Customer Reviews

MARCHENSTUBERL: ENGLISH VERSION

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I bought this book, because I was curious to see if JT's reputation was all hype, or if there was any true "worth" in his work. I always had viewed him in the same light as Terry Richardson, in that both photographers have established sizable careers using point&shoot cameras. Both recieve criticism as being talent-less "celebrity photographers" and yet both manage to be hailed as hip photogs by certain crowds.
I went with this book, because it has a sampling of stuff from most of his prior books, and I wanted an overview of sorts. This book contains shots from "Go-sees" and "More" and also from the one he did on beauty pagent girls (forget the name). It also includes shots of his family, and various celebs (Kate Moss, OJ Simpson, Bjork, Yves Saint Laurent).

The book does have some charm here and there, but honestly isn't very inspiring. When I show my photo book collection to friends, this is the one bores them like no other. Many of the pictures are lit by on-camera flash and have burned glaring highlights. I know that this is supposed to be "brave" "artsy" and "sentimental" but who wants to look at snapshots of wood paneling? Not any of my friends do. This book looks like it was done by highschool students in art class.

I had expected more of the "charm" that I've seen in JT's Marc Jacobs ads with Cindy Sherman or from his YSL ads. However, I found myself too underwhelmed by his awful technique. As his critics would agree, most of the best shots here are of celebrities. Bjork, Kate Moss, Stephanie Seymour and OJ stand out as does a picture of Moths eating rotten fruit and one of a Cloudy Sky with a distant flock of birds in it.
I will say that its interesting to see celebs under such low tech photography. Kate Moss here looks like an ordinary woman. JT lovers will tell you that its this "honesty" in the face of other fashion photography that makes JTs voice important.

The price is certainly great for a photo book, although its fairly smallish and thin compared to the tall & meaty type of books I prefer. If you can stand its hard core vulgarity, I'd tell anyone interested in "low tech" photography to go with Terry Richardson's "TerryWorld" instead of this. But be warned that Mr. Richardson's work is not suitable for children -at all. I would also suggest taking a look at "Lapdancer" by Juliana Beasley. If you're still curious about Mr. Teller, -like I was- at least you won't have to empty out your wallet to get this one. Its the cheapest way to get a comprehensive look at JT's work.