Physiognomy: The Mark Seliger Photographs (Hardcover)

~ (Photographer), Eric Bogosian (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mark Seliger's book is filled with a riveting cast of characters culled from the celebrity subjects he shoots as the chief photographer for both Rolling Stone and US magazines. A particularly stirring image is a 1987 Rolling Stone shot of Perry Farrell watering a sunflower garden. It is a powerful photograph, made all the more so by the fact that it is the image that essentially launched Seliger's career as one of today's leading music photographers. In the book's introduction, Eric Bogosian discusses the public's infatuation with celebrity, and how it is the photographer's job to capture that fleeting moment, that millisecond that encompasses the subject's spirit. And the artists that Seliger has caught in these moments are wildly diverse. His portraits of musicians range from seldom-photographed country stars like Loretta Lynn and Kitty Wells to Marilyn Manson, Tom Petty, Curtis Mayfield, and Courtney Love. His portraits of Drew Barrymore are among the best of her to date: the playfulness of Barrymore's personality shines through his depictions of her as Alice in Wonderland, a sumo wrestler, a boxer, and the only female boy scout at the mercy of her troop. Seliger displays a keen sense of color, and these photos jump off the page shouting for attention. His black-and-white portraits seem to try for a greater intimacy, and even though they still convey Seliger's sense of play, they are less theatrical than his flamboyant color work. There are, though, beautiful black-and-white portraits here of Sean Penn, Kurt Cobain, Joni Mitchell, and John Lee Hooker, to name a few. Seliger writes: "One of the challenges and benefits of working for Rolling Stone and US is having the opportunity to capture artists just as they're breaking through." This collection includes some very early photos of celebrities readers have come to know well over the years--and it is a fascinating to see how much of their personality he's captured on film. --Amra Brooks

Product Description

The study of how facial features reveal inner character, is devoted exclusively to Seligers images. It is a dynamic fusion of his infamous cover shots and unpublished work, past. Within these pages is a wild ride through the famous faces of our decade, from a frisky Barrymore to a world-weary Jagger, portraits that run the gamut from sexy to humorous, poignant to compelling.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; 1st edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821225987
• ISBN-13: 978-0821225981
• Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 11.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #296,783 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Playful Essences and Facing Page Brilliance, February 3, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Physiognomy is "discovering temperment and character from outward appearance." Mark Seliger in the epilogue talks about how he sees his role as a photographer as to "deliver the essence." These portraits of celebrities magnificently fulfill that mission.

Before going further, let me note that this book contains much discrete male and female nudity, some violent images, and one impolite gesture. If this book were a movie, it would probably receive an "R" rating.

Mark Seliger is one of the very best of the current celebrity phtographers, a talent that has won him the role of chief photographer for both Rolling Stone and Us. You will enjoy both Mr. Seliger's epilogue, where he describes the development of his career, and Eric Bogosian's introductory commentary on the book's contents. Both explore the notion of finding the reality of the person's character.

Mr. Seliger has a particularly playful side that is wonderfully displayed in the book. For example, his portrait of Keith Richard makes him look like a jealous wife flirting with the image of a brooding Mick Jagger. In another case, the energy of Ringo Starr's drumming is captured by displaying him with four arms, hands, and drum sticks! One of the most humorous is an opening sequence of a bare Ben Stiller, first as an ape-man, then as a human.

The facing pages are brilliant. In most situations, they mirror each other by either portraying the same image, but with a different style, or having the two images interact as though they were one image.

One of Mr. Seliger's strengths is that he has a wide range of talent. His color photographs are powerfully effective in ways that most photographers can only accomplish in black-and-white. He can also do simple face shots, or complex compositions. I can think of no other currently popular photographer with nearly this range of effective style. One of my favorite examples of this range is that he has a beautiful shot of Jennifer Aniston in the buff, discretely displayed. At first you are inclined to think of it as a "beauty" shot, and then suddenly you realize that it's really a play on all of those photographs that parents take of their young children lying bare on a rug.

Mr. Seliger is equally adept at the dark side. Sean Penn's volatile personality is nicely captured in a brooding photograph of him pulling on a cigarette. Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg show up looking like they are relaxing during a rumble looking for trouble. "Don't mess with me" is written all over their faces and bodies.

Here are some of my other favorites:

Fiona Apple, Los Angeles, 1997

Bob Dylan, Los Angeles, 1998

Michael J. Fox, Burlington, Vermont, 1993

Merle Haggard, Lake Shasta, California, 1994

Billy Bob Thornton, Toronto, 1997

Bob Dylan, New York City, 1995

Pat Conroy, Charleston, South Carolina, 1995

Charlize Theron, New York City, 1997

Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1998

Will Smith, Los Angeles, 1997

Winona Ryder, New York City, 1997

Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1994

Drew Barrymore, Bell, California, 1994

There is another way to think about Physiognomy. People who have studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming argue the opposite way, that physiology becomes psychology. Repeated psychology becomes a habit, and the build-up of habits becomes a character. Spend some time thinking about how you hold your body. Test out how those positions and facial expressions affect you mentally, and how that influences your behavior.

Pose for best advantage . . . to others and to the development of your own character!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what an incredible book of photographs, June 27, 2000

By	Andrew Stillman (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this book is incredible. if you are a subscriber to rolling stone magazine, and have ever noticed a photograph that is simply amazing, it is probably the work of mark seliger. if you buy this book, you will be able to see hundreds of pages of these intriguing photographs, some involving vivid use of color, and others utilizing the intimacy of black and white photography.

when you first get this book, you will set it down, read it from cover to cover, be solidly amazed, and then promptly read it again from cover to cover.

i know nothing about photography, but you don't need to in order to appreciate seliger's appealing, beautiful pictures. i would suggest that anyone buy this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the book you buy!, June 26, 2004

By	Mark Douglas (NSW Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You may be like me and wondering which of the Seliger books to buy? He has this one, a couple of US MAGAZINE books with Drew Barrymore on the covers, but let me tell you now - THIS IS THE BOOK YOU BUY! It has the US MAGAZINE pictures and more.

It''s huge in dimensions and page count! The quality is great, but if you know who Mark Seliger is then you know that already. The paper is mid-weight and the colour reproduction is excellent.

My only gripe is that after a year I've torn the dust cover because the book is so huge it's easy for the cover to slip off a bit and get caught on something. So if you want the cover in good condition forever maybe you should take it off when looking at the book.

Want a look at some of the photos in the book? Go to www.markseliger.com