John Waters: Change Of Life [Hardcover]

Marvin Heiferman (Author), Gary Indiana (Author), Lisa Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2004

Known as a highly entertaining and controversial filmmaker, John Waters is also an artist and photographer. This book surveys e of his still photographic works and presents early underground films, sketchbooks and source material for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marvin Heiferman is a curator and writer specializing in photographic and visual culture. Gary Indiana has published two collections of short stories and several novels. Lisa Phillips is the Henry Luce III Director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. Brenda Richardson is a curator and writer who has contributed to catalogues on Bruce Nauman, Gilbert and George, and Willem de Kooning, among many others. Todd Solondz has directed five critically acclaimed films, including Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness, and Storytelling.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810943069
• ISBN-13: 978-0810943063
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #754,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Waters is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist best known for his cult films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Cecil B. DeMented. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book's layout design? A dirty shame..., September 7, 2004

By 

D. D. Sullivan "mondoego" (the back of the Tides Restaurant, cowering with Mrs. Bundy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Waters: Change Of Life (Hardcover)

I'm a big fan of Waters' ongoing adventures in the highfalutin art world, so of course I went to his great spring 2004 show at the New Museum in NYC, which this book documents. I'm disappointed to say that it really doesn't do the show much justice and, in fact, is more like a promotional souvenir than an art book. Knowing how Waters abhors pretension, this is probably on purpose, but I can't say the book's designers have done his work any favors. The biggest problem is one of scale: an effort to show individual works in their entirety on the page means everything is reproduced way too small and the taken-off-the-TV effect is all but lost. And one work, "Slade 16", is cut off mid-image and continued on the next page, which I thought especially unexcusable--even Warhol wouldn't put up with that. The book's design has little of the the elegance or wit of Waters' earlier "Director's Cut". Everything about that book was intriguing, including how it smelled; the paper was so heavily varnished that it took on an amusing "Odorama" quality of its own. And the reproductions were impeccable. "Change of Life" is packed with "bonus" material, including one startling image: a b&w pic of a villianous Cyril Richard in full makeup as Captain Hook that, as far as I'm concerned, sums up Waters' entire oeuvre (crime IS beauty--check out that pre-Divine eye makeup!). But the book really is kind of a shambles. The exhibit in part was sponsored by Fine Line Features and, whenever I look for the book at Borders, it's in the Film stacks, not Art or Photography, which I guess tells the whole story. Whatever the case, Waters is the real deal and I now enjoy his photography even more than his movies. Interesting side note: in "Director's Cut", Waters' pledged that he would never let the world see "Eat Your Makeup", one of his earliest movies. The exhibit and this book heavily feature it. I wonder what changed. Change of life?

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great book for John Waters' fans, January 3, 2005

By 

pip - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Waters: Change Of Life (Hardcover)

I agree 100% with the previous reviewer's statement that this book is "more like a promotional souvenir than an art book"... but I really can't say something bad about the work the people who put this together did, as I think this is an outstanding effort to show what John Waters is all about, not only as an artist but as the public character he has created for himself. As a fan of the man's work, all forms of it (film, writing and art -I know film and writing ARE art, but you know what I mean), this was a dream come true: getting to see actual images of everything I've been reading about for years -his toy hook, Lady Zorro, books and magazines from his collection and other stuff.
This is probably not the best book devoted to an individual artist, but one of the best tributes I've seen devoted to a cult figure. And once you think about it, Waters' art can only be fully appreciated placing it within the cultural landscape the book provides. Bottom line is, this a beautiful book about a really neat guy. If you like him, don't think twice: you'll love this book. If you only care about him as an artist, get this AND Director's Cut.