Review
The book gives us a fun glimpse into the world of impersonators, but also explores the nature of fame and society's obsession with celebrity.
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Tribute magazine (
Tribute 20071201)
Brian Howell has captured a surreal and surprising world in raw portraits depicting lookalikes of the world's most famous celebrities.
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The West Ender (Vancouver) (
West Ender 20071204)
A gallery of grab shots of the faux-famous, found at stage shows and impersonator conventions. But its serious intent comes across in the commentary by Norbert Ruebsaat and
Geist magazine publisher Stephen Osborne.
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Vancouver Lifestyles (
Vancouver Lifestyles 20071219)
It's as bizarre a wedding as you'll ever see. At the altar of The Imperial Palace wedding chapel stand Arnold Schwarzenegger and Shania Twain, hand-in-hand, exchanging vows. Next to them are the best man, Jack Nicholson, the maid of honour, Tina Turner. An event like this would be splashed across the front page of tabloids from coast to coast, except for one thing: while the wedding is legit, the participants are not.... The black-and-white photograph is one of dozens collected in Fame Us, a new book by Vancouver photojournalist Brian Howell. His work explores the cult of celebrity in candid images of those who make their living working as impersonators.
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National Post (
National Post 20080120)
One of the eeriest photography books of 2007.
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New York Times (
New York Times 20080121)
Brian Howell’s
Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame is a great coffee table book. I know, because it’s been sitting on mine for a week, and every visitor I’ve had has been unable to resist flipping through the entire thing.... This book must be seen to be believed, especially the photo of a fake Hulk Hogan hanging with a fake Bill Clinton. Priceless!
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Houstoned (blogs.houstonpress.com/houstoned) (
Houstoned 20080201)
Howell captures comments from most of the impersonators depicted; these comments are essential to Howell's book, and complement his sharp photos, from head shots to grup shots, without overwhelming them.
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EDGE Boston (
EDGE Boston 20080214)
Norbert Ruebsaat opens the book with an excellent essay on the Celebrity Image; a second essay follows by Stephen Osborne, publisher of
Geist. Their insights make the impersonators' comments that much more poignant.
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North Shore News (North Vancouver, BC) (
North Shore News )
No matter what your stance is on our celebrity-obsessed culture,
Fame Us is a worthwhile read. It will amaze and perhaps even shock.
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Scene (London, ON) (
Scene )
About the Author
Brian Howell is a photographer whose work has been exhibited extensively in Canada, the U.S. and recently in Italy; his first book, One Ring Circus, was about small town wrestling circuits. He lives in Delta, BC Canada. Norbert Ruebsaat is a poet and a communications professor at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC Canada). Stephen Osborne is the publisher of Geist, an award-winning cultural magazine in Canada, and the co-founder of Arsenal Pulp Press.
