Getting this book on a whim, having seen several of the pictures in it beforehand, this lovely work proved to be a real delight, one of those serendipitous discoveries that redeem life in a season of political joylessness. Thoughtful compositions, beautiful colors, interesting subjects.
These pictures are accessible and immediate. That can mean a fast trajectory from exciting to boring like the catchy pop song that is fetching at first listen, then trite, and on repeat becomes irritating.
Not these! This is sustained excellence, page after page of appreciation for the happy juxtaposition of reflections, forms, signs, figures, and they get better with repeated viewing.
A man sits hunched on a short wall, the bars and shadows of the iron fence behind him suggest he's locked up in his thoughts.
A bold red house sits on a corner in defiance of the enclosing freeway and bridgework.
A wall with a pair of projecting legs.
A lovely, if sceptical young lady sitting amidst urban scrawl on the subway, striking because of the incongrousness of beauty in bleakness.
Everyday people going about their ordinary business against an extraordinary because colorful and vibrant street background.
Incisive portraits of people caught in inaction; landscapes, cityscapes, facescapes; the occasional and light-handed social statement. And all with a visual grace and stylistic composure that is quietly excellent.
Liking this so much as I do, I ordered Mr. Herman's "Phone Book," a collection of I-Phone photographs. More joy!
Standing in the company of Saul Leiter, Robert Herman, master color photographer of NYC.
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The streets are alive
New York delivers yet again. Even before the Photo League, Weegee, Berenice Abbott and her 1939 masterpiece 'Changing New York' the city has bought out the creative best in so many photographers. This book confirms that Robert Herman has felt the cities vibrancy and produced some wonderful photos. What I liked about so many of these images is the color. An ordinary street scene suddenly comes alive because Herman has seen the richness of a yellow wall with red graphics (page thirteen) or red brick building with green painted ironwork with the addition of a large piece of cloth falling to the road (page forty-seven). The book's cover has elements of this color richness: the green car with a red building and green window frames seen through the car's windows and to make it even more interesting two passerby and the reflection of another vehicle. Like the best photobooks the flow of images as the pages are turned works so well. Long shots, medium distance shots and portaits of individuals (plus the occasional blank page) blend together seamlessly. The book's format also helps, the eighty-eight photos are mostly same size landscape shots centered on the page plus wide margins and printed on good matt art with a 175 screen. Most of the photos are from the eighties but they all have a rather timeless feel and I think they'll look just as fresh next year or in ten years time.
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2013
New York delivers yet again. Even before the Photo League, Weegee, Berenice Abbott and her 1939 masterpiece 'Changing New York' the city has bought out the creative best in so many photographers. This book confirms that Robert Herman has felt the cities vibrancy and produced some wonderful photos.
What I liked about so many of these images is the color. An ordinary street scene suddenly comes alive because Herman has seen the richness of a yellow wall with red graphics (page thirteen) or red brick building with green painted ironwork with the addition of a large piece of cloth falling to the road (page forty-seven). The book's cover has elements of this color richness: the green car with a red building and green window frames seen through the car's windows and to make it even more interesting two passerby and the reflection of another vehicle.
Like the best photobooks the flow of images as the pages are turned works so well. Long shots, medium distance shots and portaits of individuals (plus the occasional blank page) blend together seamlessly. The book's format also helps, the eighty-eight photos are mostly same size landscape shots centered on the page plus wide margins and printed on good matt art with a 175 screen.
Most of the photos are from the eighties but they all have a rather timeless feel and I think they'll look just as fresh next year or in ten years time.
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2013
- Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2013
