Portraits and Photos Books

The foreword gives a nice explantion of the how the book tries to capture the essense of the European exhibition, and is followed by a dozen or so pages chronicling the evolution of photographic science and human body photography through the 1900's. Mr. Ewing, who is Director of the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, definitely knows his stuff; this is interesting reading.

The one hundred photos (all b/w except for a handful) are displayed in chronological order, and in much the same way as a museum would: photograph on the right-hand page; title and credit on the left. A major plus is the insightful commentary about the artists and their photographic styles which accompanies each photo credit. In keeping with the gallery presentation, thirteen themes are evidenced in this collection, the most prominent being "Expression," "Form," "Politics," "Fiction," and "Flesh."

"The Century of the Body" portrays many photographic genres: Pictorialism, Modernism, Surrealism, body art, fashion and even endoscopic photography. Noteworthy contributors include Stieglitz, Imogen Cunningham, Man Ray, Weston, Avedon and Mapplethorpe. Every image made me look a long time; none were lewd or offensive. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in photographic style, or simply . . . art.

Reader Caution: The images in this book would exceed an R rating if the book's content were in a motion picture.

Review: Photography and views of the human body have shifted enormously in the last 100 years. This extremely interesting book does a great job of exploring those shifts. It also conjectures forward into the world in which the combination of mastering genetics and body reshaping methods (like plastic surgery) will provide even more choice. The book will be of most interest to those who are not very familiar with the history of photography since the images and essays cover little new ground.

The essay is extremely thorough and interesting in explaining the book's themes which are:

Flesh -- the naked body to appeal to the prurient rather than the artistic

Microcosm -- microscopic images of the body's interior

Gaze -- the public part of the body, especially the face and eyes

Memory -- the aid to the mind's recollection

Icon -- the idealized body

Form -- the artistic nude

Pain -- the suffering body

Politics -- meanings and values are contested

Enquiry -- scientific investigation

Fiction -- images, dreams, and fantasies

Macrocosm -- a single human body in relation to the universe.

My favorite images in the book were mostly old favorites:

Man Ray, 1924, Violin d'Ingres;

Imogen Cunningham, 1932, Nude;

Sasha Stone, 1933, Study of the Human Body;

Leni Riefenstahl, 1936, Jesse Owens;

Edward Weston, 1936, Nude;

Louise Dahl-Wolfe, 1948, Nude in the Desert;

Gerhard Kiesling, 1952, Miners;

Don McCullen, 1969, Albino Boy in a Camp of 900 Dying Children, Biafra;

Nick Ut, 1972, Napalm Bomb Attack, Vietnam;

Lennart Nilsson, 1973, A Human Foetus at Three Months;

Hermut Newton, 1981, Sie kommen (naked and dressed), Paris;

Robert Mapplethorpe, 1982, Lisa Lyon.

I suspect that the book would have worked better if it had narrowed its focus to a single theme. Perhaps such works will follow.

Those who see their favorite photographs in this book will often be a little disappointed that their size and reproduction are a little on the smallish side and below top grade.

After you use these images and essays to capture a better sense of what the body has been all about, perhaps you could take a moment to think about what your body means to you. How can you create a more positive connection with your body? How can you draw more strength from it? How can you enjoy being at one with your body?

Draw upon images of what is . . . to create plans to build what is better for all!

Most informative for me were the sections on the differing traditions of Texas-style cowboys, who range across the Southwest and eastern slopes of the Rockies, and California-style buckaroos, who work the Great Basin of Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada. The details of cowboy gear are also presented well, with accompanying photographs and interviews with saddlemakers. A glossary at the back of the book defines a lot of these terms: hackamore, jinglebobs, mecate, snaffle bits. It also includes cowboy terminology, which often shows up in the interviews: roping cattle, drag the calves, pull a wagon.

A great pleasure is reading the words of cowboys themselves, as they express their various opinions, relate their memories of adventures, and talk about horses. What comes across over and again is a love of this way of life, despite the fact that looking after cattle on horseback is hard physical labor and pays little. You understand their pride, their sense of self-reliance and the importance of being recognized by others as "the man for the job." I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the West, cowboys, and ranching. A good companion volume (out of print) is "Buckaroos in Paradise" by Howard Marshall.

Having spent the better part of my childhood on the back of a horse pretending to be a 'real cowgirl,' I found myself all wrapped up in memories while reading this fresh look at the life of modern-day cowboys.

The author, a true cowboy himself, traveled all over the south and west photographing working ranches and the people who own/work them. The author must have spent a good deal of time interviewing his subjects, because the book offers up some great stories/quotes, too.

The book is broken down into interesting chapters such as: THE COWBOY LIFESTYLE - RANCHING COUNTRY - GETTING IT DONE -- FAMILY LIFE - RANCH HORSES (my particular favorite) - DEFINING THE COWBOY - RANCHING TRADITIONS.

Some of my favorite quotes: On Ranch Horses: "If a horse ain't plum lame when you get done nailing the shoes on, you've done all right."

"There is something about a horse. They are a lot prettier animal than a man is, but not quite as pretty as a woman. They are beautiful animals. I was raising horses when I was raising my children. I raised them together. I credit that relationship with the fact that not one of my children has ever been involved in with drugs." (Rex Allen)

Or, the one in Family Life: "I'm Dusty, my wife is Sandy, my boy is Rocky, and my dauther's name is Wendy. Our names describe this ranch perfectly." (Dusty Ray)

I'm keeping this book on my coffee table for easy access. When I'm feeling penned up, I'll open it up, look at the wonderful photos, read the quotes and dream of life under the big sky of Montana or the scrub bushes of New Mexico.

Enjoy!