Customer Reviews

The End: Montauk, N.Y.

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Michael Dweck's The End is a successful first book. In it, the photographer tells, visually, of his love for Montauk - the most remote point of Long Island. Indeed, The End is far more closely akin to a graphical love ode to Montauk than to a piece of photojournalism; absent is the comprehensiveness one would associate with an exhaustive look at Montauk and in its place is repeated harping on what makes Montauk - in the author's words - like an edenic "lost world."

Throughout The End, pictures of Montauk - its personalities (mostly surfers) as well as its natural features (mostly beaches) - are juxtaposed with pictures of beautiful people, often against a background of Montauk, but quite frequently indoors; witness, for example, "Julian checking out the sets, 6 A.M., Ditch Plains," which faces a posed picture of "Lilla, Napeague." This practice is quite striking - initially it seems disorienting and out of place - but it ultimately proves an effective way of conveying the sexually-charged beauty that Dweck clearly finds evident in Montauk.

Dweck's photography is effective and moving, with frequent flashes of brilliance. At its best, The End evokes Toni Frissell and particularly Martin Munkacsi. Its most successful posed pictures - including "Sonya getting changed in Gilles's truck, Trailer Park," "Lilla Napeague" (the fourth and fifth of the five pictures with that title), "Neva, Poles" (2), and the final "Shannon, Shadmoor Cliffs" - reach Peter Lindbergh-like heights in their effective portrayals of vulnerable feminine beauty.

Perhaps the most striking feature of The End is its narrative flow, which is remarkably both coherent and subtle. The book begins with several sequential historical photographs of Montauk, and moves on to illustrate a sort of "day in the life of a town," beginning with a drive to the beach - "David and Pam in their Caddy, Trailer Park" - moving on to the parking lot with perhaps the novel's most successful pair of photographs - "Sonya getting changed in Gilles's truck, Ditch Plains," and "Gilles at the parking lot, Ditch Plains" - then to the beach at dawn ("Julian checking out the sets, 6 A.M., Ditch Plains") then midday, with an extensive series of surfing pictures. The narrative, as it is, moves indoors with several sexually-charged photographs and the book ends after some brilliant evening shots (notably the spectacular "Bonfire, Trailer Park" series). Indeed, it is obvious that much care was given to The End's sequencing; even within the narrative, there are numerous visual games being played, from a figure in "Lifeguards, 1997" glancing across the page at the nude Lilla in "Lilla, Napeague" (5) to the pairing of the genuine American iconographic "Postcard I found at Joni's" with the nostalgic "Lilla, Napeague" (3).

These two themes - "watching" and iconography - recur throughout The End, a book which is seemingly obsessed with voyeurism (a perhaps unsurprising obsession for a photographer) and whose frequently-iconic images seem ready-made to implant themselves on the American conscience (with any justice, "Sonya getting changed in Gilles's truck, Ditch Plains," "Noel at Bettina's House, Turtle Cove," and "Beach dog, Ditch Plains" will find their way onto postcards everywhere and into the photographic canon).

Finally, it must be said that The End the book is a spectacular object. The photographs are printed vividly on a paper stock that is of supreme quality, the book itself is beautiful, from its cover to its binding, and it is indeed an actual pleasure to hold.

I was very fortunate to see Michael Dweck's exhibition "The Surfers Life" here at the renown Blitz Gallery in Tokyo last week and I was very impressed. The show was an astonishingly beautiful collection of images by a very gifted photographer who presents his subject with great sensitivity and warmth. And, though many of these images have been seen before in his book The End:Montauk, NY", it was worth a trip to Blitz to see the show live.
The End is Michael Dweck's breakthrough debut collection of extraordinary work. The true first. I believe The End was published to accompany an exhibition at International Center for Photography New York in May 2004. With its handsome production designed by Jeremy Miller and oversize-volume format, the book is a virtual stand-alone mini-exhibition in its own right. It is not really a book, but an art object: one that transcends the notion of a mere "book." It is an object of intrinsic beauty and the mere holding of it in one's hands conveys the good taste, fine quality, and the superb craftmanship that were blended to create The End. Sand-colored silk cloth boards with titles embossed on spine. Photographs and texts by Michael Dweck. Poetic fragment, "From Montauk Point" (from "Leaves of Grass"), by Walt Whitman. List of Plates appended at the end. Printed on thick coated stock paper in Singapore to the highest standards. In pictorial dust jacket with very large flaps, black titles on the spine and elegant glassine vertical band. This book presents the photographer's nostalgic (and erotic) tribute to the legendary beach community. Montauk is one of America's best-kept secrets: The ultimate surfer's paradise, it has remained largely unchanged since it was discovered in the 1960's. It has miraculously been shielded from the crass commercialism and corrupt hedonism that have ruined the magic of the Hamptons. There is something almost mystical about the fact that it is located at the tip of Long Island. "This paradise has existed primarily for locals, not surfers who migrate to the beach for the summer but those who are out in the rocky reefs everyday. In the 1990's, Michael Dweck gained unprecedented access to this insular community. His book follows the surfers through their daily rituals from early morning wave reports to evening bonfires on the beach. Dweck has an eye for the women but it is misleading to label him a female-nude photographer, as many commentators have done. There are photographs of Sonya, Shannon, Katarina, Lilla, Genelle, Jessica and other beach beauties but Dweck is also fascinated by a teenager surfing phenomenon named Kurt, who has been surfing since he was a little boy. Kurt is the Bruce Weber ideal: All-American, blond, blue-eyed, beautiful. What sets him apart from the fashion or commercial model-type is his care-free attitude and complete lack of narcissism. He looks like the young Peter Beard, who stays in Montauk when he is in the United States. Dweck pays tribute to the great artist/photographer with a lovely full-page portrait. A gorgeous book. Lavishly illustrated with black-and-white and color plates and 2 stunning foldouts. In my opinion, one of the most accomplished living American photographers.

Naturally beautiful women so gorgeous my teeth hurt. Michael Dweck seems to capture his subjects in obvious poses that reflect not stiffness, but natural ease that only youth allows. The beautiful women featured along with real surfer-dudes and beachscapes allow one to visually experience a culture and lifestyle that is private and doesn't tolerate gawking.

While visiting New York last September, I had the chance to see the exhibit at Sothebys and advance ordered a copy of the book, which was slated for a December release. Now, eight months later, the book finally arrived and I can say without hesitation that it was well worth the wait.
The End is a special work, a nostalgic chronicle of a unique and truly American place, a daring and effective foray into the relatively uncharted waters of narrative photography, and a beautiful book full of beautiful people.
Dweck has masterfully photographed young people in the most natural and unaffected ways. Here, he manages to capture the innocence and provocativity of each of his subjects without seeming exploitative. The End is destined to become one of the most sought after, if not the most referenced, photographic essays.

I love this piece of work, beautifully taken photography, love the black and white prints. Will be keeping it forever and ever.

Sensuous, seductive and unbearably sexy in its effect, The End celebrates the beauty of a group of young "all-natural" surfers in a small obscure fishing village.

Visually stunning and lavishly illustrated with duotone and color plates. "The End", is one of the sexiest photography books ever published.

The book's title is, "The End." Let's hope that it is just that...the last of a sorry attempt of portrayal to nowhere. We don't need anymore of this crap shoved on us via a misleading cover photo on a dust jacket solely designed to sell a bad product. Most amazon.com people probably did purchase this book because of the nude surfer chick on the front cover. This is as good as it gets.

From the intro double-truck pic of a rear shot of 4 completely nude males, it becomes apparent that photographer Dweck has a jones for males. Lotsa males...128 at first count throughout this large coffee table size book. Had other reviewers pointed this out, I would not have wasted my $12 on a used copy of this $60 book. Why photog Dweck has several one-page deals of a close-up of a rear of a male's head is anyone's guess. Is he also a barber? Or is it just a rear head fetish? Or does Dweck just simply not know what to do with a camera? As far as one reviewer stating "Naturally beautiful women so gorgeous my teeth hurt", where has this person been? Hiding in a cave? Locked up in a basement? Yes, some of the chicks look ok, some are down-right hot, but I see them everyday.

Readers will tire of watching lower to lower-middle class males, some festooned with tatoos as visual crutches for identity, as markers for self-esteem to nowhere. Nor did the one or two shots of drunken derelicts still desperately clinging to the cup that did them in make an impression. I know, this is supposed to be artsy, but don't you outgrow this after art school? And I don't think photog Dweck has been to arts school. Now, if you want a craggy, dried up leather face that appears to have baked in a 120-degree desert for 100 years? Drink-up, but don't waste good paper and print on someone else's ill-begotten lifestyle. People bought this book sight-unseen in the anticipation of seeing others having fun, not on a slow ticket to suicide.

The photog appears to be an amateur and is grappling with what to do with a camera. From the wasted color shot (the only color shot in the entire book) of a double-truck of a blue sky with some clouds to an entire page devoted to a plastic shark.....what is the point? And then there is this chick riding her bicycle in another double truck scene, meandering to nowhere faithfully staying in the photog's viewfinder with an expression of "When is this going to end?"

Please read the other reviews as I have done. Where are they coming from? You might ask are they reviewing the same book as I have? What in the hell is going on?

anyone who is from montauk or the hamptons will this this book is lame. number one the photography is bad. number 2 this guy knows nothing about the area. He rented a house at ditch for 1 summer? big friggin deal. The only bright spot in the book is his choice of models, who he photographed badly.

Nice pictures but has not much at all to do with Montauk NY except for a few shots of local landmarks, the majority of the book is basically a teen clothing catalog,pretty people scantily clad,not much to taking pictures of beautiful 22 year olds?? Very disappointed using the name Montauk because there is too much natural beauty in this place to waste it on a book of pretty people that could be on any beach.