Joel-Peter Witkin (Photofile) [Paperback]

Joel-Peter Witkin (Photographer), Eugenia Parry (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Photofile | Publication Date: May 26, 2008

The classic Photofile series brings together the best work of the world's greatest photographers in an attractive format and at a reasonable price.

Handsome and collectible, the books each contain reproductions in duotone and/or color, plus a critical introduction and a bibliography.

With his focus on the "disagreeable beauty" of the anomalous and the transgressive, Joel-Peter Witkin's images are edgy and disturbing. Influenced by artists from Giotto to the Surrealists, by daguerreotypes and the work of Bellocq, his portraits and complex tableaux incorporating corpses, hermaphrodites, masks, and mutilation provoke and challenge the viewer. 64 photographs in color and duotone

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eugenia Parry has written or contributed to numerous books on art and photography, including To Collect the Art of Women, Vanishing Presence, Degas Monotypes and Harms Way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (May 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 050041095X
• ISBN-13: 978-0500410950
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #333,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview, June 6, 2011

By 

Photodana - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Joel-Peter Witkin (Photofile) (Paperback)

In teaching beginning photography classes in which students pick a "Master Photographer" (somebody who has influenced today's photographers) to present to their class, I have found Thame & Hudson's PHOTOFILE series to be invaluable. To my surprise, most photography books do not give a concise overview of the importance of a photographer, their contributions to photography, who they were influenced by or who they influenced, etc. Thame & Hudson's Photofile series on the other hand generally does just this. The series is a good addition for school libraries and their students at a very affordable price.

Joel-Peter Witkin's PHOTOFILE book certainly offers much to digest on his creative process, ample number of images, and most of the material to create a concise overview of his place in photography.

A word of note which I received by word of mouth in other words, take this with a grain of salt!: the PHOTOFILE series is funded* in part or in whole by the photographer him or herself, meaning this is how the photographer want's to be represented unlike the "Master of Photography" series published by Aperture. MoP is produced from a critic's point of view though I find many of their books short on important information; however, Aperture's MoP series is also a necessary resource for school libraries.

*just exactly how certain dead photographer's funded their books suggests this topic is more complex than what's implied.

5.0 out of 5 stars Small size but good publication of Witkin's photographs, December 1, 2011

By 

ice queen who "reads & forgets" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Joel-Peter Witkin (Photofile) (Paperback)

A very small volume but nice way to see these amazing photographs. Highly recommend if interested in the subject matter.