Customer Reviews

The Model Wife

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this very insightful as far as giving a variety of examples of portraite shots, nudes and daily life. Also very interesting in that the book shows about (can't remember that exact count) a half a dozen notable photographer's wives photographed through an extended period of time. As we all know, people and things we see on a daily basis, tend to be taken for granted. It's pretty easy to overlook the beauty of our own backyard. So, to actually see photographers including their wives as models (hence the title "The Model Wife" ;) was rather refreshing. There's a fair amount of nude shots in the book. Some might be considered a bit "wild" (Not by me, mind you. But if you feel the line between photographic art and pornography is very thin, this book is not for you). Likewise(all things in proper place) this is NOT a book to be left around at a day care center, either. I feel this is a good book for those seriously interested in photography, photographers (and how they see what we would hope be their favorite subject... their own wife), portraites and nudes. The paper and print quality of this book is excellent. Size and presentation of the book are also pleasing. If, after what I've said, you are unsure about this book, go anywhere you think you could get your hand on a copy of this book, review it yourself, and then decide.

Arthur Ollman has achieved an intense and unique premise: To view the range of photographs and relationships between nine photographers and their wives as models. He has selected masteful artists, outstanding images, then with articulate text proceeds to bring these couples off the page. Ollman's study of what reflected artist and wife before the cameras as collaborators, is equally weighted by his search within these marriages, be they loving and sustaining or dark and disturbing. The humanity of these nine couples supports the fine art of portraiture. This is a book for the serious art book collector, devotees of fine art photography, and any mature person who ever pondered the nuance of marriage. A beautiful and graceful achievement. The duo-toned photographs are exquisite.

I recently attended the accompanying exhibit to this book at the Cleveland Museum of Art and I was truly touched. It was a powerfully psychological set of pictures, very deep; some clearly sexual in nature, others frankly disturbing (one photographer took photos of his wife's body AFTER she committed suicide by jumping out of a ninth floor window). The overall feel of the book as well as for the exhibit was one of mutual revelation over time between wife and husband and needless to say, some of the photos are quite intimate yet genuine. There is no need to critique individual photos or photographers, they are all masters producing masterworks. Get the book, and if the exhibit comes to your city, go. Don't forget to take your wife.

I've met two of the women in this book (O'Keeffe and Wilson) and there is nothing in the book that tells you anything about them, even though the photographs are masterpeices. So what's wrong?

The relationship between the artist and model is trivialized by the presentation, probably because the subject is too huge for a book. O'Keeffe and Wilson had a big impact on how photography is done, each in her own way. So did Eleanor Callahan and the Brown Sisters, less intentionally.

Read what Charis Wilson has published instead of glancing at this book. Read the volumes on Stieglitz and O'Keeffe. It was certainly not vanity that caused these two women to preserve and publish their images. In fact, Wilson probably rescued her images from destruction.

Artists don't make masterpieces without models who plant the images and wish to see them. They don't do it twice unless both artist and model like what they see. What really happens is in the space between them, in the time of history.

Don't let this well intended book put you off. Go find out who these people were and find out why the work was a collaboration, why the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Above all don't lose sight of the mystery that made these works memorable, just because the presentation isn't up to the subject.

The photographs in this book are the reason to read it. You will see a fairly good representation of images with their wives as subject by nine important photographers (150 in black and white and 5 in color). These photographs show an intriguing progression of perception and relationship over time that you can and should judge for yourself. In almost all cases, the images cover at least a decade (and often more) so the time-lapse element of the relationship is strong.

Before going further, you should know that there are nudes in the book, as well as sections of nudes. If this were a movie, it would probably be R rated. So, plan accordingly. There is certainly nothing that is not in reasonably good taste, but the unclothed states here will be viewed by most parents as inappropriate for many children.

The book concept here is an intriguing one. "With a spouse as model, both participants are exposed . . . ." They are "equally aware of ech other's strengths, shortcomings, vulnerabilities -- both equally naked in the light of the relationship."

The couples (husband-photographer listed first, as the book does) so displayed here are:

Baron Adolph de Meyer and Baroness Olga de Meyer

Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe

Edward Weston and Charis Weston

Harry Callahan and Eleanor Callahan

Emmet Gowin and Edith Gowin

Lee Friedlander and Maria Friedlander

Nicholas Nixon and Bebe Nixon

Masahisa Fukase and Yoko Fukase

Seiichi Furuya and Christine Gossler

With that clue, the book's viewer will find much food for thought. First, the photographer husbands clearly did not see their wives as the kind of woman professional that many of us think about today. Images of the women as competent adults outside of their family roles are rare here, even though the women include highly talented and intelligent individuals. (I cannot comment about all of them, because I have not read biographies of all, and the notes here are pretty brief about the wives.)

Second, the husbands seem to go through an emotional evolution with regard to their wives. Initially, the images are idealized views of some "perfect" person in one way or other. Georgia O'Keeffe commented that the early photographs of her describe someone she never thought she was. Then, gradually the images begin to look like an individual with a personality as well as a body. Next, the personality dominates the image. Finally, the unveiled thoughts about the photographer begin to stand out. Where the relationship has foundered or other problems have occurred, the look coming from the "model wife" can be one of bare civility mixed with stronger negative emotions. The text refers to the parallel of Picasso's depictions over time of his first wife, Olga, as a somewhat similar evolution in depiction. For me, considering this progression from idealization to describing the person and relationship somewhat realistically was the most interesting part of the book.

Third, obviously the women aged as well. That is to be expected. What was interesting is that some of the husbands are drawn to developing this as a positive change while others seem to emphasize its negative impact on beauty. Here, again there is food for thought about what the husband was looking for in the relationship. I was embarrassed for some of these men in this context when besotted with youth, prettiness and sex. They did not come across well at all.

Fourth, the photographers had their own concepts about what their oeuvre was. By superimposing this style onto one's spouse as model, this seems to suggest that the style is more important than the spouse. I'm not sure I would have liked to have been the model in many of these cases -- especially where displayed in a sexual or a fragmentary way, as though one is a set of spare parts.

Fifth, much of the relationships seem to remain hidden. These are not attempts at biography or autobiography so the kinds of scenes, emotions, and contexts are quite limited. As the text points out, much more is revealed than when a professional model is the subject. The textual discussion of Andrew Wyeth and Helga makes for a nice counterpoint.

I graded the book down one star for the style of the writing. There is an academic air to the methods, but lots of petty distinctions intrude to display judgments. If you are like me, you will find the essays dissatisfying in their language, lack of depth and perspective.

I suggest that you and your spouse take photographic portraits of one another. Then continue to do this over time. Discuss what you both see as a way to view your relationship in a more accurate way, and then work to improve that relationship.

Enjoy a model marriage rather than a model spouse!

This book arrived with one corner broken given that it olny had a thin layer of plastic bubbles, without any box, for such a long journey.

i purchased this book on a suggest of a male not knowing the content and hoping to read some "guide" of being "The Model Wife" i was pleasantly surprised to see touching and beautiful pictures of different women taken by the men who loved them throughout their lives. though each woman different and none categorized in our modern day "model" form i saw the beauty that the photographer saw in each captured magical moment.

A beautifully presented book with some very powerful images. Highly recommended to those who rate Edward Weston as one of the greatest "artists" of the 20th century.

forget it! What a disappointment! If you're looking for beautiful nudes, chose other books. Beside the Weston pictures there are quite no nudes.

"The Model Wife" strikes this reviewer as a publication to avoid. The title itself has two major implications, neither of them positive. One suggests wife as passive object for the husband/creator's pleasure. The second, that there is such a thing as a perfect wife, defined of course by male expectations.

Ollman in fact admits that "the power over the images...rests with the husbands and explicitly not with their wives." He claims he cannot find similar work by women taken of their spouses. They are out there, of course, in talent and in abundance, but he cannot "see" them and does not give them credence.

Other biases in the book are objectionable as well. Do we really need to know which artists are Jewish or half-Jewish? Are Baptists so designated? Paternity is called "siring" - are we talking here of horses or humans?

Given these inherent stumbling blocks, it is difficult to see this book as anything more than a male hierarchy extending its grip on history.