Customer Reviews

Branded Youth: and Other Stories

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Black & white and a few color plates covering a broad range of material, from hollywood celebs to midwest farmers, from Soweto township to the youth of Vietnam, from a montage of clips from Court TV to Weber's trademark look at the All-American boy. Don't miss this one.

Having seen the Branded Youth exhibition a few years ago in England, I rushed out to buy this book. There are so many different subjects photographed - it's not one type of photo. Sure, many are portraits, but they are of varied people of groups of people ie. wrestling, boy scouts, celebrities, the "branded youth" boys, so Weber demonstrates his talents in documenting life in today's world.

I read the book only after I saw the display first hand at the National Portrait Gallery in London. From the moment I walked in I was captured by each subject and the story that each of their expressions revealed. I think Weber embraced the essence of his topic by depicting all kinds of youth and the gammet of emotions youth provides.

This book does not really have many stories, it has lots of pictures! I think that the title is misleading.

And as some of his books, this book has lots of random pictures. Some are good, some are not. Quite a few are homoerotic. Among all the pictures, there are about two male frontal nudities.

This is just like a typical abercrombie and fitch magazine, and it has stories instead of clothes that they want to sell to you.

The pictures were all fairly nice. But what got to me, was the stories, "Prettest girl in town." the one about the three kdis going out and branding them self with a sword. They were touching in their betrail of human life and want. I couldent have dremt for more of a sadistic, masicistic beautiful book. I read it when i was in Backbone state park with friends, her boyfriend had bought her the book. We were sitting around the campfire reading it all i could thing was...thats what I want in life.

Bruce Weber should have concentrated on just one subject, "young men". His photography is more dramatic emphasizing young men with great bodies. I think he should make a book just for them. Not male models but ordinary young men with great bodies!