Notorious

From Library Journal
Whether through ads for Calvin Klein and The Gap or previous books like Picture (Twin Palms, 1988) and Men/Women (Twin Palms, 1989), the images created by Ritts have invaded pop culture. Compared with that of other international celebrity photographers, Ritts's work is arguably more sumptuous and less contrived. This large, handsomely self-covered book contains 120 beautifully reproduced duotone portraits (including three 8-page gatefolds) of a diversity of today's personalities, from Merce Cunningham to Magic Johnson, from Stephen Hawkins to Cher. Often, clothing makes the image: witness Michelle Pfieffer's Clark Gable get-up, Julia Roberts in wet men's underwear, Michael Jackson's hi-tech spacesuit, and, of course, a bare-breasted Madonna. Many of the shots are immediately recognizable because of their use in Vanity Fair, Interview, and Rolling Stone , magazines Ritts contributes to often. With the extraordinary talent on display in this latest work, Ritts has become as notable, if not notorious, as his subjects. Highly recommended for popular culture or photography collections.- David Nudo, "Library Journal"Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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Weighing in as top contender for the heavyweight celebrity photobook of the season, Ritts' album is packed with visual punch, gorgeously printed, and sure to be a crowd pleaser. Ritts' style combines zany, spirited Annie Leibovitz-like collaboration with his subjects with the heavy sensuality of a Bruce Weber. He is superb at his craft, which he practices mostly in the employ of the slick fashion and entertainment magazines. Each of the 124 black-and-white portraits herein is bled to cover a page, or sometimes a 15-by-231/2-inch, two-page spread. Most are close-up, in-your-face shots, especially the one on the cover--an enormous view of Sandra Bernhard's open mouth. Other subjects range from genuine heroes (Stephen Hawking, Mikhail Gorbachev, Louise Bourgeois, the Dalai Lama) to the usual show-biz types (there's lots of Madonna). Such range clearly reflects a state of mind Daniel Boorstin warned against in "The Image" (1961) when he wrote, "Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day. . . . We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety." Well, the book "is" called "Notorious".


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