- Hardcover: 136 pages
- Publisher: Bulfinch (Nov 22 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0821221213
- ISBN-13: 978-0821221211
- Product Dimensions: 36.3 x 31.2 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#781,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( P-R ) > Ritts, Herb
- #81 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Travel > Africa
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
This sumptuously designed and printed book shows some unusual subjects by Ritts, well known for his fashion and celebrity photographs. His easily recognizable style has been applied here to Africa (many images were made in Tanzania and feature the Maasai tribe), where he focuses on textures and the play of light and shadows on human faces, wild animals, carcasses, and bones. He chooses exotic landscapes as backgrounds for his posed shots, mostly young African women, whose skin, hair, and jewelry are elegantly presented. Some of the strongest images are surreal juxtapositions of animals (and men) devouring newly killed beasts; desert-tough feet; and men wearing skull masks. The presentation is impeccable, but listing captions at the end is irritating and underlines the fact that this is not so much documentary work as fashion photography in a new location. However, the book will be interesting to photographers and, perhaps, anthropologists.
Kathleen Collins, New York Transit Museum Archives, Brooklyn
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kathleen Collins, New York Transit Museum Archives, Brooklyn
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Portrait and glamour photographer Ritts, whose Notorious (1992) set a new limit on book size, weighs in with another whopper. Africa has a focus, even an austerity, that makes it quite different from that earlier collection of celebrity portraits. To be sure, Ritts brings his trademark sensuality and stylized elegance to each image, so much so that the Masai he photographed look like stills from a carefully scripted music video (or, creepily, like outtakes from Leni Reifenstahl's Nuba project). Ritts presents the elegance of the dark-skinned Masai in alternation with generally rougher images of African wildlife. Intense close-ups abound, and we never get a real sense of place or real-life activity. Nevertheless, the book as a whole has undeniable aesthetic integrity, despite the fact that it is a wildly ahistorical album that revives troubling old National Geographic stereotypes. Yet that fact doesn't seem to bother prominent African American dancer Judith Jamison, who wrote the appreciative preface. Gretchen Garner
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
I have to agree with the others,
By Andrew Olivo Parodi (Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Africa (Hardcover)
AFRICA does not represent the best work of the late Herb Ritts. He was a master of the celebrity photograph and a good director of music videos. But the image of Africa that he portrays in AFRICA is, well, the Herb Ritts version. It certainly does look like a collection of stills from a music video, and it would not have been surprising to see Naomi Campbell pop up now and then. Herb Ritts seems to have made the beautiful African landscape (and his human subjects) a backdrop to his own stylistic preferences, as opposed to revealing anything new or previously unknown about the continent. A better title for this book may have been "Herb Ritts," because his signature is on every page. Look elsewhere for his best work, such as NOTORIOUS.
4.0 out of 5 stars
it's creative and beautiful. . . .give Herb a break!,
By Rick Robinson (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Africa (Hardcover)
its a sensual and magical collection of photos. they are beautifully shot, creatively composed, and wonderfully printed. no, it does not tell the whole story of a vast continent--but don't require it to! this isn't photojournalism, and isn't trying to be.it is a powerful view of a particular landscape (kenya) and certain individuals of the maasai. you've never seen nakedness look so natural on someone--a wonderful reflection on being human, rather than any comment on race or tribe. lighten up, and let yourself enjoy it!
1.0 out of 5 stars
Yuck yuck yuck,
By
This review is from: Africa (Hardcover)
Oh, what a stinker of a book! Luckily, I got it as a present and didn't squander my valuable cash. This is a classic example of the worst stereotypes of Africa. Africa is a desert. Africa is full of Animals. Africa is deadly. Africans run around naked. Heck, Ritts' presentation of Africans is EXACTLY THE SAME as his presentation of animals. Whether accidental or intentional, it is insulting all the same. SHAME SHAME SHAME.Strangly, I have found this to be a USEFUL book. I use it as an example during my lecture on "Stereotypical Images of Africa" in my African History Class. Without this redeeming feature, I would probably use it as a backstop on the rifle range.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
