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Mr. Salesman
A door, isolated in a wooden frame, opens to the man carrying a briefcase. He smiles out of the old void as he prepares to step into the new, from nothing to nothing, with a grin on his face. The sleeve of his three-button suit falls an inch and a half above the crisp white cuff of his shirt that act as the perfect frame for the handshake of Mr. Salesman.
- GenresArtPhotography
Hardcover
First published October 1, 1993
44 people want to read
About the author
Diane Keaton
31 books463 followersDiane Keaton (born Diane Hall) was an Academy Award-winning American film actress. Her first major film role was Kay Adams-Corleone in The Godfather movies. She starred with director and co-star Woody Allen in "Play It Again, Sam," "Sleeper," "Love and Death," "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan." She starred in many other films and worked as a director, producer, and screenwriter.
A number of books of her photography have been published.
A number of books of her photography have been published.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 5, 2024
Very surreal pictures of salesmen from training films from the 50's - very striking. And yes - it is by that Diane Keaton (as editor). There is almost a Hitchcockian/Winograndian feel to this book; found it slightly disturbing, for reasons that I have a problem articulating. A very unique book that is very interesting.
August 17, 2014
It took me some time before I determined that this was made by THE Diane Keaton, not A Diane Keaton. In this case, it might work against her, as the assumption is that this is an indulgence by a celebrity that only gets published because of our culture's worship of the famous. That assumption is wrong.
This book is legitimately interesting. Keaton did not take any of the images, which makes it all the more curious, since only artists like Richard Prince, John Waters, and Richard Rauschenberg dare appropriate in this way. Yet here, she is, showing images from sales training brochures in the middle of the century. They are stark, slick, and full of surreal sets and populated by absolute conformists. It becomes creepy, manipulative, and contrived, exactly reflecting the training of a salesman.
The written introduction is done quite well, and in a refreshing take, Keaton explains why she has done what she has done. It just makes sense. The book is about the pretense of the image of the salesman, critical of it, and therefore avoids pretense in the book's essays.
If you see this on a used bookstore shelf, grab it.
This book is legitimately interesting. Keaton did not take any of the images, which makes it all the more curious, since only artists like Richard Prince, John Waters, and Richard Rauschenberg dare appropriate in this way. Yet here, she is, showing images from sales training brochures in the middle of the century. They are stark, slick, and full of surreal sets and populated by absolute conformists. It becomes creepy, manipulative, and contrived, exactly reflecting the training of a salesman.
The written introduction is done quite well, and in a refreshing take, Keaton explains why she has done what she has done. It just makes sense. The book is about the pretense of the image of the salesman, critical of it, and therefore avoids pretense in the book's essays.
If you see this on a used bookstore shelf, grab it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews