the 1970s, only to milk the concept dry (Mr. Stallone is reportedly scripting another edition), Mr. Wegman has chosen to risk doing the same with his canine models. His latest offering is getting into another commercial territory besides that of prequels and sequels -- the "Making of ___" (for a hit movie) or the "outtakes" or "Alternative Takes" (for a well known but dead musician). Whether Wegman is the Hendrix of Photography or revisiting Man Ray's polaroids is like "the Making of Citizen Kane" is something debatable. What is however more certain is that despite the high levels of literacy that permeates photographic art and the fact that photography doesn't have to pander to the lowest common denominator like most other art forms, it cannot escape the trends in the market place. Trends driven, not by artists but accountants and following the cold logic of prequels, sequels, outtakes and alternative tracks. Whether Wegman will soon be getting his canine models to reinterpret the boy scouts manual or move from the Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew adventures, is there to see. But if this does happen, remember you read it here first. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good concept, too many words
To put it short: half of the book is text. Out of 290 bw pictures 41 are drawings of H.C-B., some are photographs of other authors, some more are portraits relevant to people mentioned in text. I agree with other reviewers - choice is very good. The concept of the book and the important points are well chosen, too, but it' s filled with too many words.

When you accept this book as large treatise on H.C.-B., photography and art itself - that means dominantly text, illustrated specifically with his photographs - you can learn a lot of interesting things (if you're patient enough to read it all through). But after a while you can find yourselves (like me) somehow distracted from the photographs. Though an expert in H.C.- B. life and work, J.P.Montier seems to me as he doesn't possess one crucial ability of his subject - the gift to pick up instant out of plenty. So I think, I would like more to let speak pictures for themselves with some relevant facts and quotations, revealing background. After all, Henri Cartier-Bresson is a photographer, isn't he? My personal wish is to see contact copies of film rolls, at least parts from which were the famous pictures chosen - it could tell us more about the field work of this Master of the Right Moment.

Zen and the art of the Street
Really an amazing book. I have come across many great "picture books" showing off fabulous reproductions of his work but if you want to read about what really drove the man to take some of the most amazing shots of the 20th century, pick up this book. It has "typically (outstanding) and (brilliant) academic French art crticism[sic] (and is) translated in(to) the English edition in a way that still manages to read like (outstanding) and (brilliant) academic French".

If you want to get behind the lens with this great master (the interviews and quotes are very stimulating and the choice of images were chosen by the author with HCB himself), buy this book. And if you are also a "street" photographer, this book will teach you more about this type of photography than any class at "Kunsthochschule für Medien" or book on "technique" could ever hope to.

A masterpiece.

Homage to HCB
First, the image selection (and according to the book it's HCB himself who did it) and presentation is probably the best for any collection of HCB photographs. Our perception is affected qualitatively by the size, and many of the same images printed full page simply lose in comparison even without considering the discussion and examples of visual reading the author of the thesis/book provides. Secondly, the text, while academic, is truly useful because it introduces a lot of background and thinking around photography as artistic phenomenon - therefore, if not read passively, and then likely to cause the kind of irritation a previous German reviewer displayed, but as a means to start your own thinking processes, it succeeds excellently. (Or, as someone noting the length of the my previous sentence could decide, likes attract ..;o)).. ) Possibly one of the best books around if you are an active photographer intrested in the aesthetics of the "seen" kind of photography - i.e. photography that aims to hunt out instances of artistic order chaotic Life creates from time to time - as contrasted to the "created" or conceptual approach, or if you are interested in the history of the art/medium and want to make sense of its roots and of its arguably the most brilliant practitioner in the XX century. Warning for USA readers: European thought. Antithesis of the "Dummies" books. Thinking required.

The best published collection of HCB's pictures?
The best published collection I've seen of Henri Cartier-Bresson's pictures, from some of the famous shots of the 30s and 40s (God how I hate that smirking brat with the wine bottles. Put me off appreciating HC-B for a long time) to some of the wonderfully impressionistic later landscapes.

The text ... well, buy the book for the pictures and look at them. Typically pretentious and impenetrable academic French art crticism, translated in the English edition in a way that still manages to read like pretentious and impenetrable academic French.

But did I mention the pictures?

The Lyrical Moment
This is one of the greatest published collections of the spectrum of CB's work -- it includes portraits, street photography, surrealist images, travel, etc. The pictures are beautiful. The text, which really needed to be edited more carefully, is nonetheless insightful. For anyone who wants to learn to make better pictures, buy this book, analyze the pictures and use what you learn. ... Read more

Book Description

Upon Jacque Lowe's death, commentators credited his pictures with creating the myth of Camelot. Lowe's photographs of the Kennedys, taken during his span as JFK's personal photographer, have become the iconic imagery of a time that remains vividly etched in the national psyche. Of Lowe's 40,000 photographs of the Kennedys, only a few hundred have ever been seen. Authorized by the Lowe estate, REMEMBERING JACK--which is being published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of JFK's death--features more than 600 pictures, half of which are previously unpublished. All of Lowe's original negatives were housed in a bank vault in the World Trade Center and were destroyed on 9/11/01. The book includes an introduction by Tom Wolfe, Lowe's friend and photo subject for 40 years. Hugh Sidey, who was traveling with Kennedy when he was assassinated, writes the commentary, while Thomasina Lowe chronicles her father's work and legacy. The focus, however, remains on the pictures--a poignant evocation of the charm, youth, high spirits, and legend of the Kennedys, all tinged with a sense of loss. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

very intimate photographs of the whole kennedy clan
A real treasure of intimate photographs of the entire kennedy clan by the photographers who was granted access to them before jfk became president. this book is a treasure.

A Heartfelt Tribute to a Great Kennedy
The "intimate and unseen photographs of the Kennedys" taken by the family's entrusted photographer Jacques Lowe starts off as just another photo album dedicated to a great president whose charismatic glow is still alive today.

But as one intimate sequence of photographs builds up on another, and through a series of brief but perceptive chapter commentaries provided by Hugh Sidey, the veteran journalist who covered the Kennedy presidency like perhaps no one else did, we are pulled into an emotional time-warp which makes us privy to many crucial moments in JFK's life and career. We become privileged witnesses to many public and private moments in a world leader's life.

At the end of the book one can't help but wonder if it was indeed some sort of divine providence that saved Lowe's contact sheets from the ravages of the Sept 11 attack that destroyed the original negatives kept at a safe inside the World Trade Center.

These photographs reproduced after Lowe's death in May 2001 by his daughter from those contact sheets are a wistful testimony to a time when everything looked possible under the energetic leadership of the 45-year-old JFK.

There are two aspects of this album that I really loved.

1) Besides the individual single B&W frames of JFK, RFK and many other family members in never-before-seen settings, the album also provides the original contact sheets from which the individual frames were selected.

These sheets, besides carrying the artist's original red markings and thus providing us with a visual commentary on Lowe's uncompromising aesthetic standards, also do present us a fascinating sequence of snapshots, each showing JFK or another Kennedy with a slightly different facial gesture, with an immediately related but different interaction in the same setting, thus providing us with an unedited kaleidoscopic feel for a moment long vanished in time.

Those series of unpublished and "discarded" frames make the viewer the proverbial fly-on-the-wall who can judge the true context of the situation for him/herself.

They take us one step beyond the polished and well-balanced press photos and enter the back-stage of many unforgettable moments from American political history.

2) We all remember JFK for his spectacular rise to power, his election as the youngest President in U.S. history, his memorable words and vision, and the great tragedy of November 22, 1963.

But how many of us remember "Jack" early in his career, when perhaps he also had his own doubts about whether he could pursue the path that he and his family set for himself?

Those early campaign trail photos that depict a lonely JFK, sometimes lost in his thoughts, sometimes braving his predicament with his trademark thousand-watt smile, were my favorites in the whole album.

For example: JFK visiting Ona, West Virginia (p.111), talking to miners on a mid-night shift change (p.107), welcomed in Portland, Oregon by only three supporters in 1959 (p.85), eating breakfast unnoticed at a diner in Oregon with Mrs. Kennedy and brother-in-law Steve Smith (p.79), and staring into the water in Coos Bay, Oregon (p.75) are some of my favorite "private JFK" photos. In my judgment, they alone are worth the cover price of this unique historic compilation. Makes a perfect gift for any history buff at any time of the year.

one of the best book i ever seen!!
to all kennedy fans, buy it!
there are a lot of pictures that are very rare, we can see the all family particularly rfk jfk and jackie kennedy.
I loved the pictures of rfk and kids, there are very touching, and we can how much he loved his children.
there is a good introduction too.
soif you want a great tirbute of the late president kennnedy buy it!

A Wonderful Tribute
This volume is first rate not only for enthusiasts of President Kennedy but also for those interested in photo journalism and the period from the late 1950's through to the early 1960's.

Despite a review stating that there is not much new here, I did not find that the case.

As stated on the jacket, there are indeed over 300 unseen photographs.

Of course, many of the photos are from a sequence of photos taken, with most of us being familiar with the image that Jacques Lowe chose for publication and general release.
However, It is very revealing to see the sequence of photos from which, for example, the photo used on the cover of Richard Reeves 1993 book was chosen. The many moods of John Kennedy are captured and it is as if for a brief moment he is once again with us.

Hugh Sidey provides a first rate narrative and the books production values are exquisite.

Given the recent death of Jacques Lowe, the book is also a final (unfortunately) rememberence of this special relationship between 2 men which produced perhaps the most intimate photographed record of a President that we are ever likely to see in our lifetime.
It is at times as if you are sitting in the Oval office with President Kennedy on any given day. I cannot recall any other President being this comfortable in his own skin and allowing such access.

For the many admirers of the late President, this book will fill your eyes with tears and your heart with hope.

Worthwhile But Nothing New
The cover of this latest Jacques Lowe collection trumpets that it contains "intimate and previously unseen photographs of the Kennedys". This is not entirely true. The vast bulk of the images were previously published in one or more best-selling Lowe books that include Portrait: The Emergence of John F. Kennedy (1961); The Kennedy Years (1964); Kennedy: A Time Remembered (1983); The Kennedy Legacy; A Generation Later (1988).

So, while Remembering Jack is a treasure trove of photographs, only a rare few are in fact previously unpublished, and the majority of these are rejects from proofs of particular events that produced famously memorable portraits: JFK's reaction to the news of Patrice Lumumba's death, meeting the Khrushchevs in Vienna, and dinner at Versailles.

Indeed, while the thematic selection of photographs is to be commended, there is some sloppiness apparent in the editing process. The chapter titled "Testing the Waters" features a photograph of a supposedly sleeping JFK with the description: "Jack stretches out on his bed on the Caroline." There is a good reason why this particular photograph was previously unpublished: the sleeping man in the photo is not Kennedy: his hair parted on the wrong side and he is wearing a wedding ring. The editors only had to look at the full-page photograph of Kennedy on the opposite page to have spotted the obvious differences.

With these qualms in mind Remembering Jack is nevertheless a worthwhile and relatively inexpensive addition to one's library. It will be particularly useful to readers who have not had the benefit of viewing Lowe's work previously. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

My Friend Lon
A wonderful photo book with Lon's images sorted by decade and reproduced with absolute beauty. Not enough Johnny Kemper but there never is. Unlike the Janssen book which had a picture of Lon that wasn't, this has some beautiful shots of him. An absolute must for those who loved Alonzo James Hanagan. The book was assembled by an aspiring author who, during the last months of Lon's life, rented a room in Lon's vast apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan.

Beautiful layout, timeless images
Reed Massengill's book on Lon of New York is superb. The layout and design of the book is beautiful and should serve as a template for other photography books. Massengill's introduction is well written and worth reading to better appreciate the photos reproduced in the book. Massengill's writing style reflects storytelling, not simply factual biographical data, and his approach makes Lon of New York a real person, not some distant figure from the past. The inclusion of personal photos throughout the text helps to bring him to life. The physique photos by Lon are timeless (a trademark applicable to Massengill's own photography); they transcend the time period in which they were photographed to reflect male beauty of any age.

Tender truth
Many books on mid 20th century physique photography have appeared in the past 10 years, but none is as good as this one. I agree with the other reviewers who have characterized this book as the ideal model for this type of book. The life of Lon is portrayed truthfully and lovingly by Reed Massengill. The use of candid photos from Lon's own collection of snapshots and self-portraits of him with his models tells us much about the man. A large portion of Lon's work was lost due to the censorship of the past--a great loss when one looks at the earliest images from the 1930's. Many of these photos are breathtaking portrayals of the male body. At least these few images have been preserved and are here for all of us to see. Hopefully, this book will find it's way into the general market and not be limited to a gay clientele. The only drawback comes from the book design. Some of the images are unecessarily cropped sometimes affecting the integrity of the photographs. Most annoying is the placement of all captions in light, small print perpendicular to the page. One often has to turn the book sideways to read the description and identities of the various models, but at least they are identified. Most other physique photography books have failed miserably in this respect. Why wasn't this book produced in a hardcover edition? It deserved to be presented to the world as the serious book that it is. It is not some light-hearted photographic essay. Still, all these shortcomings are easy to overlook. This is a magnificent book done by a man who clearly cares deeply about the photographer and his work. Bravo!

A model
There have been way too many books about homoerotic photographers that are poorly written, badly researched, incomplete, and unilluminating. Here, finally, is one that is a joy to own, a revelation to read, and invigorating in its approach. Great pictures, which are put in context, a fascinating sketch of an unusual life and unusual career, wonderfully designed. Now, Mr. Massengill, we finally have an excellent model for further investigations of other photographers, or artists, or publishers in the fields of gay history, social history, and aesthetics. By the way, the book is also a lot of fun.

AT LAST
At last a book on this major east coast physique photographer Lon Of New York. This well written book arranges the photographer's work decade by decade so we can we see the development of his unique style and talent over the years, from the 40's to his last session in the 90's. Not from the usual German publisher that we have seen for many other nude male studies, better and without the expected mispellings ... Read more

Book Description

Published just last spring to follow the runaway success of Couples and Men, teNeues introduced a third collection of beautifully composed, highly erotic images from acclaimed photographer Stefan May. Now the stunning black and white photographs that revealed the beauty, sensuality, and grace of women’s bodies are available in an exquisitely produced, slip-cased collector’s edition. This volume is sure to become a treasured gift for fans of erotic photography everywhere. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Photographer August Sander's great gift to the world is his collection of portraits documenting German society in the early decades of the 20th century. His sitters are anonymous, described simply by their occupation, with the stories of their lives, hard or soft, written on their faces. Drawn from all ranks of society, they look at us with a directness and honesty that reflect those of the man behind the camera. There is little artifice in their settings; Sander captures the essence of his subject's character through a neutral but sympathetic simplicity of vision. Calling his portfolio People of the Twentieth Century, Sander builds a picture of the Germany of his day that is at the same time both an artistic and sociological study. The calmness and humanity of his photographs contrast starkly with the violence of his times; though his work is pointedly apolitical, portrait titles such as Victim of Persecution, Cologne, 1938 suggest the hysteria that was overtaking contemporary Europe. Printed in Italy, this study presents a trilingual essay and 168 high-quality reproductions of Sander's work. Complementing the portraits are powerful landscape compositions of idyllic countryside and bombed-out ruins. The book is a fine introduction to the work of a pioneer who refined portraiture to its essence, changing the way photography was regarded in Germany and the world. --John Stevenson ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Boldly innovative and technically experimental, Harry Callahan (1912-1999) used double exposures, color, extreme contrast, and wide-angle photography to create lyrical, highly personal images. He was celebrated as a photographer of nature, the city, and women - often using his wife, Eleanor, for a model. Throughout his five-decade career, he quietly but consistently explored new ways of looking at and presenting the world. First published by Bulfinch in hardcover to accompany a major Callahan exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1996, this elegant examination of the central themes in Harry Callahan's work is an essential volume for longtime fans and an invaluable introduction for those new to his work. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

poor art and behind the times ...
HARRY CALLAHAN by Sarah Greenough
Catalogue of retrospective at National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996.

The text by Sarah Greenough is political and can be read within the context of American art politics. It is a discourse which aims at affirming in authoritarian timbre the "contribution" made by Callahan to American Art. The history of America started only 300 years ago and given that religion and politics have been mixed since the declaration of Independence it is not unexpected to conclude that American artistic mainstream paradigms are often 1) simplistic and easy to read, 2) have political overtones and 3) are morally acceptable.

By simplistic I mean to say, visual discourses where the writing is direct, devoid of metaphorical content. This has evolved since the 1950s and today assumes forms of supreme social criticism on behalf of art making. Such is the case of Robert Frank's "Americans" or most of Winogrand's work. The form is thus simple and so is the contents. Americans are simply incapable of understanding complexity. Europe is complex, America is simple.

Political overtones in American expression are not necessarily limited to flying the flag. Americans celebrate their land with images of Yosemite, with images of skyscrapers, expressways, cars, machines, etc. Americans are incapable of celebrating the earth unconditionally, without nationalistic overtones. They fly their flag from the porches and the manicured gardens. Adams celebrated America, Monet celebrated the earth.

Most American mainstream artistic paradigms are morally acceptable. It is one of the countries with most teenage pregnancy, with the least amount of sexual education in the early ages, it is still possible to apply corporal punishment to school children in several areas, America is not a signatory to the International Declaration of Human Rights, Children's Rights, the Anti-Genocide Declaration or the International Penal Tribunal.

To top all of this up, less than 10% of American citizens have a passport.

Most of the imagery by Callahan lacks actuality in the eyes of world history of photography. In the 1910s and 1920s, artists in Paris had already performed serious experimentation in painting, sculpture, graphic arts and photography. Moholy-Nagy set-up his Institute of Design in Chicago during the late 1940s. He experienced many difficulties and was never able to run the institute in its various incarnations for more than 3 years. The American public wasn't ready 20 years latter for what Man Ray had done in Paris. Only a small number of people, mostly living in New York were sensitive enough and actually understood the impetus of Modernism.

Callahan's work is a distillation of the more difficult modernism for American consumption. Teaching is a business and as exists as a modality of consumption. I'm very moved by some of his images but I haven't seen anything which is revolutionary as Man Ray, Picasso, Cezanne, Monet were. His work is quite, clam, tranquil, simple, simplistic, a little bit political and slightly poetic. It is miles away from Aaron Siskind, Moholy Nagy and some of the work produced by students at the Institute of Design where he himself was a teacher.

This book is about the political, cultural and social celebration of Callahan's art. As indeed are all the exhibitions in America.

A Concise Compilation
Harry Callahan was the most influential and important figure in photography throughout the last half of the 20th century. This edition of his work shows chronologically how Callahan's approach to the medium evolved and changed, while his vision remained ever faithful to modernity. The book begins in Detroit, where Callahan worked for Chrysler while pursuing photography as a serious hobby. It was also during this time that he married Eleanor Knapp, who would later become the subject for many of his strongest images. The accompanying essay by Sarah Greenough is succinctly written, blending biographical information to the photographs Callahan took throughout his long, photographic journey (Callahan died in 1999). Callahan's outlook on photography changed dramatically after having met Ansel Adams, at a photography workshop in Detroit. Taking some of Adams' philosophy and refining it, Callahan created his own style of photographing/printing, made apparent by such images as 'Weeds in Snow' and 'Detroit, 1942'. In these images and throughout the rest of his life, Callahan easily turned the simplest subject matter into monumental works of photographic art. The book provides powerful examples of this, in both black & white and color. After leaving his job to pursue photography full time, Callahan moved to Chicago and taught at the Institute of Design. Continuing the experimentation he began in Detroit, Callahan worked and refined his style during his Chicago years, utilizing double exposure, collage, close-ups, and the use of positive and negative space. The book then turns to Callahan's New England period. It was during this time that Callahan taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence. The book captures this period vividly, with images of varying contrast and mood. Here we see Callahan's ability at adapting to his environment by producing increasingly poetic images of nature, as well as urban and suburban street scenes. In his later work from 1972-1992, the photographs in "Harry Callahan" document the photographer's travels in other countries, with an increased attention on color. It remains clear by the images shown in his later years, that Callahan continued to explore photography by constantly challenging himself and the medium. Where most photographers are known for one particular style or body of work (Cartier-Bresson's 'decisive moment' or Robert Frank's publication of The Americans), Callahan is known for many different styles and bodies of work. The photographs in "Harry Callahan" prove this with each turn of the page. Callahan was a photographic artist in the truest sense, if we choose to believe an artists' goal is not only to create but to constantly evolve. Callahan was, continues to be, and always will be an influence to those photographers who seek not only perfection in the creation of their photographic art, but also change. ... Read more

Book Description

Edward S. Curtis was the greatest photographer of Native Americans that this country has ever produced. Curtis photographed more than eighty Native American tribes at what for many was the penultimate moment of their existence in a period spanning more than three decades. Seen in Curtis's photographs, these are peoples of free-reining spirit set in the vastness of a primal continent. Included are a selection of Curtis's master prints, which have never been seen before, and other prints that comprised Curtis's last great exhibition, mounted in 1906 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Donated to the Peabody Essex Museum in 1906, these prints have never been exhibited since. This selection of photographs, which survive intact from almost one hundred years ago, proves that Curtis was not only a great photographer but also one of the most important artists ever produced in America. With this book, accompanied by a radical reappraisal of Curtis's work and place in American art by photographic historian Clark Worswick, Edward Curtis joins the ranks of John James Audubon, whose works on a uniquely American natural history subject admit no contemporary comparison. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The two exhibitions
In 1906 photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis held the last showings of his large-format, large-scale platinum exhibition prints at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel and at Boston's St Botolph Club. He had gotten banker John Pierpont Morgan to agree to help pay for a complete photographic record of Native American life. So he sold his larger exhibition prints to Dr Charles Goddard Weld, who then gave the 108 photographs to what is now the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, Massachusetts. My sculptress mother and artist sister had already shared with me Curtis's pictorialist photography: so in my opinion THE MASTER PRINTS from these last two exhibitions are excellent examples of how the artist-photographer used chiaroscuro effects, close-ups and soft-focus lenses for dramatic and focused lighting, dark backgrounds for adding or subtracting details, and romantic poses to bring out strong personality and sweeping landscape. The book has helpful, to-the-point, well-written foreword, appreciation, afterword, and notes: I find it interesting that the prints might have been made with just an old German lens and a heavy-to-carry 14x17 view plate camera and that all the head and shoulder shots were taken in a tent lined with maroon-colored material and under lighting controlled by a skylight opening on one side. And I particularly like the prints that give a sense of place, such as the clearly photographed nature in "The Mojave water carrier," "Out of the forest depth" and "Taos water carriers"; a sense of family, such as "Hava Supai home," "Inuit hut and family," and Yakutat Indian seal hunter's hut"; a sense of community, such as Acoma and Walpi street scenes, "Apache camp" and "Apache village," "Blackfoot encampment," "Census hogan," "Estufa of San Ildefonso," "Mishongnovi," and [Tlinkit] "Council house"; and a sense of daily activity, such as "Threshing wheat," "Winnowing wheat," "Washing wheat," "Drying wheat," and "Hopi girls grinding peke bread meal." So the book's collection of photographic artistry works especially well w