13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging Gazes from Handsome Women, March 15, 2001
This review is from: Images of Women (Hardcover)
Peter Lindbergh's impression of women is a respectful and complimentary one. He sees them as well-grounded in character first, rather than as artful silhouettes. His work often grittily outlines women's substantial personalities by showing them operating independently within the urban and industrial manliness of modern society.
The volume contains female nudity that would probably earn the work an "R" rating if it were a motion picture.
This volume contains 189 Novatone plates that provide the definitive collection of Mr. Lindbergh's fashion and portrait work. The pages are large and the images well reproduced. The main problem with the book is that center creases devaste many images, which should have been fold-outs.
The introduction by Martin Harrison is quite well done, and well worth your time and attention. ". . . [I]t is evident his models enjoy being photographed by him." In making these images, "Lindbergh peels away some of the artifice of a fashion sitting . . . ." The models say, ". . . [W]e recognize ourselves . . . ." "His women are strong; handsome rather than pretty, they are definitely not pushovers." "The gaze . . . is neither passive nor exactly defiant." The gaze is definitely challenging you to show what you've got however, to earn the respect of these self-confident and self-contained women. There is a strong sense of trust that the women are showing in Lindberg in order to to portray themselves in these assertive, rather than pretty, ways.
I find many of his photographs of movement in gritty urban and industrial settings to be interesting rather than compelling. There are lots of those images in this volume, and they usally lack both the abstract and raw qualities of the best urban photographers. Although these are part of his oeuvre, Lindbergh's work is by far at its best when he is portraying a woman's personality.
Relatively few of the images really captured me, although I found the body of his work to be very fine. Here are some favorites:
Tatjana Patitz; France, 1986 (p. 33)
Marie-Sophie Wilson, Frank; French Marie Claire; Grand Bretagne, 1987 (pp. 70-71)
Berri Smither, Harper's Bazaar USA, California, 1993 (p. 87)
Lynne Koester, Paris, 1986 (p. 91)
Linda Evangelista, Glamour, Portugal, 1992 (pp. 174-175)
Marie-Sophie Wilson, German Vogue, Paris, 1987 (p. 181)
Iris Palmer, German Marie Claire, Los Angeles, 1989 (p. 185)
Rachel Williams, American Vogue, Los Angeles, 1988
Nicole and Nikita Blount, Harper's Bazaar USA, New York, 1993
This book is remarkably good for making the reader think about what gazes mean. Most of us think of a challenging gaze as meaning, "stay away." Lindbergh has captured something different, "come closer only if you are worthy." Perhaps more of us should develop this gaze. It is not appraising, rather it is expressing one's own character. Too often, gazes are appraising, and such appraisal can lead to misunderstandings and missed communications.
I suggest you look in the mirror and see what your gazes express.
Show your character more clearly!
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