Immediate Family
|
List Price: Our Price: $18.95 You Save: $8.55 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $13.35 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Immediate Family
Book Review: good edition
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd have wanted to know more information about a content of the edition/product(what is inside?)Book Review: learn how to review a book
Summary: 4 Stars
i need to reiterate the point made in a previous review: this is not the place for opinions, personal values, or an ethics discussion. people who read these reviews for the purpose of trying to understand the contents of the book are not interested in these things. this book contains some very well-renowned photographs, an essential for those who already appreciate sally mann's work or are interested in learning about it for the first time. i highly reccommend this along with "At Twelve" for some extremely compelling and powerful documents of photography. Also, whoever thinks these photographs could be taken with a $200 camera has clearly never used one before. These were taken with an 8x10 view camera, which is incredibly difficult to master, as Sally Mann has done, largely without any professional instruction. That comment just demonstrates the reviewer's ignorance about photography in general and does a disservice to anyone reading these reviews seriously. This book is a fine addition to a serious photography collection.Book Review: I loved it!
Summary: 4 Stars
I love photography and having this kind of books exposes me to other peoples work and I love it!Book Review: Maybe It's Just Me...
Summary: 2 Stars
I viewed this book only once in a store and decided it is not the one for me. Technically Sally Mann is a fine photographer who is obviously at the top of her game. Her subject matter had tremendous potential! But there is one glaring problem: the children do not appear to be enjoying childhood, but appear sad, psychologically disconnected, emotionally abused, rejected, of low self-esteem, unwilling participants as models, and physically battered. There is even one photo a boy with a broken nose and blood all over his chest.
I have seen my share of children get hurt while playing (I saw one small boy fall from a tree, snapping the bones in his forearm). What I saw that day was not a moment of artistic inspiration. Shock value, artistic interpretation of childhood, or whatever the thrust of this book, I cannot see myself ever owning or recommending it. It is too dark, depressing and menacing.
Personally I think plenty of imaginative artistic themes can be produced with happy children who are not busted up or who appear endangered.
I own a copy of the works of Salvador Dali; his art is certainly disturbing...but not like this. I can appreciate Dali's art or even Michael Parkes' and Jan Saudek's, but this publication is too real and too chilling, having grown up in an abusive household myself. I would very much love to see Sally Mann's other works, however, because she is a fine photographer and must surely have a more "light-hearted" production of children's photos. If not, then Sally Mann is best left to those who take pleasure in "dark" art.
I recommend Jock Sturges' work, RADIANT IDENTITIES, instead. Although it is very similar in many regards, his subjects appear to be willing participants, and he has chosen to display a wide variety of emotions, including happiness.
My complaint is not against the nudity. After all, we are born that way; it's just the overall negative imagery of this particular work. It is sad that so many people in our society think that to be imaginative and artful you must also be sinister or immoral. Nudity can be expressed artistically and positively, even with children (remember your own photos of splashing around in the tub or the rubber swimming pool as a toddler?) Even if it's not all up-beat and chipper it does not have to be so overwhelmingly depressing.
Book Review: Yawn.
Summary: 2 Stars
I did not feel one way or the other about it. Quite boring overall, to be honest. Cannot even remember how I got a hold of it (I certainly did not buy it myself). Sold it off after a few months of trying to find something about it interesting...