Sylvain's Tahiti [Hardcover]

Adolphe Sylvain (Author)

Book Description

Series: Taschen's photobooks | Publication Date: June 15, 2001

Rediscover through Sylvains photographs, the spell binding natural sensuality of the Tahiti women and their beautiful enchanting island. Reminiscent of those who appeared beside Marlon Brando in 'Mutiny on the Bounty'. - 'Tahiti' follows in the footsteps of Madagascar, Tahiti, Tattoos and Equator. - This photographic work presented for the first time since his death,shows us his thoughts of Tahiti, at a time when it was almost unknown and confused with Hahiti or some other island, a vague literary association with Jean-Jaques Rousseau and his' Bon Sauvage' that was all. - Photographs that have a somewhat antiquated charm displaying that living assumes priority before anything else.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French, German

About the Author

Adolphe Sylvain

Born in 1920 in Paris. He studied engineering at the Ecole Spéciale des Travaux publics, was present at the Normandy landing and took part in the liberation of Paris. Demobilised, he rejoined General Leclerc in Indo-China as a war corres- pondent and took film footage for Pathé-Journal.

In late 1946, he boarded the Grandière, the first French war ship to reach the French islands in the Pacific. He went ashore in Tahiti and decided to stay there. He was active in setting up Radio Tahiti, for which he did reportages and sound recordings. Parallel to this, he set up a photo laboratory and worked as a correspondent for Paris Match, Life, National Geographic, Neue Illustrierte etc.

Adolphe Sylvain also produced and directed numerous documentaries and advertising films. His photographic work is here presented for the first time since his death.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (June 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822860530
• ISBN-13: 978-3822860533
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,735,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exotic Natural Beauty in Paradise, June 24, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sylvain's Tahiti (Hardcover)

Summary: Adolphe Sylvain had an eye for the images that people in developed countries imagine about a fairy tale South Pacific. Many of our ideas about what a tropical paradise is come from his photographs. For a few minutes, you can imagine yourself to be part of a local village of people who fish for a living back in the 1940s and 1950s. This book is dominated by scenes of native Polynesians enjoying the natural beauty of Tahiti. The model is most frequently M. Sylvain's Tahitian wife, nee Ms. Jeanine Tehani Vidal, whom he married in 1946.

Content Caution: Before proceeding further, please realize (as the cover image indicates) that this book is filled with photographs of topless and nude female models, usually the photographer's wife. These images would earn this book's material an R rating if it were a motion picture.

Review: M. Sylvain's photography makes unusually good use of black-and-white contrasts for capturing lush tropical landscapes, lagoons and beaches, nudes, and everyday scenes in Tahiti. His work benefits from the frequent use of his wife, Tehani, as a model. She is remarkably relaxed and happy in these images, and helps to set a mood of natural enjoyment of nature that will have the viewer yearning for Tahiti. Lest you think these scenes are very overposed, I saw scenes very much like these during a vacation in Tahiti in the mid-1980s.

Some of the images are ragged around the edges, which reflects the terrible loss of much of M. Sylvain's work during a fire in his studio. Some of these images were rescued from the debris that remained. As a result, these images almost all date from 1946-1957.

Ms. Sylvain will remind you of a sea otter in some of the images, as she glides effortlessly through the crystal lagoon water. Her connection with nature is direct and joyous. Her apparent pleasure in what she is doing is infectious.

The images themselves are well composed, technically very fine, and the reproduction quality is excellent.

Towards the end of the book, you will also see some photographs of famous visitors to the island like Brigitte Bardot and Charles de Gaulle.

My original interest in visiting Tahiti was tied to having watched a television series, called Adventures in Paradise. The stories related to a schooner captin operating out of Papeete. When I read the book, I was interested to see that M. Sylvain had been an adviser to that series as well as other major filming in Tahiti over the years.

Many people also know Paul Gauguin's paintings of Tahiti, which have also helped form expectations about the islands and their people. In particular, James Michener with his Tales of the South Pacific helped created an image of beautiful, winning Polynesian maidens that is echoed here. Ms. Sylvain observes that her husband played a key role in creating the myth of the vahini, as a result.

After you look at these dreamscapes of Tahiti, you should sit back and think about what your ideal image of life is. What would you be doing? Where would you be? Who would be with you? What does that picture tell you about yourself?

Dream boldly . . . and recognize the opportunity to life your dreams as Adolphe Sylvain did!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a true depiction of the Tahitian woman, August 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sylvain's Tahiti (Hardcover)

Contrary to what Mr. Mitchell mistakenly states, most of the models in this book are not Madame Sylvain. They are women of Tahiti plain, simple and beautiful. I actually bought this book while in Tahiti and each time I leaf through it I remember the wonderful moments I had in Tahiti. Tahitian people are quite possibly the most beautiful people in the world and Sylvain captures this perfectly.

5.0 out of 5 stars Polynesian Romanticism, May 8, 2011

By 

William C. Geoghegan (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sylvain's Tahiti (Hardcover)

A highly romanticized and seductive collection of photos showing a Tahiti that probably only ever existed in the imagination of the western man.