Customer Reviews

As I See It

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

First of all, the human body is the most beautiful of God's creations. The only thing that is wrong about the naked human body is the fact that much of the Western World has created a taboo regarding it; uncomfortable dealing with our own sensuality and sexuality. Second of all, and more to the point, if "many times [you] felt so nauseated looking at it that you had to put it down," why did you keep picking it up? Simply making an observation.

Greg Gorman presents beautiful, sometimes androgynous, young men in this thick book of back and white photographs.
First of all, the book construction is excellent, with glossy pages that complement Gorman's use of high contrast lighting environments. On some pages the large areas of black ink have speckled in spots, this seems to be the only flaw in construction, otherwise the printing is excellent.
Like Alfred Stieglitz's simple but profound portraits of Georgia O'Keefe, Gorman presents simple images in stark environments, dark in tone, where the sitter is actively engaged in the attempted acheivement of photograhic perfection.
Gorman creates mini-portfolios of each sitter - the images come from one, sometimes more, sessions - and most often presents the model in several variations of the same pose. This strategy allows the viewer to experience the work as a duration of time, rather than a moment in time. Gorman's simplified cubistic aproach works to imbue his work with humanity, spaciousness and enough of a measure of originality to set his work in the upper strata of photograhers within his genre.

The photos of nude men are beutifully captured in sepia tones. There is nothing provocative or crude. It's just men posing in the buff. There are a few photos of Christopher Atkins and Josh Duhamel. The book is just beautifully put together.

Every aspect of this new volume of Greg Gorman's art is of the highest quality....from the physical cover/paper quality/design/ typeface et cetera. Gorman's choice of models - men who are not buff beefcake for the most part - is refreshing and allows us to more closely appreciate his photographic gifts of choice of pose, lighting, and introspection. These models dwell in that continuum of emerging masculinity unhampered by too much experience or over-exposure to the various camera (and human) eyes. With the exception of Nicholas Gonzalez and Alexis Arquette (again, refreshing honest respect for male nudity in a world most celebrities avoid), the models are like people you pass as you walk down the street. The beauty of the resulting photo sessions seems a balanced collaboration between Gorman and his sitters. A beautiful book.

This photo book is a must have and and excellent companion to Greg Gorman: In Their Youth. Every serious collector of male photography and emerging photographer will treasure them.

Art is a matter of taste, and taste will affect one's assessment. The reason I was immensely disappointed in this book was because (a) almost all the models look the same and (b) that particular style of clone isn't what I find particularly appealing--at least not enough to welcome a couple hundred pictures of essentially the same thing. With that many models, one might naturally expect to find a variety--a few alternate races thrown in, or at least a few different looks (body types) and variety of presentation. We all have our preferences, and this wasn't mine.

Maybe I should give three stars instead of two, because, after all, the editorial review does provide a hint (if inadequate) that these are "carefully selected" guys "who exemplify FOR GORMAN a perfected state." It's just that you won't know what that limitation is exactly (what his idea of perfection is), until you get the book.

One thing I found odd, which is partly why I say "clones," is that virtually all the models are circumcised (if they're not, they appear to be...). A whole bookful of cut models--who are touted as a perfected state of grace, beauty and elegance of the nude male form--has got to be disappointing to those who appreciate the natural male form. The only natural-appearing model featured in the entire book (that I could find) is the very LAST one pictured--and I couldn't help but wonder if the only reason for its inclusion had something to do with size. Oh, I did see just one other "natural" photo, but only in one shot in the series of a long-haired, girlish-looking blond from slightly more of a distance, an outdoor shot. Perhaps this non-prominate exception was also included, again in the back of the book, for its jarringly different look (the fluffy long hair). Just a hint of diversity.

If you share the same idea of what is the "perfected state" of the male form (white, cut and youngish), and don't mind purchasing a whole book limited to just that, then this book is quite respectable. Buy it. Still, I wonder how it could receive such utterly superlative accolades in the other reviews. After all, inside its elegantly macho covers, it's rather ordinary in its presentation, not glossy, not strikingly presented (no margins, pictures covering the entire page--which in my opinion is not the most ideal presentation of black and white photos); so I could understand "very good" or even "excellent," but the best ever seen since the beginning of time? Not even close for this reviewer who is an avid collector of fine photography in diverse genres. Others obviously feel differently--and that's why we have reviews.

The photographs in this book are just marvelous. Gorman has a way of evoking each model's personality so well with his shots. There are also some lower level celebrities in the mix so that is cool. Christopher Atkins has a great spread. If you love the male form, you will love this book of breathtaking photos.