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Photo Poche #14
BRUCE DAVIDSON
Gathers portraits taken in New York City cafeterias, subways, and neighborhoods, as well as Los Angeles, England, Scottland, and Wales
- GenresPhotographyArt
65 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 23, 2017
The cover of this book is quite misleading, one might expect landscape, or animals to be in the majority, but Davidson is best known for documentary photos of people, often in cities. The photo on the cover is taken in Wales, and is not typical of his work.
And yet, maybe it is. He is a versatile photographer that does give you a sense of place, and history in his work. Wether he is photographing a clown smoking, racial tension, or something else he does it in a way that one gets a feel for the place, and what's happening.
Some of the photos are quite dramatic, like the one of the clown smoking, others are sad, like the of the children looking out a window in East 100th Street, and there are even some funny ones like the one of the stroller "race".
The book begins with an introduction by Bruce Davidson himself, and while that is a bit choppy piece of writing, it does give one a good sense of who he is as an artist. He may not be very good writer, but he is a great photographer.
And yet, maybe it is. He is a versatile photographer that does give you a sense of place, and history in his work. Wether he is photographing a clown smoking, racial tension, or something else he does it in a way that one gets a feel for the place, and what's happening.
Some of the photos are quite dramatic, like the one of the clown smoking, others are sad, like the of the children looking out a window in East 100th Street, and there are even some funny ones like the one of the stroller "race".
The book begins with an introduction by Bruce Davidson himself, and while that is a bit choppy piece of writing, it does give one a good sense of who he is as an artist. He may not be very good writer, but he is a great photographer.
April 16, 2020
This is a small book, very simple. One photo per double truck with just a title. Yet, it is the right pace, with commendable reproductions for a small paperback book.
All the text is in French, so pouvoir lire le français.
Davidson's use of black and white is remarkable. His rich darks set off a bright area in nearly every photo that highlights a truth. Every composition seems to avoid tradition, setting himself off at an angle so objects are distorted, background lines are slanted. Personally I find his work inspiring.
All the text is in French, so pouvoir lire le français.
Davidson's use of black and white is remarkable. His rich darks set off a bright area in nearly every photo that highlights a truth. Every composition seems to avoid tradition, setting himself off at an angle so objects are distorted, background lines are slanted. Personally I find his work inspiring.
March 20, 2017
Masterful work.
I'd buy this book alone for the picture of the clown smoking. The absurdity of that photo. A midget clown, wearing a hat, clown face paint, holding flowers, looking tired and smoking a cigarette. It's one thing taking that photo, but the framing of it, is what amazes me. He places the clown on the bottom left of the frame, includes the big top, so you can sense that the clown is still most probably on duty, thereby making him look more tired or helping you empathize with his condition.
There are also beautiful portraits of couples, photos of the poor, old men in cafes, a lady reading a paper with the title "I love a phantom," nannies pulling babies in oversized prams, and other memorable photos.
Amazing.
I'd buy this book alone for the picture of the clown smoking. The absurdity of that photo. A midget clown, wearing a hat, clown face paint, holding flowers, looking tired and smoking a cigarette. It's one thing taking that photo, but the framing of it, is what amazes me. He places the clown on the bottom left of the frame, includes the big top, so you can sense that the clown is still most probably on duty, thereby making him look more tired or helping you empathize with his condition.
There are also beautiful portraits of couples, photos of the poor, old men in cafes, a lady reading a paper with the title "I love a phantom," nannies pulling babies in oversized prams, and other memorable photos.
Amazing.
November 16, 2021
Bruce Davidson's photos are wonderful as usual.
The problems are with the printing:
1) These images are very small, can't see details.
2) In the copy I got several images were not printed, the pages were blank.
The problems are with the printing:
1) These images are very small, can't see details.
2) In the copy I got several images were not printed, the pages were blank.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews