Robert Maxwell is one of the most exciting new photographers to have emerged on the savagely competitive scene of fashion and editorial photography. In Photographs, Maxwell shares his edgy nudes, portraits, and still lifes that are at once modern and, strangely, part of the past. Much has been written about the lack of innovation in contemporary photography, and this book, Maxwell's first, underscores why he is widely considered to be one of the most interesting photographers of his generation. Combining a rough-edged eroticism with a genuine interest in form and beauty, Maxwell's nudes-perhaps the most difficult genre to master-are in a class by themselves. His elegant portrait studies of his family, friends, and passersby, are fresh and original and bring to mind the groundbreaking work of Irving Penn or of Richard Avedon. But Maxwell is distinguished from his modernist forebears both aesthetically and by his unique approach to the medium: He utilizes the nineteenth-century glass wetplate technology known as the ambrotype-called the "black art" of photography for its rich, dark and reflective surfaces. These gorgeous glass objects, as well as the artist's platinum and silver prints, come alive in this striking book that is certain to become a milestone in the art of bookmaking.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Robert Maxwell began using the camera at age 28, when his girlfriend gave him a Nikon F3. Now 39, Maxwell has completed assignments for the most prestigious fashion magazines of our time, including W, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Elle, and Interview. A former surfer from La Jolla, California, Maxwell is currently based in New York City.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Candidate for Best Photo Book of 2000,
By A Customer
This review is from: Robert Maxwell: Photographs (Hardcover)
This is an amazing, beautiful book--beautifully made and filled with beautiful images. I had not heard of Maxwell before seeing it, but he is, without doubt, one of the finest of today's photographers. There are nudes, flowers, children, old men (including a great picture of a tough old face that could have walked right out of a Cormac McCarthy novel), animals, even spoons clothespinned to a line, which is one of the most beautiful compositions in the book, and some very touching pictures of children, especially some of his son. One of the finest images appears on the back dustjacket: a girl with long, ringlet curls, her back to us, sits atop an old wooden fence. It has a poignancy and touch of nostalgia that makes it nearly seem a glimpse into the past. Maxwell uses a 19th century technique to make his work and that technique often heightens this effect. The book seems very modern with its bold nudes but also partakes of the past with all the innocent images of old people, children, and animals. It's a great and happy book, a celebration of life: adulthood and sexuality, childhood and innocence, nature and the things of our making. I just wish more books like this were being published. And it also includes a fine interview with the artist.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Personal Album,
This review is from: Robert Maxwell: Photographs (Hardcover)
In Robert Maxwell's first book of photographs, the viewer turns the last pages knowing they have been made privy to what is essentially a very personal photo album. With the exception of a limited few, most images are heartfelt displays of Maxwell's family and friends. Even his still life images have a personal feel, as if taken in the home rather than a studio. Maxwell's nudes are more intimate than his contemporaries. His use of the ambrotype process renders a timeless quality to the nudes, eliciting a romantic look that brings the viewer closer to the image, with all of its dark imperfections. The female nudes done in silver gelatin are actually taken from a closer perspective, with torsos and sections of the body on display, evoking a statuesque quality that can almost be touched. At times Maxwell needs to make it overwhelmingly clear we know he's a family man, both in pictures and words. Photographs of his son and various other children fill a significant portion of the book. This is the book's only shortcoming, partially due to the subjective nature of the material. In the interview by Genevieve Field that begins "Photographs" Maxwell asserts he's just a simple, family guy from suburbia who loves his wife, and his wife trusts him. Who cares? The interview is about as significant as Maxwell's introductory quote that informs the reader he'd blind himself and forsake his art for his wife - and go "love her with everything he's got." Fortunately, the interview is short and the photographs that follow are brilliant. Aside from Maxwell's dramatic, verbal posturing and family man sentimentality, "Photographs" is a significant monograph, and an insightful introduction to a promising photographer.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
hard-edged eroticism,haunting beauty,
By A Customer
This review is from: Robert Maxwell: Photographs (Hardcover)
i don't know ANYTHING about the technical aspects ofphotography,but whatever techniques he used in this book,especially for the pictues of (a well known actress),are absolutely stunning.they give the pictures a timeless feel,as though they could have been taken anywhere from the early 1900's to the present age,you just wouldn't know if,well,you DIDN'T know:o). (A well known actress) looks so magnificent in her two portraits-she looks like a... really,very otherwordly and ethereal.ethereal is a word that could describe alot of these photos,but EROTIC with a capital 'E' does just fine for most of them.some people,in fact,may not like the close-ups of female (anatomyt) and that sort of thing,but he doesn't present such pictures in a DIRTY way-it's very artistic.my one major complaint,and the reason i only gave the book 3 stars,is due to all of the pics of (nudity of small) children.i know he did not intend the pictures to be erotic,he was not presenting the children in a sexual way.but i know there are some (people )out there who will misinterpret the meaning of the photographs(which,i venture to guess,has to due with the purity and innocence of youth).this really is a truly unique and original work.EXTREMELY impressive indeed. END
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