This intimate and provocative book explores the work and lives of nine photographers who portrayed their wives with a regularity and a passion that is unique in the history of photography. As Arthur Ollman states in his introduction, ?It's a simple idea, which has varied applications. . .These pieces represent some of the deepest, most passionate announcements the photographic lexicon allows. This work is about personal exposure. This is where the camera shoots in both directions.?
Featured photographers include Adolph de Meyer, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Harry Callahan, Emmet Gowin, Lee Friedlander, Nicholas Nixon, Masahisa Fukase, and Seiichi Furuya. Each artist is represented by a portfolio of images and an individual essay by Ollman. Comparisons between the couples and the resulting photographs enrich this fascinating discussion. In the end, we not only gain new insights into the making of art, but the complexities of love and marriage.
Ollman's introduction offers an extensive overview of the development of this photographic tradition and its parallels in other artistic media. It is a thoughtful, well-researched and gripping essay. His individual essays on each photographer are equally illuminating about development of the featured work and how it fits into the rest of their life's work. Additional insights are provided by excerpts from interviews with several of the wives.
This a wonderful collection of touching images brought together for the first time. It invokes new and interesting comparisons, identifies unexpected influences and produces important new insights into these photographer's work.
