FOREVER YOUNG. Douglas Gilbert. Text by Dave Marsh. De Capo Press.

By John Aiello 

The young Bob Dylan built a mystical sound and cut a captivating pose - -a singer searching for truth who could paralyze motion with a single look with a single flash of his eyes.

In this collection of photographs (just released in paperback) Gilbert is on assignment for Look Magazine, shooting a series of photographs of an American songwriter who was taking the world by storm.

At the time, Dylan was a spry 23 years-old, at work on his transitional album, Another Side of Bob Dylan. It was a magic period - supple with hope and energy, awash in the poetry of motion and silence; and it was a magic period: Each hour drunk on echoes as lonesome troubadours shuffled road-to-road across the stagnate crucifixes of darkness.

In Forever Young, Gilbert’s pictures were taken over a short two week period, and they capture Dylan in his raw, pure, unmasked form. One of the most stunning series of snaps include photographs of Dylan at the typewriter, flanked by cigarette and ashtray, suede jacket soft against the naked white walls of the background - the poet alone writing the liner notes to Another Side. These pictures show a pensive and thoughtful Dylan, separated from the prying eyes of the audience, compelled by a vision within -- a man beyond the essence of blood and skin now trying to express the sounds of the silence in words.

In addition, the photographs of Dylan with Allen Ginsberg are vital, depicting Dylan's place within the history of the modern poetry movement. More than anything, Dylan bloomed in the frame and shadow of the Beat Generation, giving it a voice and a presence and a persona that simply could not be dismissed. Gilbert's pictures of Dylan and Ginsberg show a common-bond and burgeoning brotherhood -- these poets now reborn as one and driven by the same deep sense of spirit.

The text of Forever Young is written by seminal rock journalist Dave Marsh, and his perspective serves to synthesize the history of 1960s' popular music in the elegant and lilting prose for which he became famous.

Simply, this book is an absolute must for all fans of Dylan and also for casual students of the folk idiom. As Gilbert shows us, the face of Bob Dylan circa 1964 forever changed the way America’s songs would be written and heard.

By John Aiello

I founded The Electric Review in order to write about books like this, to shine a worthy light on visionary artists who somehow were lost in the unforgiving shuffle of commerciality, who somehow were denied the opportunity to shape their medium.

Here, Dan Nadel (who directs the Grammy-Award winning culture studio/publishing house PictureBox) has created an anthology which pays homage to the great voices of comics-past, these men whose strips were never quite able to intersect the roads of the mainstream. Above all else, this book shows that those artists whose work found its way onto the landscape of popular culture were, in many instances, not the most talented folks around; instead, they were only the ones who made it.

Art Out Of Time is divided into five primary sections (“Exercises In Exploration;” “Slapstick;” “Acts Of Drawing;” “Words In Pictures;” “Form and Style”), and it serves as another stunning addition to Abrams’ vast catalog of titles that have come to alter the way the world witnesses both art and the artist.

In this particular work, Nadel sets out to show that what we know may not be whole story (insofar as American comics are concerned). For instance, in the “Slapstick” section, the work of Milt Gross is spotlighted, and we can see everything from the “Dick Van Dyke Show” to “Three’s Company” in these panels. Even a cursory glance shows Gross’ work to be subtle and deep, demonstrating a refined command (genius) that was obviously years ahead of its time. In addition, “Words In Pictures” showcases Harry Hershfield and Boody Rogers -- illustrators whose pieces are piercing dark and searching, promoting the reader to hunt the hidden meaning of the message.

Nadel should be commended for writing this book and saluting the lost visionaries of the comic-art-scene who far too few people know about. Moreover, Abrams should also receive sincere thanks for having the guts to publish this material, for it truly serves the mission of the commercial publisher - a mission to educate the masses and document history and influence myriad forms of thought.

In Art Out Of Time readers will be greeted with a vast electric sampling of heretofore unknown cartoonists whose work is at once riveting and inviting. Like some tattered underground lit anthology that contains four or five of Kenneth Patchen’s unknown picture poems, this book is about the magic and mysticism of discovery. In the end, it’s only about cracking the pages and enjoying the ride.

By John Aiello

Richard Avedon’s sudden death on October 1, 2004 robbed the world of one of its pioneering photographers, for Avedon was known as a voice of broad ability, an artist who came to capture the vibrant undertones of the world though which we breathe.

Woman In The Mirror is an amazing addendum to Avedon’s career - a tour de force of visual imagery recorded in the full color lines of life itself. As a photographer, Richard Avedon was able to deftly catch his subjects in their natural state, in turn, recreating paths of reality through the sacred eye of his camera. Accordingly, Avedon’s images are both stark and supple, boisterous and reserved, absolute and vague -- lost in layers, infinite in dimension.

Writes Art historian Anne Hollander in her brilliantly conceived summary of this master’s work:

"From cool Dorian Leigh appreciating her frontal image in a bathroom mirror, to warm Lorraine Hunt Lieberson feeling her rich Botticelli hair come to life through his lens, Richard Avedon repeatedly showed that whenever he took the picture, the woman and the performer were one and the same; and that each was really Venus, in one of her infinite disguises."

The pictures collected in this volume never fail to strike the heart of the viewer. As Hollander infers, Avedon works in realms of shadow and shade, his subjects washed in blank color -- these pictures about people and community suddenly melding together to create this great twisting dance of life.

As the title professes, this book is about Women -- a stunning statement to their nuance and endurance and vibrancy. Obviously, Avedon was enthralled by women and he shared this admiration via his art. As a result, these pictures throb and ache with sensuality, their understated elegance documenting the photographer’s obsession with the secret eroticism of human beauty.

If Avedon’s mission was to write a record of beauty in all her various shapes and sizes -- then this book testifies to his triumph. Flip open Woman In The Mirror to a random page and you will be captivated.

For example, the picture of Twiggy -- hair splayed across the quiet landscape of the pages-- is sexy and ethereal, the image splashing over the eye like long dollops of blood. The photo of singer Janis Joplin captures both her weariness and splendor in one magnificent instant. The image of writer Isak Dinesen circa 1958 immerses us in the naked mysticism of her eyes as they pierce invisible skin and cut us at the heart-core of the soul.

In each of Avedon’s photographs there is both wistful purity and deep eroticism -- the sensual symmetry of these pictures will immediately engage the eye as it moves down the razor-points of the edge, forever marking us in the electric magic of the unwritten moment. Writes Hollander:

"We can see the mirror as the hungry eye of art, waiting for the woman to enter the frame and complete herself as a picture. Any picture of a woman is an extension of her mirror, with the artist’s eye going further than hers, expanding the creation the woman begins when she sees her own image."

What more can the reviewer hope to add to Ms. Hollander’s eloquent observation? It’s all about the frail lines of Avedon’s pictures. It’s all about the way the truth of their symmetry captivates and inspires the stationary motion of the eye. It’s all about standing here in the moment, allowing woman to remove her many sensual masks and reveal the perfect being at the core of the self.

This volume is highly recommended to libraries at both the college level and private sector, capturing the beauty and depth of women. This selection would make a wonderful Christmas gift for aficionados of the medium and, specifcally, for fans of Avedon who died in his place as one of the greatest photographers of all time.

ALSO RECOMMENDED BY RICHARD AVEDON

 IN THE AMERICAN WEST. Photographs 1979-1984. (Book release to accompany the 20th anniversary national traveling exhibition of the original show). Richard Avedon. Abrams.

These photos bear witness to the faces that make up the landscapes of this American West. Readers will find the key to this collection in its understated elegance: like stills of some Peckinpah western shot in the modern era, the barren eyes and supple topography of skin splitting into shadow will bludgeon and stun, at once calling us back to memories of our own roots, at once revisiting thoughts of the personal journeys that brought us here.

This volume is recommended to both college-level and public libraries. College-level photography instructors might want to further consider American West as a supporting class text because of the way Avedon uses portraiture to create a moving body of work that also records the generational history of a place. ~John Aiello

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By John Aiello

For generations of Americans, Life Magazine captured the many untold stories of their country. In words and pictures, Life dissected the layers of our communities and expanded our collective consciousness.

Yet, those stories only told half the tale. In addition to the articles that we devoured, it was the stunning pictures that actually summoned the characters to life and whittled at the faces until they swelled with sweet and supple dimension.

In this collection, we hold some of John Loengard’s most revered work. As a photo-journalist for Life, Loengard was one of the most influential ‘eyes’ behind the camera that his craft ever knew. Moreover, his work was not only special for what is presented, it was also important for those soft and undefined spaces it left bare -- the artist allowing the smooth and shadowy gray of a wall or stairwell to be the text of the picture, confident enough to let the metallic sheen of the background make the movie.

"I think of John Loengard, however, as a perceiver of inner realities," writes University of Virginia Literature Professor Ann Beattie in her eloquent introduction. "[A]nd that is, again, why I think of him working as a novelist does..."

You see, more than a photographer, Loengard is a master of the senses, struck only by the scenes that rattle the brittle human nerves of the mind. To this end, Loengard’s images are never born in contrived poses. Instead, he lets people and things unfold into being naturally, as the camera stands in the shade of the passing hour and records the moment. Like skin cloaking bone, the process is sweet and natural -- unforced and pure, a perfect unadorned extension of the breaths we breathe.

Unforced and pure. A perfect crystalline new and undistorted world. And Beattie writes:

"When I look at his photographs, my silent reaction is, ‘Really?’ Not that there is anything there to make me doubt them; there’s nothing phonied-up or self consciously artsy. Quite the opposite: Really, you’re telling me these people , inhabiting the same world I do, have been stopped in time without giving the impression that time has been stopped long enough to make a definitive, nondefinitive photograph? They resonate instead."

This book represents some of the most memorable pictures to ever grace the pages of Life -- a graceful and moving account of a People and its country as they slowly turn together toward the next century. Accordingly, every image is a veritable print meant for center-stage on the high tongue of your living room wall; my guess is that different readers will likely be struck by different frames:

The pressed pleats of cadets moving toward a distant line, fists in bent clench, somehow come to reproduce the anguish of the soldier leaving home for some war-torn landscape in some unnamed land (page 71). The Reverend Jesse Jackson, alone and contemplating the path that took him on this search for Christ as our eyes dissolve into the wooden cross that hangs from the long bones of his neck (page 94). The Beatles in the pool, circa 1964, a quiet and happy swim, a moment away from the crowds that eventually consumed the joy of the music-makers (page 127). Princess Vera in her cottage, one closed eye peering through the walls at the next stage of the next world in a completely new life (page 126).

In these photographs, we find secrets about ourselves: the threads that bind a nation to its People and bind closed their beautiful gnawing cold horrific wounds. And our wounds actually lay naked in these pages of pictures -- a pool of disparate images flowing together to reveal old holy mysteries of faith and hope and pain. And in these photographs, the mirror of America is split wide open, its mouth agape, its soul uncovered by so many soft black-white undertones.

Finally, in these photographs, a thousand separate worlds come together simultaneously to draw the same breath. To quote Ms. Beattie again -- the images "resonate." And resonate again with the human flavor of our blood.

To order go to amazon.com, or go to abrams.com

By John Aiello

This engaging new release by Abrams greets the changing seasons with humor and good cheer -- poking fun at one of the more easier ‘targets’ we have at our disposal.

Here, New York cartoonist Danny Shanahan (whose work is widely known having appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, Time and Esquire) uses the medical profession as the subject for this brand new book of sketches. And from page one he hooks us -- like reading through the Sunday funnies, I’m No Quack offers a few delicious moments away from life’s trials and troubles so we can enjoy a hearty belly laugh.

There are 120 panels here, and each bears Shanahan’s tell-tale style -- the lines of his characters born in the rumpled ruins of reality jump to immediate life in our minds. And as this happens, we come to readily identify with their plight. How many men, in for their annual prostate exam, haven't experienced the fear and trepidation that Shanahan captures in his piece depicting a nutcracker in the role of urologist?: "Turn your head and scream."

It’s material like this that makes No Quack note-worthy: by tying together our every-day fears and realities to the world of medicine (who doesn’t loathe those outlandish prices and big-doctor egos?), we’re able to drink down a laugh at ourselves in the process. And that, then, is the purpose behind any artistic work: to command the frail face of the audience into the delicate webs of its construction.

As every writer will tell you, humor is one of the most difficult things to pull off on the page: there are just too many variables that can steal the power of a joke and render it forced and contrived. Cartoonists not only have this problem to do battle with, but must also fight the tendency to draw too ‘big’ in an effort to corral the reader and not let go.

However, Shanahan -- a widely respected artist throughout the world -- has avoided these pitfalls by keeping things contained and simple, one quick swipe of the pen cutting to the core of our world and reducing it to a chuckle and a grin.

Take a second look at the panel which shows a doctor with the whole of New York City on his examination table: "I’m going to prescribe something to help you sleep," Shanahan writes here, recording the neurosis of a country in the dark humor of a single line.

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By John Aiello

For several decades, Malibu, California simply was the place to live. This sea-side community drew throngs of celebrities (Bob Dylan even took up residence there in the mid-seventies when he moved to California) -- a idyllic and picturesque Garden of Eden on earth.

This pictorial compilation recently released by Abrams captures the allure of Malibu in majestic terms. Julius Shulman is regarded as one of the premiere architectural photographers to ever take a snap, and these pictures evidence exactly why: the suppleness of these marvels of modern-day construction shines through every page, bringing to life a world many of us have never seen before.

The other photographer featured here -- Juergen Nogal -- is no slouch either: his work is widely known in artistic circles for its subtle grandeur, and this style plays off the grand shine of Shulman nicely. In short, the two together build a feast of color and texture for the eye to behold.

Meanwhile, the introductory notes have been written by Hollywood journalist David Wallace, who has corralled this rarefied LA world in perfectly-framed word-pictures:

"Malibu, California, is one of the most ballyhooed places in the world, famous from Arizona to Zanzibar as a fantasyland inhabited by the glamorous, the privileged, and the lucky. It has been described as a ‘state of mind,’ ‘a celebrity ghetto,’ ‘away of life,’ and ‘almost the last ocean frontier.’ It’s name has been used to sell everything from cars to booze to barbie dolls..."

Malibu is divided into 9 sections, and is formatted by decade. Each chapter (decade) features some of the most stunning homes to be built in that period. Centerpieces can be said to grace each and every page, but of particular interest are the shots of the "Windcliff" domicile (page 134) and the Streisand Deco House (at page 172). These pictures speak to the true core of this book: the depth and incisiveness achieved by the photographers is of the highest order.

For a book of pictures to be deemed worthy of taking up residence in a personal library the images must be vivid and stark and skeletal with dimension - all at the same time. Further, the images must capture the interest and the sensibility of the viewer and propel him to want to investigate a subject in deeper terms. And that’s just why we are featuring this work. To reiterate, it creates a feast for the eye which will not be forgotten.

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