Customer Reviews

I, Will McBride

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

 

 

What an incredible book! I really was left speechless the first time I was it (and that doesn't happen too often!). McBride's photography is often labelled as "exploitive" or "deviant" by small-minded western detractors, but this collection of his works (photography, drawings, and sculpture) clearly shows that he is a person in love with the human form, not in lust with it. There will always be those who define anything outside their tastes as "immoral," so this book is not for such folks. For those who can differentiate between art and "obscenity," and who are willing to be a little shocked by what they view (yes, even I was a little shocked by some of the "Zeig Mal!/Show Me!" images, and I consider myself a pretty progressive person), this is a wonderful overview of McBride's work.

My only gripe, as another reviewer noted, is that it left me with an intense desire to have larger or better-quality prints of some of the images. I think a CD-ROM [set] containing high-resolution reproductions of the images in the book would be an outstanding addition to any future releases.

The first things I've read about McBride have been the controversies about his book "Show Me", which is for many a great book for sexual education, for others just porn. But, if you look in this book, then you will see that McBride and his work is connected with the end-sixties, the time of flower-power, anti-war and anti-establishment demonstrations and the time of sexual freedom. So it was just strange for me to see what was going on in this times and McBrides life (and not easy to relate to), but I count this book as a document of a generation and a time I wasn't part of. In this sense I think it's good, and it seems to be nonsense to lament about the sexual freedom which is shown (also most of "Show Me") because that was part of this time.

The oft-controversial, but more oft-brilliant Will McBride often gets lumped into the same category as Jock Sturges or Sally Mann. There's some casual linkage there, but McBride has his own distinct territory, and it's examined exuberantly in this gigantic compendium of just about everything he did that's worth looking at. It's far superior to the impossibly skimpy Taschen book "My '60s", and even goes so far as to include the complete set of pages for "Zeig Mal!" (Show Me!), although they are reproduced rather small, probably to avoid too much trouble with small-minded authorities. Anyone even remotely interested in photography or McBride's work in general should not miss this.

Will Mc Bride is chasened by some of the reviews on Amazon, because in this compliation of mostly nude boys by this one of a kind photographer, some have been seen before. That is like refusing to look at The Winged Victory in the Lovere, because you have seen it before. Encompassing his shocking breakthrough "Show Me" a sexual guide for children, and numerouse nude and clothed subjects, this is a lasting memory of genius whether you like the subject matter or not. His photos of a sculpture he is working on for a square in German are stirring. It could be said that this man is the Jock Sturges of the other sex.

Finally, at last, Will McBride gets to tell his story in both languages (English and German) This book covers everything, including the series Twen, which launched his photographic career. Buy this book and you will soon be buying the rest of his classic works (if you can find them)

A photographic, autobiographical work covering McBride's life up to the 1970s ("To be continued"). Excellent, high quality photographs of McBride's work, including some controversial items. Text in German and English, with emotionally sad overtone. This is a large, physically heavy, high quality book - but many photographs are printed as a spread across facing pages, causing the inevitable problem that the photos are marred by being broken across the binding in the middle.

McBride's work is hard to come by, most of it having been published in magazines, and in books now out of print. This book provides an overview of the incredibly vast quantity of photographs taken by McBride over his life, and it creates a longing to own a much more comprehensive set of his photos, as photographic prints (or on CDROM?) without the binding breaking up the photos.

Will Mcbride is as different as a man -saying he was a "bad father"- as one can contrast with his magnetic images.Never spending much time with his sons or his wife, yet creating nude portraits of them and others that transfix your imagination. Images one would swear were taken by a man doting on his subjects. Divorced later he saw little of his family thereafter. Maybe the camera was the only instrument Will McBride knew to communicate his feeling.How fortunate we are he use it. Beautiful, yet controversial to some,this book establishes again why we should all thank our founding fathers for our 1st amendment.

This book gave me a great look into Will Mcbride's life and photos. The one thing I missed was some info under the photos about what and where they where taken. Hope it's continued soon.

Daniel Mossefinn

This is a large book of photos. The quality of the pictures themselves is good, clear, crisp, but not moving. Very few were impressive. The vast majority were just photos. Many were boring. Why did he even bother to publish them? I was looking for powerful images. Those that leave a mark upon me. Ones that draw me back to them. Of the 460 pages, 27 struck some level of meaningfulness in me.

McBride did some great original work as presented here. However, it has been surpassed by artists like Mikhail Rusinov, "Holy Nature" (a book a purchased on Amazon) which depicts Russian Nudists of all ages and many other recent art photographers.