As I See It [Hardcover]

Greg Gorman (Photographer), John Hurt (Afterword), Elton John (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

Three years ago, photographer Greg Gorman created for powerHouse Books the most personal work of his career. This epic artist’s project features carefully selected young men—not big or overly built—who exemplify for Gorman a perfected state, allowing him to frame grace, beauty, and elegance in the form of the male nude. Included amongst the 212 portraits are many of Gorman’s friends and acquaintances, as well as professional models, many of whom had never posed nude before. The initial release of the book went on to become a best-seller.

The cumulative effect of As I See It creates a pleasurable zone of contemplation, allowing one to reexamine the precepts of beauty within a refreshing framework of exalted maleness. According to Gorman, “As I see it, they’re not really boys, yet they’re not really men. They are caught somewhere in between—almost at that point of maturity that defines masculinity.”

“The display of the male body has been fraught with significance for centuries....Gorman portrays the male body without stripping it bare of power or poignance. It’s a new approach to an old, old idea.”
—American Photo

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Greg Gorman’s books include Just Between Us (Arena, 2002), Perspectives (Leonardo Arte, 1999), Inside Life (Rizzoli, 1997), and Greg Gorman: Volume II (Treville, 1992). Gorman has taught at the Santa Fe, Toscana, and Albion River Inn photographic workshops. He has lectured at UCLA, the International Center of Photography, the University of Southern California, the University of Kansas, the Brooks Institute of Photography, and IADL in Lisbon. A native of Kansas City, Gorman lives in Los Angeles.

Elton John, an avid collector of photography and a pop star with more than fifteen number one albums and even knighthood under his belt, is one of the most widely loved and commercially successful entertainers of the last thirty years.

John Hurt, the two-time Academy Award–winning actor, is internationally renowned as one of the best stage and film performers of our time. Included in his more than one hundred film appearances are the classics A Man For All Seasons, The Elephant Man, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books; First Edition edition (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576870863
• ISBN-13: 978-1576870860
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 1.4 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #544,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Achievement........, November 14, 2000

By 

Joseph J. Hanssen "Joe" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: As I See It (Hardcover)

Word's can't describe this beautiful new male nude-photography book from Greg Gorman. The photos in this book are so beautifully reproduced, I don't think I have ever seen better. The book binding itself from the brown cloth cover to the beautiful sepia tone black & white photos is perfect. The images of these models (Gorman's friends, acquaintances, and professional models) are so sensual and so clear because of Gorman's talented use of light and shadows. These hot men are handsome and good-looking. There are over 240 photos in this collection, a great achievement that was 20 years in the making by this photographer. These young men are not big and overly built, but very natural looking young men. As Gorman says, "They are not really boys, yet they're not really men, either.

Anyone who appreciates male beauty, great photography, or both should own this beautiful collection. I have reviewed and collected many male nude photography books, but I was more than impressed with this book. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. It's a must for the collector of male figure study books.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In The Eyes of the Beholder, January 23, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: As I See It (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully produced book. I thought the price was somewhat steep, until I received the book. The construction is first-rate, the paper is heavy and rich in texture. I've paid much more for much less.

I must disagree with the previous reviewer: these are NOT ordinary young men you'd just pass on the street. All of these are head-turners in their way. Some have an androgynous beauty peculiar to developing men, so much so that it's a shock to see a set of male genitalia a little below!

Perhaps we've gotten so accustomed to seeing the pumped-up physique that these photographs are an anti-cliche. The nude men in this book fit the 'swimmer' build that so many find erotic: very slim, narrow in torso and hips. Almost every model in the book has large genitalia, accentuated of course by the small body builds. There are a few celebrity photos: Chris Atkins, still looking buff in his middle age. More particularly, Alexis Arquette, whose sexual endowment has been noted in his movies.

Fortunately, Gorman has not forgotten the subject and purpose of his photographs. The nude men here are the stars, little distracted by manipulation of backgrounds or techniques. Once again, his models are the stars here.

This is a highly erotic book for those attracted to young male beauty, and an excellent buy besides.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEAUTIFUL IMAGES, April 22, 2001

By 

MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: As I See It (Hardcover)

Thanks to the Amazon.com reviews already written for Greg Gorman's book, I bought it online and couldn't be happier. Gorman is a contemporary photographer obviously enamored of his subjects. The care and dignity he bestoys on all his models in this book is exemplary.

A previous collection, published by Rizzoli, is called "Inside Life" and consists mainly of portraits of celebrities from Brando to Sarandon, from Quincy Jones to Leonardo Di Caprio before he was LEONARD DI CAPRIO-from a cross-dressing Sharon Stone to a nude Keanu Reeves. But these are much more than publicity pictures one might see in a magazine like "Vanity Fair;" they really bear repeated viewings: has any of us seen Sugar Ray Leonard looking so troubled?; How clever to let us watch Savion Glover resting his feet, rather than tapping; How witty to show us gay porn icon, Jeff Stryker, as he might have looked in an MGM 1940's studio shot.

As beautifully put together as the above volume is, Gorman's "As I See It" is even better. Powerhouse Books has given Gorman the publication he deserves. This is a magnificently designed and executed collection of classic male nudes, most of whom are posed in neutral surroundings, so that our eyes go to the male form and how this photographer wants us to see it.

Included is a reproduction of a charming, hand-written note to Gorman from his fan (and sometimes model) Elton John. A wonderful book of beautiful images. Highly recommended.