Hands are, with the possible exception of the eyes, the most expressive parts of our bodies, asking for more or less, telling us to come or to go, scolding, rewarding, searching and finding, and at their most intimate, loving and lustful. Hands reward us, calm us, feed us and scratch our backs. They intimidate, bless, encourage and stop us. They soothe, caress and sometimes go where they shouldn't. We may take hands for granted, but Elliott Erwitt does not as he demonstrates in this collection of photographs.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
In introducing this album of black-and-white photographs, Charles Flowers cites an anthropologist's contention that 60 percent of communication is nonverbal, and most of that is done with the hands. Flowers also says no one lacks an opinion about his or her hands, investing them with as much personality as the face. Those and other notions Flowers plants induce greater-than-usual consciousness of the implications of these 100-plus images. The adult hands securing a little child's swimsuit appear full of everyday love, while the hand of a man fingering the waist of a woman's bikini bottom first implies penny-ante lust, then, perhaps, pestering, or maybe grooming. The same gesture--hand to forehead as if supporting a heavy mind--reads as weariness in an aged nun, as penitence in an old man seated by what seems to be a sermonizing preacher. That such involving, information-rich interpretations arise so readily is a testament to Erwitt's mastery of selection, composition, focus, and lighting. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Elliott is practically alone in his ability to make visual jokes and puns. He can wring humour out of that often too realistic medium, the photograph... With sympathetic gentle irony, he has added an extra dimension to photography." Eve Arnold, The Sunday Times
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Touching and Humorous Look at Humanity,
By
This review is from: Elliott Erwitt's Handbook (Hardcover)
Elliott Erwitt has a wonderful outlook on life. In this book, he focuses on the human hand and shows a lot of love, humor and humanity in the process. The variety includes a man kissing a woman's hand in Poland, an argument between an elderly couple in St. Tropez, people praying in Moscow, beautiful sunbathers in Rio, children playing in New Rochelle and travelers in Budapest. Most of the subjects aren't famous which is a strength. The book shows everyday scenes that could have happened anywhere. The book also includes some famous people including: Jacques Cousteau, John Updike, Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev. This book is a joy and a smile. Erwitt has great vision and compassion. Many people would have walked right past these scenes without even seeing the potential to communicate by capturing touching and humorous images.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
handy book,
By zingingablenessedly (Here and there every now and then) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Elliott Erwitt's Handbook (Hardcover)
Well, you've seen ten of his photos, and you've about seen them all.
The usual top notch photographs by the author. Some photos take up 1.5 pages, so it's hard to open it all the way to see the entire photo.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
