Irving Penn is one of the most noteworthy photographers of the twentieth century, best known for his inimitable fashion and portrait photographs, as well as his unique still lifes. In 1967, Penn traveled on assignment from the American fashion journal Vogue to Dahomey in western Africa, now the Republic of Benin. His portraits of natives taken in a portable studio built especially for the occasion reflect Penn's fascination with foreign cultures, as do his photographs of culturally significant clay figures dedicated primarily to the voodoo god Legba. 35 years after their publication in Vogue, Irving Penn presents these portraits of tribal people and his photographs of Legba altars in book form for the first time. With texts by leading anthropologists and Irving Penn himself, this volume is an extraordinary photographic document of African culture, from a master recorder of our time.
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
!!!,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Irving Penn: Photographs Of Dahomey 1967 (Hardcover)
I bought this book for my mother, because our family spent a long time working in West Africa, including Benin, formerly Dahomey. So we have seen these places in the 1970's and 1980's, and at least gotten an idea of the more traditional ways of life and people there. This depiction of a Dahomey from 1967 has even more flavor to it than what it would have been in 1977 or in 1987 - many traditional ways have changed and much of what's in the book can't be found anymore. So here we have the great, documentary side of the book, with its voodoo priestesses, the original amazon warrior female guards of the kings of Dahomey, its aristocratic families... It's mostly b/w portraiture and here, mostly full body shots.
But personal and historic interest aside: this book is extremely well made and has a stunning quality to it. Irving Penn preferred platinum printing, with its great tonal separation, and both the exposures themselves, and the printing, are superb. The print quality of the book itself is outstanding too, in terms of craftmanship alone this is a gem. The few color landscapes mingled into the b/w group portraits are equally well done. Finally, this book is great art. You open it, it really touches you. There is glow to it. Irving Penn transported his fashion photography style into Africa, using a portable studio and natural light. His subjects look uncannily real and intense. It's rare that I think I must buy a book, this one was one of those.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
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
|
Listmania!
|
|
