Photographer Andrew Zuckerman's strikingly detailed images of animals from around the world are as delightful as they are inspiring. This collection of astonishing studio portraits of 175 wild creaturesfrom baby leopards to parrots, bears, mandrills, and many moreare stunningly foregrounded against white backgrounds, depicting their subjects with rare sensitivity,insight, humor, and wonder. Zuckermanalso an up-and-coming filmmaker, whose first short film, High Falls, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007has created a volume perfect for animal lovers, photography fans, and anyone fascinated by the world around us. Creature is a beautiful and thought-provoking look at the fragile wonders of the natural world.
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Amazon Best of the Month, December 2007: December seems to be the classic month to celebrate the coffee-table book--those oversized tomes that sit out on display, easily enticing anyone within arm's reach to flip through the pages. One of my favorites of the season--and one you'll want to keep out all year long--is Andrew Zuckerman's Creature, a photographic safari of astounding studio shots of an ark's worth of animals, ready for their close-ups against a stark white backdrop. Mesmerizing, inspiring, and ultimately very, very cool. Badgers, fruit bats, and bald eagles never looked so good. --Brad Thomas Parsons
About the Author
Andrew Zuckerman is a New York-based photographer and film director. His work has been featured in Communication Arts, Photo District News, American Photo, and ADC's "Young Gun" show. In 2006 Andrew was a recipient of D&AD's Yellow Pencil award for excellence in photography. He co-founded Late Night & Weekends, which develops advertising, books, television, and narrative films. His first short film, High Falls, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.
Noted filmmaker and photographer, Andrew Zuckerman, utilizes a multitude of platforms to produce work that is systematically executed, conceptually based, and democratically presented. Minimalist in nature, Zuckerman aims to create atmospheres of clarity and neutrality to facilitate the viewer's access to the material. His commitment to diversifying the points of entry into his work has garnered a global audience.
Zuckerman first made his mark on the publishing world with the 2007 release of CREATURE, a compendium of intimate animal portraits set against his signature white background. He has since explored this distinctive approach - which divorces subjects from their context and equalizes the larger conversation between them - in four additional critically acclaimed multi-media projects: WISDOM (2008), BIRD (2009), MUSIC (2010), and FLOWER (2012). Renowned designer, Massimo Vignelli, has lauded Zuckerman's "uncompromising notion of space in which any object becomes its own essence." His books have been translated into numerous languages and published in 18 international editions.
Exhibitions of Zuckerman's work include a solo show of photographs from CREATURE at the Forma International Center of Photography in Milan and the ongoing WISDOM traveling exhibition, featuring portraits and interviews with extraordinary individuals over the age of 65, including Nelson Mandela, Andrew Wyeth, and Chuck Close. It premiered at the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. In July 2008, Zuckerman's portrait of Nelson Mandela appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Zuckerman's companion film to BIRD has been exhibited on The High Line in New York City in 2009, and at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston in 2010. Photographs from BIRD were on display at Colette in Paris. His short film, "High Falls," premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and was selected as Best Short Film at the Woodstock Film Festival the same year. Writer David Carr called the project "a pretty film and a pretty smart film" in his New York Times review. In 2010, Zuckerman interviewed and photographed over fifty eminent musicians, composers, and producers (from Ornette Coleman to Iggy Pop) for the MUSIC project, which was realized as a book, film, and iPad app. His most recent multimedia project, FLOWER, includes images of over 250 varieties of flora with an accompanying taxonomical index and time lapse films of the life cycles of seven species, which were created from thousands of high definition stills. Filmmaker David Lynch has called FLOWER "a grand celebration of mother nature's artistry." CREATURE, BIRD, and FLOWER are informed by a conservationist approach.
Zuckerman's work has been commissioned by influential international brands and for inclusion in major private collections.
I received this book as a gift, and I will be honest--I was floored. "Creatures" that are meant to be hidden in their respective habitats are given their due majesties when planted on blank canvas. Every detail is available, stark and sometimes overwhelming. Some photos look painted, a testament that Nature oftentimes makes the best art.
I do have to say that I don't understand some other reviewers who gave this book a low rating because there are blank pages which are "insulting". What exactly is insulting about this? In my opinion, the placements of the various animals on the pages give the effort fluidity and movement in a collection of still photos; furthermore, the blank pages (when they're there) add to the value of portrait by highlighting the animal alone. After all, we paid for photos of animals with no background. It's what we received.
I believe the book would be sorely lacking if we were given 175 animals photographed ala prison photos to be placed in the center of each page. The results would be slow, tired and common, and would detract greatly from the goal of this book: To bring the essence--the motion--of the animal into utmost focus. This book attempts to present the dual beauty of the still moment, as Zuckerman writes at its end: animal life in a still frame capture and it's simultaneous movement.
Creature is a breathtaking look at a very broad range of animals with a unique perspective. It is easy to get lost in the artistry and quality of the photographs that show detail not typically included in children or museum books.
Toward the end of the book, he photographer notes that the use of images on white is not only intentional, it is the motivation behind the entire series of photographs. To lament the amount of blank space allocated in the book is to miss the point. Stripped of their environment, some creatures are close, far, or simply alive.
Creature is not a book to merely flip from page to page, but instead to relish each individual spread for its perspective. Moving too quickly means missing the details; the photographer and designer have created a book that decidedly invites the reader to slow down and stay for a spell.
Creature is a work of art. It connects you with a single moment that is real -- might be whimsical, hungry, frightening -- but each page is virtually alive.
A good reminder that all creatures are individuals with memorable moments.
I love the concentration on the creatures, not the surround. The plain and simple white background lets the emphasis fall on the magnificent animals - from insects to elephants. It is a unique book where you can count the hairs on beautiful mammals and almost feel the crystal clear scales of a reptile. The design of the white space is particularly important in seeing the book as both an artistically designed work of art and a lesson in the beauty of mother nature's wondrous creatures.
It is obvious by looking at the other reviews that the controversy over this book's layout is frustratingly bifurcated for the undecided buyer. The book has a delightfully bold layout and my review is as follows; the white backgrounds create a uniformity that stabilizes the book page to page. Additionally, the white aids the effort to capture the intrinsic 'creature' within each animal. Unless there can be an appreciation and an understanding for the blankness within this book, its purchase will sadly be seen as a waste. It is comforting to know that, regardless of harsh critics and naive readers, the book was driven solely by simple design. In our capitalistic economy today, it is difficult to create a sound book without trying to appeal to public tastes, but Andrew Zuckerman succeeded with Creature.
From the moment I learned of this project, I eagerly awaited my copy of Creature. Andrew Zuckerman did not disappoint. The photos are spectacular, the animals amazing, and the layout of the book intriguing. Whether you're into photography, wildlife, or art, this is a must have book for the top of your coffee table. Kudos to Andrew for this exceptional work of art.
We bought this book for our daughter who loves animals. It is beautifully done and she loves the simplicity of it. Additionally the index in the back of the book shows a small photo of each animal along with the names, scientific and common. I would have given it 5 stars except that our copy has a small production hitch where a few of the pages are duplicates and one animal is missing.
Reviewing a book such as this is probably as difficult as it is to describe having seen in person the animals that Andrew Zuckerman saw and photographed. He offers 175 full-color high definition images assembled in a coffee-table book that commands attention with its stunning cover shot of a black panther. Other images include those of bears, mandrills, parrots, and baby leopards. No text is provided nor is any necessary because it would be intrusive and thus a distraction. Literally, Zuckerman's art speaks for itself with and does so with visual eloquence. Any words of mine are inadequate except to say "Magnificent!"
