For the past 30 years, American artist Chuck Close (b. 1940) has concentrated on essentially one subject: the human face. This volume, the most comprehensive assessment of Close's work yet published, includes portraits of Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Alex Katz, Lucas Samaras, and others. It accompanies a mid-career retrospective opening at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in February 1998. 178 illustrations, 113 in color.
Daguerreotype portraits with praise poems written to accompany the photographs. Subjects include Laurie Anderson, Cecily Brown, Gregory Crewdson, Carroll Dunham, Ellen Gallagher, Philip Glass, Lyle Ashton Harris, Bob Holman, Elizabeth Murray, Elizabeth Peyton, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, James Siena, Lorna Simpson, Kiki Smith, James Turrell, Robert Wilson, Terry Winters, Lisa Yuskavage, and Chuck Close. Also includes Rexer's joint interview with photographer Close and poet Holman.
"Between the invention of photography in 1839 and the end of the nineteenth century, portraiture became one of the most popular and common art forms in the United States. ... images of human surfaces became understood as expressions of human depth during this era. Combining visual theory, literary close reading, and in-depth archival research, Blackwood examines portraiture's changing symbolic and aesthetic practices, from daguerreotype to X-ray. Considering painting, photography, illustration, and other visual forms alongside literary and cultural representations of portrait making and viewing, Blackwood argues that portraiture was a provocative art form used by writers, artists, and early psychologists to imagine selfhood as hidden, deep, and in need of revelation, ideas that were then taken up by the developing discipline of psychology"--
Joshua S. Walden's study of the genre of musical portraiture since 1945 focuses on significant composers of the period, including Pierre Boulez, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, and György Ligeti. Grounding his exploration in key works, Walden uncovers contemporary understandings of music's capacity to depict identity, and of intersections between music, literature, theater, film, and the visual arts.
Meet modern portraiture head-on with this step-by-step beginner's guide to creating stylized portrait, written by the industry's leading character designers.
Photographic portraits should not be the formal, corporate-style poses of yesteryear, which reveal nothing of the subject's emotion, personality or mood - so believe Sarah Plater and Paul Wilkindon. Theirs is a modern, fresh and vibrant approach that aims to capture a moment in the lifestyle of the person or persons in the picture. This authoritative guide contains clear, concise and jargon-busting text that discusses the essential technical aspects of photography from choosing a camera and equipment to an appreciation of exposure, aperture, metering, shutter speed, depth of field and white balance settings, in addition to how natural light, colour and movement affect a photograph. A guide to posing helps to ensure dynamic and arresting images
Building on the success of his previous titles, "Close Up" and "Identical," Martin Schoeller's momentous "Portraits" is cause for celebration. The illustrious photographer's full range of expression is on display in this unprecedented gathering of editorial images. With an impressive amount of variety and scale, Schoeller shares his signature compositional imagination alongside the wry wit that animates his work. Whether portraits of political leaders, Hollywood stars, business entrepreneurs, or contemporary music royalty, these images are as daring as they are exacting, playful and precise. Regardless of the subject and setting, Schoeller's photographs seemingly come to life. While "Portraits" will surely thrill devoted fans, it will also attract new admirers with images they've noted in top magazines. Every frame in this expansive volume is touched with Schoeller's distinctive flare for creative meticulously realized worlds--and confirm that he's a talent that consistently resets the limits of photographic portraiture.