The Vice Photo Book

by Jesse Pearson (Editor), Gavin McInnes (Editor)

VICE’ s irreverence and determination not to kowtow to advertisers has led to an aesthetic that began simply as unique but has grown into a culture that has defined an entire epoch of underground photography. Whether it’s ex-cons showing how to make a shiv-proof vest out of National Geographics or the homeless garbage eaters in Bangladesh posing for a hipster fashion shoot, VICE is never satisfied with simply presenting a well-composed photograph. There’s always a story and that is precisely why VICE photography is as respected as it is imitated.

The book will be divided into five parts. "Vice Photographers" will juxtapose the work of established names (see above) against up-and-comers like Jamie Warren, Jerry Hsu and Patrick O’Dell. After interviews with and portfolios from seven of each group, we’ll turn to "Vice’s Photojournalism" highlights. These images will be culled both from the magazine’s editorial content over the years and from the photo issues VICE has put out annually since April 2001. The third section will be "Vice Fashion," which includes shoots like "Anna Wintour, You’re Wrong" wherein VICE featured overweight women in seductive poses, or the "Sex Issue’s" fashion shoot that had every well-dressed model fornicating with the next. The final two sections are a collage of previously published VICE favorites and new stuff discovered since the last photo issue.

The result is an eye-popping anthology that beautifully illustrates the best of recent alternative photography from around the world.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Oscar Reyes]

interesting insights from photographers. Not sure if i cared for the photos.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much to it. Its a photo-book, but if you're into photo-books/ photojournalism and/or documentary work, you will no doubt get something out of this book. Filled with pages from a magazine that is everything but subtle when it comes to presentation and subject matter, VICE compiles a mass of photos from their issues and couples them with some descriptions every-now-and-again to aid the story of the photos they accompany. It is broken up into sections (mostly by photographer) so it is easy to see the various styles of photography as well as the subject matter that specific photographer is more inclined to cover. Ranging from skateboard incidents and awkward photos of social scenes to death and drugs, this book definitely should find its way to any "un-conservative" coffee table.

[Onto The Next Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I found this book. I was looking for some inspiration for my photography but the stories the photograhpers had were great though I would love to read something more in depth about the images histories. I look forward to the next book!

[Hoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a big middle finger to all other photo books.