Starstruck: Photographs From a Fan
by Gary Lee Boas
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I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with the square amateur photo book that is know as Starstruck. I first discovered it in the little library of my friend’s basement/record studio. Often when someone is trying to get the tambourine part just right or the bass amplifier needs adjusting, I pick up a good book to browse… with pictures.
Starstruck is a collection of candid celebrity photos by Gary Lee Boas. The time frame ranges from 1966 (when the photographer was 15) until 1980. Boas was essentially an obsessed fan who would wait around Manhattan to catch stars going in and out of theaters, restaurants, clubs, etc. Although some shots are fairly washed out or rather out of focus, they’re all completely fascinating. There’s a charm to these shots and one can’t help but admire Boas’s obsession. Well, maybe “admire” isn’t the right word!
Even with images of massive celebrities like Katherine Hepburn, Michael Jackson, Jimmy Stewart or Jack Nicholson, the real star of this book is New York City. Accidentally, Gary Lee Boas gives us an excellent overall snapshot of the world’s greatest city at an electric time.
Reviewed by Jason
Tagged: 1970s, 1980s, New York City, Photography
Man Ray in Paris
by Erin C. Garcia
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We’ve recently been hit with a steady current of material spotlighting Americans residing among the Parisians in the 1920’s. Several fantastic books on the subject have been published this year along with the opening of Woody Allen’s new comedy Midnight in Paris.
Paris in the 1920’s was a creative haven for many artists, critics, filmmakers and writers. Man Ray, who would not wish to be simply classified as a photographer (he considered himself a painter who also took photographs, made films and worked with sculpture and collage), came to France in 1921 and produced some of his most revered photographic work. Basing much of his craft on experimentation and dreamlike imagery, he aligned himself with artists in the Dada and Surrealist movements. In Erin C. Garcia’s book, we see portraits of Man Ray’s colleagues which include Jean Cocteau, Hans Arp, Salvador Dalí and Marcel Duchamp.
Man Ray in Paris provides many stunning photographic plates and also chronicles the artist’s stay in the City of Light.
Reviewed by Jason
Tagged: 1920s, Non-fiction, Paris, Photography
How To Wrap Five Eggs
by Hideyuki Oka, photographs by Michikazu Sakai
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This is a beautiful book containing handsome black and white photographs of simple products packaged in simple materials: rice straw, bamboo, ceramics, paper, and even leaves. The boxes, wrappers, and casks depicted in this volume are all hand-made and most of them are quite wonderfully elegant, from the humble eggs of the title, to utilitarian jars of miso, and expensive casks of sake meant as souvenirs and gifts.
Reviewed by Ben
Tagged: Crafts, Japan, Non-fiction, Photography
