Flesh & Stone

Rating:
Summary: great concept, but ultimately unrealized
Review: ...i waited a whole year to see the fantastic photos described by the editor, so the disappointment was a crushing blow -- let me be frank: this book does not contain the photos described. nor does it teach me anything new about homoerotic desire ... nor does it's photographic content approach the quality of it's scholarly writing. unfortunately many scholars dream great concepts but don't follow through in their practical attempts at creating what they've described. lucie-smith is a fantastic writer, but he admits in the introduction that he isn't a trained photographer...

Rating:
Summary: great concept, but ultimately unrealized
Review: ...i waited a whole year to see the fantastic photos described by the editor, so the disappointment was a crushing blow -- let me be frank: this book does not contain the photos described. nor does it teach me anything new about homoerotic desire ... nor does it's photographic content approach the quality of it's scholarly writing. unfortunately many scholars dream great concepts but don't follow through in their practical attempts at creating what they've described. lucie-smith is a fantastic writer, but he admits in the introduction that he isn't a trained photographer...

Rating:
Summary: He's done it again
Review: Edward Lucie-Smith is an accomplished poet, art historian and now demonstrates his skill as a brilliant photographer--the joy of the educated eye instead of the academically trained photographer is transcendent. This is a book to sit down with and linger over. The juxtaposition of classical statuary seen from a unique angle and men in unique postures is brilliant. The use of natural light transforms stone into flesh and vice versa. The shots of lovers in a pool--the abstracted lyricism is breathtking. Buy two copies because you'll want to share this book.

Rating:
Summary: Art from a new vantage
Review: Not only is Edward Lucie-Smith one of our more important art historians today and undoubtedly the most published (!), he is one of the more creative thinkers in bringing all of the art world to the public. In this volume he juxtaposes sculpture from all ages with photographs that seem as timeless as the stone bodies he emulates. The photography is his own, and though we have seen incidental works by him in other volumes, this essay is the first to my knowledge to extensively survey his output. The lighting, the angles, the cropping of the images all provide the viewer with an interpretive stance. Lucie-Smith does not settle for suggestions - he makes us work to understand the beauty of line. At times I see the surface of the images of his madels as too grainy for reproduction, but exposure to his previous thoughts and treatises assure that he knows exactly what he is doing. This is a very different - and welcome - take on the relationshp of sculpture and photography from the ever inventive Lucie-Smith.