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A wild ride through the famous faces of our decade—from a frisky Drew Barrymore to a world-weary Mick Jagger—portraits that run the gamut from sexy to humorous, poignant to compelling. 104 color and 84 duotone photos.
Anonymous
Posted May 7, 2001
Physiognomy is 'discovering temperment and character from outward appearance.' Mark Seliger in the epilogue talks about how he sees his role as a photographer as to 'deliver the essence.' These portraits of celebrities magnificently fulfill that mission. Before going further, let me note that this book contains much discrete male and female nudity, some violent images, and one impolite gesture. If this book were a movie, it would probably receive an 'R' rating. Mark Seliger is one of the very best of the current celebrity phtographers, a talent that has won him the role of chief photographer for both Rolling Stone and Us. You will enjoy both Mr. Seliger's epilogue, where he describes the development of his career, and Eric Bogosian's introductory commentary on the book's contents. Both explore the notion of finding the reality of the person's character. Mr. Seliger has a particularly playful side that is wonderfully displayed in the book. For example, his portrait of Keith Richard makes him look like a jealous wife flirting with the image of a brooding Mick Jagger. In another case, the energy of Ringo Starr's drumming is captured by displaying him with four arms, hands, and drum sticks! One of the most humorous is an opening sequence of a bare Ben Stiller, first as an ape-man, then as a human. The facing pages are brilliant. In most situations, they mirror each other by either portraying the same image, but with a different style, or having the two images interact as though they were one image. One of Mr. Seliger's strengths is that he has a wide range of talent. His color photographs are powerfully effective in ways that most photographers can only accomplish in black-and-white. He can also do simple face shots, or complex compositions. I can think of no other currently popular photographer with nearly this range of effective style. One of my favorite examples of this range is that he has a beautiful shot of Jennifer Aniston in the buff, discretely displayed. At first you are inclined to think of it as a 'beauty' shot, and then suddenly you realize that it's really a play on all of those photographs that parents take of their young children lying bare on a rug. Mr. Seliger is equally adept at the dark side. Sean Penn's volatile personality is nicely captured in a brooding photograph of him pulling on a cigarette. Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg show up looking like they are relaxing during a rumble looking for trouble. 'Don't mess with me' is written all over their faces and bodies. Here are some of my other favorites: Fiona Apple, Los Angeles, 1997; Bob Dylan, Los Angeles, 1998; Michael J. Fox, Burlington, Vermont, 1993; Merle Haggard, Lake Shasta, California, 1994; Billy Bob Thornton, Toronto, 1997; Bob Dylan, New York City, 1995; Pat Conroy, Charleston, South Carolina, 1995; Charlize Theron, New York City, 1997; Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1998; Will Smith, Los Angeles, 1997; Winona Ryder, New York City, 1997; Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1994; and Drew
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Posted November 15, 2000
this was an absoluley amazing book that can be loked at over and over without boredom
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Posted January 28, 2000
Finally we have an innovative photographer with an endless imagination, who isn't afraid to take a flying leap into a new realm. Though some pictures might be considered offensive, each photo holds pure emotion and reaches a part of your mind that few things can. A truly inspirational book.
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Overview
A wild ride through the famous faces of our decade—from a frisky Drew Barrymore to a world-weary Mick Jagger—portraits that run the gamut from sexy to humorous, poignant to compelling. 104 color and 84 duotone photos.