Riboud, a superb documentary photographer, has traveled repeatedly in China over the past 40 years. This handsomely produced new volume gathers together some of his powerful early work (shots of Chinese village scenes in the 1950s and of that sprawling nation's first steps toward industrialization) along with photographs from the 1970s and 1990s: The idea is not to provide a retrospective of Riboud's work, but rather to trace China's startling emergence as an industrial giant. The new images—of vast plants, glistening new cities, elegant young women in Shanghai and Beijing, of crowded markets and bustling construction sites- -viscerally communicate more of the reality of the new China than most recent articles on the subject. They also catch the subtle, astonishing shifts in consciousness: American imagery seems to be everywhere. In one memorable shot, a wall adorned with posters includes both a portrait of Mao and a photo of a smiling young Elvis. Other photos point out the growing disparity between the poor and the well-to-do. Terse captions offer some lively commentary, indicating Riboud's mixed feelings about the new China. A strong, fascinating portrait of a nation undergoing an astonishing transformation.
Pub Date: June 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8109-4430-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997
Like Sly and the Family Stone “taking ‘them’ higher” here, the authors likewise reach for the sky.
A homemade brew of whimsical rhymes and personal photos from the historic hippie event that Levine attended as the still photographer for the Academy Award-winning documentary Woodstock.
This is an incredible all-access pass to the music and art fair that came to be known solely as Woodstock. With “you are there” photos, from aerial views of endless bodies sardine-packed like a Spencer Tunick happening, to close-ups of Hendrix, to an exquisite shot of Arlo Guthrie’s shoes reflected in a puddle of water above the caption, “Rain and a wet stage were a constant factor but didn’t stop Arlo from performing,” the authors have created an intimate time capsule with this book. The details and tidbits are highly specific (“The Woodstock security were called ‘Polites,’ not Police,” while another page features a then-pregnant Joan Baez and Ravi Shankar chatting backstage accompanied by a caption that explains that her husband was in jail for draft resistance), allowing for the festival to be framed inside its all-important, Vietnam-era context. Because Woodstock is told through a collage of photos, song lyrics and rhyming text, it also has a homespun scrapbook vibe, which feels right for recounting a personal communal experience. For example, one page reads, “Richie Havens launched the great show / ‘fore other performers were ready to go / Holding the crowd for nearly three hours / ‘til ‘Motherless Child’ rang out from the towers” in bold type next to a shot of Havens on guitar. Smaller print explains, “Because the other acts hadn’t arrived, Richie Havens was asked to open the show. His performance set the tone for all that followed.” Even if readers are not familiar with Havens or his music, the vivid picture of this artist drawn through word and image is nonetheless mesmerizing. From The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia smiling behind a “For Rent” sign, to towheaded toddlers playing naked around a drum set during a break, the peace and love essence of Woodstock rings out loud and clear.
Like Sly and the Family Stone “taking ‘them’ higher” here, the authors likewise reach for the sky.Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4392-2261-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A hilariously suave (previously unpublished) morality tale from the master of understated mayhem and apocalypse (The Unstrung Harp, p. 572, etc.). Its wonderfully dark pictures and text detail a dream journey undertaken, at century’s end, by dull-looking Edmund Gravel and an accompanying arachnoid figure, the Bahhumbug, to a “remote provincial town” where polite society’s veneer is blithely whisked away and assorted beautiful people are revealed in all their mendacity, folly, and awful bad luck. As always, Gorey’s trademark rhyming couplets are filled with inexplicably funny, sad, and somehow beautiful occurrences (e.g., “Sir U___ fell from a speeding train,/Which did some damage to his brain,/And after that he did not know /How to pronounce the letter O”). Calling this delightful tale its author’s “Vision of Judgment” or Inferno would be like breaking a butterfly on a wheel—with which image, come to think of it, Gorey might do something ineffably sinister and entertaining.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-100514-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
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