Faces of Christianity: A Photographic Journey

Rating:
Summary: a definitive look at christianity
Review: abbas, one of the world's best photographers, goes to the heart of christianity as it is practiced all over the world. there is nothing lacking in this book, nothing he doesn't reveal about his subjects. abbas meets this material half-way, and for that reason some religious fanatics will not like the book. he doesn't just show us what christianity looks like objectively, he puts his personal imprint on every photo. this combination of personal art and documentation is what makes this book better than any book of its kind regarding christianity. so thank you to abbas for tackling a touchy and difficult subject, one that hasn't up to this point been explored by a top photographer.

Rating:
Summary: AN UNFINISHED PROJECT...
Review: Some photos are memorable and give honour to the talented photographer but there does not seem to be any integrity at all, the book is nothing more than a collection of photographic notes taken in different lands. A number of images have nothing to do with christianity at all. The camera is often more excited about sects and cults. Very subjective views and written statements, too shallow for such a serious subject. A project like this should take a lifetime to complete...

Rating:
Summary: A Sort of Christianity
Review: There are some marvelous pictures in this book. The book is large and beautifully printed. It has the weight of talent , time and subject material that makes it a worthy item to have in one's photo collection. I would, however, make an important caveat for those who are looking for a faithful depiction of the faces of Christianity as it exists around the world. They will not find it in this book. It is more of an exploration of "Christianity", and the areas of politics, culture and spirituality that have grown up around it, oftentimes in a way that the author jarringly admits has little to do with actual Christian faith. This leaves the viewer wondering if the unusual or the extreme depicted are Christian or if they just happened to make for interesting pictures. That struck me as disingenous. Adding to the confusion were pictures of Jews, Muslims, Russian Communists, etc.. Personally, after viewing some of the sensational imagery of Santeria in Cuba (which Abbas himself in the book notes acknowledges is a "cult"), I had to wonder if the Christian faith as expressed around the world was being given true justice, which one would expect after five years. The peculiar introduction seems to indicate that a desire to "even the score" after his Islam project was a consideration at work. In the end, I see the book as a fascinating personal project in which a photographer was exploring his own ideas about a world religion, but in the end offered up confusing notions of the faith to match the confused notions of some he was photographing. On a purely visual level, however, it is stunning.