Customer Reviews

Roberto Bolle: An Athlete in Tights

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

 

 

I tried to find the book here in Manhattan and no one had it in stock so I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon. I always preview a photography book before making a purchase, however, since it was Bruce, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

I went wrong.

The book is a 10-page editorial spread spread over 192 pages. It's filled with variations on the same stock Weber images we've seen for the last 30 years - shockingly, the only thing that's missing from the book is the ubiquitous golden retriever.

There's only one killer image in the book and then Bruce goes and dilutes its impact by running the B Version of the shot on the very next page - stunning.

The book has Bruce's tired (at this point in his career) musings and is scattered with unrelated photos that add nothing to the larger presentation. I guess Bruce thinks it looks cool but it's simply pretentious.

It's sad that, at this point in Bruce's amazing career, he can spend three years shooting this guy and come up with such a lame and derivative group of photos that tell me basically nothing about the guy.

Roberto is attractive yet somehow his sex appeal is completely bloodless. Yes, there are some nude shots but even those are perfunctory and about as sexy as Alice Ghostly on "Bewitched". In addition, surprisingly there isn't a single frontal nude shot in the entire book. All the frontal shots (if you can really call them that) have his leg or some object strategically placed to obscure the weinage. Europeans are always lecturing Americans about how uptight we are about nudity yet this Italian dancer appears to be as uptight as someone from Cleveland.

Bruce obviously has great talent but I suspect he's surrounded by people who tell him he's fabulous and no one has the guts (or the taste) to tell him: "Hey Bruce, the pictures suck." If there had been, he'd still be working on this book and teNeues wouldn't have foolishly chosen to publish it.

Firstly, the reaction one will have to this book completely depends on what that person is expecting. If you're expecting pages of gay Bruce Weber like pictures of Roberto nude and posing in suggestive manners, than this book isnt for you. Nor you if you are expecting a book with pages of texts written by Roberto himself, than this book is also not for you. If you are someone who appreciates Roberto's sculpture like body and just loves to gaze on his beauty than the book is not dissappointing. There are some gorgeous portraits of Roberto that I have'nt seen previously. Most of the photos are a sheer delight to view, absolutely stunning in a artsy sense.

Yes,the book may lack in sex appeal. However to me personaly sex appeal is not essential to be asbolutely stunning and beautiful man, and that Roberto Bolle is. Some pictures are set in Naples, a few of Roberto as a child on stage, a few man to man photos on the beach. Others with women which are more dance oriented. I was actually afraid when after I read a number of reviews where people had expressed their dissapointment that made me regretfull of my purchase. Upon recieving the book I was relieved as I did enjoy the book from front to back and was worth my money. I'm not very familiar with Bruce Weber's work so keep that in mind when judging my appreciation of the book. If you're a major fan of Roberto Bolle'a god like body, purchase the book. If you're a fan of Bruce Weber's work than this book might be dissapointing.

I ordered this book in July 2009 & just received it 12-27-09..of course I PAID IN FULL, IN JULY!!...I can wait..no problem..I am very familiar with Bruce Weber's work... I adore Roberto and have seen him dance several times and joined ABT because of HIM because I was never a ballet fan but now I am.. IF there had been alot more shots of him dancing ,MAYBE???? I'd like the book better.. ....some of the pictures are just sheer beautiful of Roberto...but if this book is about Roberto ..I DO NOT NEED AN ENTIRE INTRO on someone else, pictures of someone else..not at all needed..if you want to express your art Bruce , DO IT WITH YOU OWN CHECKBOOK, not mine!.IF I had seen this book before buying it for this amount of money, I would NEVER have bought it..I really thought this book was totally about Roberto..NOT SO!!..so if you're EVEN THINKING of purchasing this book, I suggest you look at a copy FIRST!..Take a good look at that cover shot...well that is about it...and the shots of him where he has a beard are sexy...but I just think it could have been done 50% better!

Tony(nyc)

ROBERTO BOLLE: AN ATHLETE IN TIGHTS is a three year collaboration between photographer Bruce Weber and ballet start Roberto Bolle. For this reader this is more a compilation of the extents that body can express movement than it is about ballet. Weber selected Bolle as a model and has managed to capture many moments of both static stature and motion pacing that show the definition of the body's muscles that come into play with different demands placed on them. Ballet is a beautiful art form, but it is more. It is a brutally punishing imposition on the body: observe the deformities in joints and read of the serious muscle tears that can occur on the best of stars such as Baryshnikov and Nureyev. Bolle seems to have a better grasp of what the body can and cannot do. His movements captured here are never less than artistic, but never push the envelope to destructive measures. At least that is what Bruce Weber has captured in these very large-scale photographs. The photographs are beautifully reproduced in a manner sensitive to the movement of the artist. I t simply works - as a book and as a study of movement.

To appreciate this collaboration between Bolle and Weber, return to the title: An Athlete in Tights. A fine book for those who appreciate the athleticism of the art of ballet. Grady Harp, December 10

IF you know the work of Bruce Weber, then no explanation is necessary. IF you are NOT familiar with his work, you should at least take a look.
I find him the Ansel Adams of the human form. While he does work in color, I find his black & white work excellent. In black & white he is able to communicate a depth not present in his color work. He communicates with the subject and thus, communicates about the subject. Amazing.
The primary subject in this book is Roberto Bolles. You are introduced by way of some images of athletes. These try to prepare you for Roberto. However, in my book (pun intended), Roberto, through his years of work, has crafted an amazing dancer's body. Looking upon this dancer's body you feel as if you are looking upon an angel communicating with heaven - it's other worldly. Amazing
I can hardly wait for the DVD. <jk> ;-)~

This book is a satisfying collaboration between two artists. Weber is able to illustrate the various sides of an accomplished ballet star like Roberto Bolle. He's an athlete, a performer, a living sculpture, and above all, a dancer.

Glancing at the other reviews, I think it should be said those expecting a book of photographs akin to Weber's commercial work will most likely be disappointed. This book is obviously not supposed to be a sexed up Calvin Klein ad. I appreciate that Weber is more restrained here, although he does manage to mix in a few of his signature visions of masculinity (there's a beautiful series of Bolle dancing with male models on a beach).

Still, you can tell Bolle is the true performer in this book. He knows how to project himself and takes command of the frame. For a book about one man, you don't get a sense of who he is personally, but that's probably the point. Weber has invited Bolle to dance into his lens, and the resulting images are pleasing, occasionally brilliant studies of performance and art.

Weber begins the book with recollections that give context to his well known affinity for raw physicality and its potential if shaped through rigor and discipline. It is accented by pictures of young athletes in a state of "flow" and heralds the photo essay of Bolle that is to follow. That photo essay is breathtaking. Page by page, Bolle is revealed to be an exquisite athlete and model. From soft glamour shots (not out of place in the day of Fairbanks and Garbo) to frozen moments from the stage to hard, angular takes of human architecture against industrial designs, Weber invites us to see, again and again, the poetry in athletic form, the refinement in supreme physical mastery, and the beauty in mature masculine expression. The pages of solo and group pictures are punctuated by comments from Bolle and a few quotes from the likes of DH Lawrence and Einstein. (Oh yeah, and a recipe: go figure.) Whether tying his shoes, frolicking on the beach or stretching langorously in mirror image to a classical statue, Bolle and Weber never fail to give us an image, sinewy and virile, that enlightens us about the potential of the male form . . . or more simply, our ability to still be delighted even in this age of abundance and redundancy.

Book was not packaged well and arrived damaged I had to return it to get refund vendor should wrap books before sending them