Portraits in Life and Death is the only book of photographs published by Peter Hujar during his lifetime. The twenty-nine portraits of creative people--ranging from William Burroughs, Susan Sontag, and John Waters to Larry Ree, founder of the Trocadero Gloxinia Ballet Company, and T.C. (whose identity is unclear)--possess a haunting beauty and degree of psychological examination that is both offbeat and riveting. Following the portraits come eleven images that can only be described as devastating: pictures of semi ...
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Portraits in Life and Death is the only book of photographs published by Peter Hujar during his lifetime. The twenty-nine portraits of creative people--ranging from William Burroughs, Susan Sontag, and John Waters to Larry Ree, founder of the Trocadero Gloxinia Ballet Company, and T.C. (whose identity is unclear)--possess a haunting beauty and degree of psychological examination that is both offbeat and riveting. Following the portraits come eleven images that can only be described as devastating: pictures of semi-preserved, clothed bodies of nineteenth-century Sicilians found in the arid catacombs beneath a church in Palermo. There is no necessary connection in the photographs themselves or between the two sections of the book, yet the pictorial progression from life to death is an emblem of the journey we all take. The living subjects seem to be meditating on the mortality that is limned with such profound effect in the catacomb pictures. In different ways, both groups of images speak to the basic fears and emotions that we carry with us, somewhere beyond our consciousness. After viewing this extraordinary book, it is almost impossible not to make those connections and interpretations or be moved by Hujar's consistent ability to convey what appears to be the inner spirit of his subjects. Even so, an air of nonchalance, even gaiety, hovers over the photographs. The book is odd, oblique, sometimes opaque, and certainly deeply felt; but it sticks to the mind like a burr. It will be noticed. Once seen, it cannot be forgotten.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. New York: De Capo Press, 1976. 1st edition. Sm 4to paperback. Illustrated paper wraps. [91pp] B/W photos. Very Good book. Covers slightly toned. In polypropylene bag. (Artistic Photography, Catacombs, Portraits) Inquire if you need further information.
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Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In fair condition, suitable as a study copy. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 1050grams, ISBN: 0306707551.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 10x10x0; Ownership name stamped to half title page very light shelf wear. Slender large format softcover tight and otherwise unmarked. Oversized. Please email for photos.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Very Good jacket. The 1976 true 1st edition, in its much more elusive hardback. Tight and Near Fine to Fine, with no writing or markings of any kind internally. And in a crisp, price-intact, VG dustjacket, with a degree of foxing and soiling along the panel edges. Still though, handsome and very presentable but the jacket has taken on some wear along the edges. Quarto, Introduction by Susan Sontag. From Paul Thek to Ray Johnson, from May Wilson to Divine, Hujar's first-rate--and increasingly influential--black-and-white portraits thruout.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in very good dust jacket. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. Cloth over boards. Audience: General/trade. First edition, the scarce issue in cloth and dust jacket. A fine clean tight unmarked copy in orilginal unclipped dust jacket that has a couple small chips, closed tears and dampstaining. Issued simultaneously in hardcover and softcover this hardcover edition is scarce. Hujar's only monograph published in his lifetime.