Bears (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"130+ years after Thomas Eakins portrayed a group of bloody surgeons removing a tumor from a patient’s thigh in The Gross Clinic (oil on canvas), Kent Rogowski turns our emblems of childhood comfort inside out. One of Eakins’ most famous and successful paintings, The Gross Clinic was rejected by the jury of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition as ‘unsightly’ and eventually sold to a medical school for the paltry sum of $200. Perhaps Mr. Rogowski should sell his pictures to a daycare center." (Alec Soth)

BEARS, the first book by Kent Rogowski, is a series of portraits of the most unusual sort: ordinary teddy bears that have been turned inside out and restuffed. Each animal’s appearance is determined by the necessities of the manufacturing process. Simple patterns and devices never meant to be seen are now prominent physical characteristics, giving each one a distinctly quirky personality: their fasteners become eyes, their seams become scars, and their stuffing creeps out in the most unexpected places. Together these images form a topology of strange yet oddly familiar creatures. They are at once hideous yet cuddly, disturbing yet endearing, absurd yet adorable, while offering a metaphor for us all to consider. These bears, which have lived and loved and lost as much as their owners, have suffered and endured through it all. It is by virtue of revealing their inner core that we might better understand our own.

About the Author

Kent Rogowski received his MFA in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000. He has received numerous awards, including the Center Award from the Center of Photographic Art, and was selected as finalist for the Calumet/Friends of Photography Emerging Artist Award and the Nerve.com Emerging Artist Award. Rogowski also produced a feature length documentary film on drug trafficking and immigration called Al Otro Lado. It premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival in 2005 and made it’s theatrical premier at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 2006. It was also broadcast nationwide on PBS’s P.O.V. in 2006. Rogowski currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576873730
• ISBN-13: 978-1576873731
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #764,105 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book, July 25, 2007

By	Arnim Zola - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed this book. It's artistic and slightly disturbing.

My favorite images are the ones with electronic boxes and air bladders still attached to them.

My only gripe is I wish that there had been an index or captions identifying what the bear was before being flipped inside out.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book, July 28, 2007

By	Nancy Cordell (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have to say I love this book! I was skeptical at first, but so glad I decided to buy it. The portraits are startlingly beautiful. Definitely worth having.