Nudi

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This is a beautiful collection of photos, black and white but printed in a warm tone on glare-free paper. All of them have the same format: full-height, standing figure on a shadowless, blank background. Diffuse lighting and tricks with exposure settings hide the modeling of each woman's figure, leaving almost an impression of a line drawing. Even the most solid of the bodies shown seem ghostly, as if the woman could vanish at any moment.

There are one-trick photo collections out there, the kind where every print is solarized or where every model is body-painted. This book is like that - the difference is that I enjoy this trick. The models are generally quite similar, women with light skin tones and slender figures. It would have enriched the collection to see a wider variety of light and dark in the subjects and matching backgrounds, and a wider variety of figures. Still, the models selected really are quite lovely.

The book itself is a distinctive artifact. The pages (at least in the edition I have) are fan-folded into the binding, and a place-marking ribbon is attached. The usual front matter actually appears in the back, so the reader starts almost immediately with the photos. I like the unusual binding, but it is a bit much. Something less ostentatious would have worked as well, and made the book more affordable.

I find this collection very appealing - as soon as I saw it, I was hooked. It won't match every taste, however. There are lots of other ways to see figure than this one. It worked for me, though.

//wiredweird

Rating:
Summary: Nudi, A New Way of Seeing.
Review: This is an excellent collection by one of the worlds finest Fashion Photographers. The almost white on white technique is as fascinating as the well know subjects.
The presentation of the book is superior and as a figurative gallery photographer I can say that I will refer to it and get ideas from it for many years. Solid Five stars. I think you will agree.

Rating:
Summary: Just Superb
Review: This is exactly kind of the book I want for my library. I have heard many times about Paolo Roversi so this book is a confirmation of his high mentioned name. Regardless of critics from other people about Nudi : over-simplicity, over exposed, and any other "correct technical" terms BUT for me this book shows a very strong concept and process of photography. It still intricted my mind how he actually did the "pencil drawing" affects. The simplicity and plainess of the book, the model poses, uniformity of sephia like pics are also a plus. Not many photographers dare to publish such "simplicity and plainess".

Rating:
Summary: Not a whole lot of good things to say
Review: To begin, this book is poorly printed. The images are washed out and the intended high-key feel gets run over by flat reproductions. This book is a fashion photograpgher's attempt to show potential clients that he can get a book published and has seen lots of famous models naked. It is not art but strictly commerce. The photos are not that good. There is no deeper concept working here. I found myself flipping through the book waiting for something to catch my eye. The only interesting thing about this book is... There are great books on this subject matter out there. Don't let the minimalist italian design fool you into thinking this is one of them. This is the iceberg lettuce of the fashion/nude photo books.

Rating:
Summary: Not a whole lot of good things to say
Review: To begin, this book is poorly printed. The images are washed out and the intended high-key feel gets run over by flat reproductions. This book is a fashion photograpgher's attempt to show potential clients that he can get a book published and has seen lots of famous models naked. It is not art but strictly commerce. The photos are not that good. There is no deeper concept working here. I found myself flipping through the book waiting for something to catch my eye. The only interesting thing about this book is... There are great books on this subject matter out there. Don't let the minimalist italian design fool you into thinking this is one of them. This is the iceberg lettuce of the fashion/nude photo books.

Rating:
Summary: Roversi's Photographic "Sketches"
Review: While looking through the pages of Nudi, one is often reminded of nudes in an artist's sketchbook. Roversi's images are closer to drawing, borrowing heavily from an artist's pencil, rather than straightforward photography. Reducing the final image to a creamy-white, the strength of the photographs rely on what little remains: the hair - so much more noticeable due to its contrast against the overexposed subjects; the expressiveness of the eyes; and, most striking - the dark lines that outline the naked body. The viewer is relentlessly forced to concentrate on the natural shape of the women's bodies that come to life through the simplicity of this technique. That these women are models is irrelevant; they are not photographed to represent fashion. The women are photographed with the conviction of showing a model as Woman, and not the opposite. There are critics who complain about Roversi's style, while also pointing out the redundancy of the images in this book. What Roversi has done with Nudi is use the book to define a style of photographing that will indelibly link him to his images - it is his signature. A signature style is what makes an artist unique; it defines them, while setting them apart from other photographers and above all, it is one of the most difficult challenges in the creation of noteworthy photography. I applaud Roversi for his aesthetic convictions. By reducing the presence of his female subjects to highlight the subtle contrast between light and dark, Roversi leaves us to concentrate on the beautiful minimalism of line, shape, and expression. In the end, the book's minimalism allows us to see so much more.

Rating:
Summary: Roversi's Photographic "Sketches"
Review: While looking through the pages of Nudi, one is often reminded of nudes in an artist's sketchbook. Roversi's images are closer to drawing, borrowing heavily from an artist's pencil, rather than straightforward photography. Reducing the final image to a creamy-white, the strength of the photographs rely on what little remains: the hair - so much more noticeable due to its contrast against the overexposed subjects; the expressiveness of the eyes; and, most striking - the dark lines that outline the naked body. The viewer is relentlessly forced to concentrate on the natural shape of the women's bodies that come to life through the simplicity of this technique. That these women are models is irrelevant; they are not photographed to represent fashion. The women are photographed with the conviction of showing a model as Woman, and not the opposite. There are critics who complain about Roversi's style, while also pointing out the redundancy of the images in this book. What Roversi has done with Nudi is use the book to define a style of photographing that will indelibly link him to his images - it is his signature. A signature style is what makes an artist unique; it defines them, while setting them apart from other photographers and above all, it is one of the most difficult challenges in the creation of noteworthy photography. I applaud Roversi for his aesthetic convictions. By reducing the presence of his female subjects to highlight the subtle contrast between light and dark, Roversi leaves us to concentrate on the beautiful minimalism of line, shape, and expression. In the end, the book's minimalism allows us to see so much more.