Cédric Delsaux: Dark Lens [Hardcover]

Cédric Delsaux (Photographer), George Lucas (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2011

Jabba the Hut lurks in the shadows of a decrepit, abandoned warehouse, his toady eyes glowing; Boba Fett looms up from the fluorescent glare of an indoor car park, poised to kill; Yoda peers out inquiringly from the window ledge of some otherwise untenanted institutional building; Han Solo's cryogenically frozen form on a slab stands, installed bizarrely in an anonymous concrete plaza. Of the many scenarios to which Star Wars fans have dispatched the films' protagonists over the years, none--not even Seth McFarlane's Family Guy homages--are as unlikely as Cédric Delsaux's. In Dark Lens, Delsaux transports Darth Vader and the whole gamut of Star Wars iconography to a post-apocalyptic, urban-suburban landscape of endless parking lots, highrises and wasteland interzones, vacant of ordinary human life. Delsaux's "mythology of banality" (as he describes it) produces images that are not just funny or preposterous, but also weirdly compelling; in their photographic plausibility they successfully incorporate Star Wars into an everyday reality that we can all recognize, but in ways that make both worlds seem strangely real and absurdly false. Delsaux's Dark Lens will captivate both film and photobook fans alike with its fantastically bizarre recasting of Star Wars on planet Earth after the apocalypse. (20111208)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The images simmering in the French photographer Cédric Delsaux's "Dark Lens" series are an unsettling confluence of hyper-real cityscapes, a post-postmodern sense of humor ... and characters from "Star Wars." (DANA JENNINGS The New York Times )

About the Author

Né en 1974, Cédric Delsaux vit et travaille à Paris. Après des études de Lettres et de Cinéma, il rejoint d’abord le monde de la publicité. Depuis 2002, il se consacre entièrement à la photographie. Avec le premier volet de son travail sur Star Wars, The Dark Lens, il remporte la Bourse du Talent en 2005. Ses travaux personnels font l’objet de nombreuses expositions aux États-Unis, en Chine, en Allemagne, en Angleterre, et en Pologne. Son travail Nous resterons sur terre, publié aux éditions Verlhac en octobre 2008, explore le lien ambivalent de l’Homme face à la nature. Il est également publié aux USA chez Random House sous le titre A Common Destiny.      

Product Details

• Hardcover: 118 pages
• Publisher: Éditions Xavier Barral; Bilingual edition (October 31, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2915173702
• ISBN-13: 978-2915173703
• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 10.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #370,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SW's Fans Especially Should Not Miss This!, December 5, 2011

By 

Kellyb-SWFanSince77 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cédric Delsaux: Dark Lens (Hardcover)

I had the pleasure of seeing some of these gorgeous images in a larger format, in person, at Celebration V (the SW convention in Orlando in 2010). Some of the poster size prints simply leave you stunned. The way Cedric Delsaux seamlessly inserts an aspect from the Star Wars universe into our world is just unbelievably....awesome - for lack of a better, more eloquent word. My favorite has to be the AT-AT walkers (the Imperial military vehicles from the Hoth battle at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back) looming out of the mist over two deserted elevated freeways/highways. It's eerie and a little terrifying in a 'what if the Empire came to Earth' kind of way. I've been waiting for this book to be published and available since 8/2010 and I can't wait to get my hands on it now that it's out. I only wish I could afford the collectors limited edition signed version. Congratulations, Monsieur Delsaux on an incredible job. If you do more delving into the SW-verse, I will gladly follow.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Any fans of Star Wars must own, January 22, 2012

By 

Anthony (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cédric Delsaux: Dark Lens (Hardcover)

This book is amazing, the work inside is flawless. Im not sure if its cgi or he shoots the background and subjects separately. But either way it looks amazing. Seeing characters and vehicles from the Star Wars franchise in modern day cities is a beautiful. Im also a professional photographer and the whole book is truly inspiring!

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money. Do not buy., February 22, 2012

By 

Darthbx (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cédric Delsaux: Dark Lens (Hardcover)

I saw this book at a B&N. It was shrink wrapped for a reason. The cover photo is probably the best picture in the entire book. It looks like someone took random pictures and photoshopped some action-figures into them. I could have done that. For a lot cheaper than the retail price of this awful book. Left me with that empty, "I just paid to see The Phantom Menace" feeling. There are Tumblr and Instagram pages that look better than this garbage. Avoid. Save your money.

Darthbx