Great D'Orazio Images in a Too Small Page Size, 30 Jul 2004

By	Donald Mitchell "a Practical Optimist" (Boston) - See all my reviews

This book focuses on most of the same models and images as are found in the more recent book (from August 2000), Sante D'Orazio: Photographs. The images that are chosen for this book are better than in that one and there are more of them here. But the photographs in this book are greatly hampered by being placed onto a too-small page format. Most two-page spreads are hopelessly compromised by the center fold. I graded the book down two stars for the poor format and design. What a waste of great talent!

I generally liked the idea of the book's format. Mr. D'Orazio gives you his best finished photographs from an assignment, surrounded by relevant scraps, contact sheets, and memorabilia pasted onto calendar pages. Some of these contact sheets are fascinating and add greatly to your understanding of the model.

In his brief comments, Francisco Clemente notes that the "picture will compose itself, speak for itself." And they do, but the contexts amplify the messages in important ways. After the assignment, Clemente feels that D'Orazio has pasted onto these diary pages the "backstage sweat of unreachable beauties, actors, models, rock stars, who, unpackaged, reveal at times an endearing anxiety . . . ."

For all of their campy, spontaneous feel, some will find the diary pages junky and unattractive.

Between his more recent book and this one, I prefer this one. The images are enough better that they slighter overcome the format advantages that that book has.

Here are my favorite images (I have noted the page numbers because the attribution is a little general in the book -- a lot of these are my favorite images in the more recent book, as well):

Kristen McMenamy, Shelter Island, New York, 1986, p. 28

Robert De Niro, St. Mortiz, Switzerland, 1992, p. 68

Frederique, St. Bart's, c. 1990, p. 85

Kim Basinger, Hollywood, California, 1993, p. 89

Johnny Depp, Hollywood, California, 1995, p. 110

Stephanie Seymour, St. Bart's, 1992, p. 116

Cindy Crawford, New York City, 1990, pp. 118-119

Cindy Crawford, Los Angeles, 1991, pp. 120-121

Christy Turlington, New Jersey, 1986, p. 124

Christy Turlington and Alexandra Valenti, Rome, Italy, 1997, p. 125

Naomi Campbell, New York City, 1991, p. 131

Linda Evangelista, Hollywood, California, 1995, p. 137

Claudia Schiffer, New York City, 1994, p. 141

Rachel Williams, Montauk, New York, 1991, p. 161

Pedro Abnodovar, New York City, 1991, p. 170

Linda Evangelista, St. Bart's, 1997, p. 185

Drew Barrymore, Hollywood, California, p. 220

Carmen Diaz, New York City, 1995, p. 231

Eva Herzigova, Miami, Florida, 1996, p. 238

Georgia Grenville, St. Bart's, 1996, p. 258

After you study these finished works and the candids that often preceded them, think about what is real and what is not. Which images are the actual person? Who are you, in reality? What image captures that best?

Be always open to giving and getting a private view.