One [Paperback]

Ken O'Hara (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

Shot in the mid-1960s on the streets of New York, Ken Ohara's work is a compelling visual on mankind. Stripped down to the essentials, each page is eyes, nose, mouth, ears or hair and seeks to show both the human mask and what lies beneath it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822878669
• ISBN-13: 978-3822878668
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,917,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Concept; Don't Lose the Dust Jacket, April 23, 2005

By 

ReviewerWhoPrefersToBeAnonymous (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: One (Paperback)

This book, ISBN 3-8228-7866-9, is softcover (not "hardcover," as Amazon would have it). It's fairly big and heavy, at 27x22x4 cm and 2 kg.

What a concept, what a work of art! The photos inside the book are all similar to the photo on the cover (the bottom part of which is obscured by a removable "obi band" in the Amazon picture above). I'd guess there are 500 unnumbered pages, although I didn't count exactly. The black and white, medium-high-contrast, grainy but sharp photos extend to the edges of the pages. Due to cropping, you see only the mouth, nose, eyes, and eyebrows (plus half of the forehead and sometimes a little hair hanging down over the forehead) of each person, meaning that the faces are magnified about four times life size. Judging from the flash reflections in the eyes and the fact that the facial features are in almost the same position on each page, I'd say the same photographic setup was used for all the pix. Young, old; black, white, inbetween; oily, dry; female, male, indeterminate; almost-symmetric, fairly-asymmetric; blemished, clear --- the faces are diverse yet the same (hence the title "One"). It's somewhat like Bernhard and Hilla Becher's 1970 book Anonyme Skulpturen (Anonymous Sculptures) but with close-up people instead of far-away buildings.

The only words inside are "I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who cooperated in this project. April 1st 1970 KEN OHARA" on the upper left of the inside front cover, as well as a box with copyright info superimposed on someone's nose on the inside back cover. When you leaf through the book, you are alternately bored (due to the repetition), amazed (at the similarities and differences among the photos), and curious (about what the people might have been thinking and feeling, since their expressions are all fairly neutral, although some have a slight smile). Get this thought-provoking book from Amazon.com!

BTW #1, although the outside of the dust jacket is similar to the cover of the book, the 19 cm wide flaps of the d.j. are important for understanding the book's contents. The front flap has text by Eric Kroll in English, German, and French: "There is an expression that if one were to stand at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, everyone you know would eventually pass by. Ken Ohara's 'ONE' follows that concept. Shot in the mid 1960s on the streets of New York, it is a compelling visual meditation on mankind. Ohara's full bled images study those small things that make mankind unique. Stripped down to essentials, each page is eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or hair. Each page shows both the human mask and what lies beneath it. What is expressed in the mouth? What are the eyes saying? Each page is a visual equation and a riddle to which you will consistently return. Originally published in a very limited edition in 1970, it is now available through Taschen to everyone. I tried to find the original edition and couldn't. Finally, I found one for over $ 300. Taschen's edition can be bought for the price of a good mirror."

The rear d.j. flap is two-sided. The normally-visible side of the rear d.j. flap has four paragraph-length comments on the book by Hidemasa Hosoe ("A truly frightening book..."), Kenzo Nakajima ("... we feel that we have learned something about these people ..."), Kishin Shinoyama ("... Ohara would prefer not have [sic] this book described as a photographic volume; rather it is a New York telephone book of faces"), and Hiro ("... the faces merge and what arises is form, abstracted, dehumanized ..."). Lift up the rear d.j. flap, and the side not normally visible contains info about Ken Ohara (biography, exhibitions, publications, etc.). I do not know if the 1970 original had a similar d.j., but I advise you not to lose the d.j. of the 1997 version!

BTW #2, as further evidence of its quality, the 1970 version is discussed in both "The Photobook: A History, Volume I" by Parr & Badger (2004) and "Open Book" of the Hasselblad Center and Arctic Paper (2004).

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profoundly Moving Aesthetic Experience, June 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: One (Paperback)

As a research scientist in the field of face perception, I discovered this book through a professional encounter. Initially, I did not want to examine it closely because I found it disturbing. This is due to the high contrast of the faces; from a scientific perspective, they are very "noisy." Also, in everyday life, we only encounter such a close look at a face if we are intimately familiar with it or if it is in a magazine. To experience this level of intimacy with such a large set of strangers is an incredible experience. It is an experience of imtimacy with all of humanity. The illusion of self oddly fades and one is left feeling nakedly human, a shimmer in the delightful dance of the universe.