45301

Rating:
Summary: oops
Review: My wife wrote this in a fit of insomnia at 4:30 in the morning and accidentally posted it under my name. Not too bright, that woman.

Rating:
Summary: oops
Review: My wife wrote this in a fit of insomnia at 4:30 in the morning and accidentally posted it under my name. Not too bright, that woman.

Rating:
Summary: Where is the envy?
Review: Viggo Mortensen is a wonderful photographer. His pictures make me want to smash my camera on the ground in envy and despair and gouge out my inferior eyes and curse the Universe for not making me a photography savant. The colors in his photographs and the way he frames them make me want to look at them over and over again and study their elements. So, imagine, if you will, my excitement at receiving 45301 in the mail from a bookstore in Denmark, which, since the book is out of print, is apparently the only bookstore on the planet that actually has it in stock. It arrived last Friday afternoon, and when I got home from work I made myself a gin and tonic, ceremoniously opened the book's shrink-wrap, and settled onto the sofa to look at it and feel that sweet, burning envy.

45301 has been described in one review as "dense and thought-provoking", and this is correct. It is dense, in that there is something on every page, and it provoked the following thoughts: 1) What the hell is this? 2) I need another gin and tonic, and 3) I can sell this on eBay and get my money back. Most of the pictures are of indeterminate subjects, and they are mainly set against a background of illegible, scrawled notes. There are many interesting photos, but because most are printed very small and are against that heinous scrawly background, they do not draw me in and make me want to look at them. There are 13 pages of negatives, and while they DO have interestingly colored frames, they're not compelling.

Here's the thing about 45301: It's not so much a photography book as it is an art book, and I can appreciate it that way, despite my initial disappointment. It's abstract photography and scrawled notes and negatives compiled together to form a piece of art, and that's great as long as that's what you're looking for. But if what you're looking for is Mr. Mortensen's less abstract photography, you should buy Recent Forgeries instead, because that book is fantastic. His Coincidence of Memory and Sign Language are also good, and if you're going to buy any of these three, you should order them directly from Perceval Press (www.percevalpress.com), because it's highly worthy of support (you will also get the books most quickly and inexpensively from them). Recent Forgeries and Coincidence of Memory contain Mr. Mortensen's poetry as well as photography, and to talk about that would be a whole other review, but in a nutshell, it had me taking off my pants. [pssst! that means it's good!]

In conclusion, Viggo Mortensen is a talented photographer, but you probably wouldn't know it from looking at this book. If you want a piece of art in book form, you should consider buying it, and if you're a fan of Mr. Mortensen's acting and are obsessively collecting everything he's ever published, then I guess there's no question but that you will buy it [please seek help]. In either of these cases, it will help if you are at least semi-rich, because to buy this now will cost you anywhere from $65 (what I paid, including shipping from Denmark) to $180 (currently), and if you pay $180 for this book, my review of your financial acumen would have to be "HAhahahahahahaha!"

End Transmission.

Rating:
Summary: Where is the envy?
Review: Viggo Mortensen is a wonderful photographer. His pictures make me want to smash my camera on the ground in envy and despair and gouge out my inferior eyes and curse the Universe for not making me a photography savant. The colors in his photographs and the way he frames them make me want to look at them over and over again and study their elements. So, imagine, if you will, my excitement at receiving 45301 in the mail from a bookstore in Denmark, which, since the book is out of print, is apparently the only bookstore on the planet that actually has it in stock. It arrived last Friday afternoon, and when I got home from work I made myself a gin and tonic, ceremoniously opened the book's shrink-wrap, and settled onto the sofa to look at it and feel that sweet, burning envy.

45301 has been described in one review as "dense and thought-provoking", and this is correct. It is dense, in that there is something on every page, and it provoked the following thoughts: 1) What the hell is this? 2) I need another gin and tonic, and 3) I can sell this on eBay and get my money back. Most of the pictures are of indeterminate subjects, and they are mainly set against a background of illegible, scrawled notes. There are many interesting photos, but because most are printed very small and are against that heinous scrawly background, they do not draw me in and make me want to look at them. There are 13 pages of negatives, and while they DO have interestingly colored frames, they're not compelling.

Here's the thing about 45301: It's not so much a photography book as it is an art book, and I can appreciate it that way, despite my initial disappointment. It's abstract photography and scrawled notes and negatives compiled together to form a piece of art, and that's great as long as that's what you're looking for. But if what you're looking for is Mr. Mortensen's less abstract photography, you should buy Recent Forgeries instead, because that book is fantastic. His Coincidence of Memory and Sign Language are also good, and if you're going to buy any of these three, you should order them directly from Perceval Press (www.percevalpress.com), because it's highly worthy of support (you will also get the books most quickly and inexpensively from them). Recent Forgeries and Coincidence of Memory contain Mr. Mortensen's poetry as well as photography, and to talk about that would be a whole other review, but in a nutshell, it had me taking off my pants. [pssst! that means it's good!]

In conclusion, Viggo Mortensen is a talented photographer, but you probably wouldn't know it from looking at this book. If you want a piece of art in book form, you should consider buying it, and if you're a fan of Mr. Mortensen's acting and are obsessively collecting everything he's ever published, then I guess there's no question but that you will buy it [please seek help]. In either of these cases, it will help if you are at least semi-rich, because to buy this now will cost you anywhere from $65 (what I paid, including shipping from Denmark) to $180 (currently), and if you pay $180 for this book, my review of your financial acumen would have to be "HAhahahahahahaha!"

End Transmission.

Rating:
Summary: Waiting for the moon
Review: Viggo Mortensen is an artist of all stripes -- painting, poetry, acting and photography. And he gives those artistic sensibilities a workout in "45301," a stunning collection of photographs that takes the mundane surroundings of various countries, and transform them.

Light is the core of "45301" -- soft light, sharp light, colorful light and light being smothered by shadows. Even color comes second to the presence of light. There are smoldering abstract images that look like they're about to burn through the page -- the pictures are that striking and that vivid. And then there then smoky, ghostly shots of what look like mountains.

Mortensen's focus on the seemingly ordinary continues in this book. There are images of blurred, chaotic trees, the melancholy skyscape of "Hacia Mariel," or the quiet, chilly movement of "Fototeca." More color and movement is found in images like the intense glow of a dying campfire, or the dramatic image of riders silhouetted against a colorful sky.

There isn't any writing in the conventional sense, unless you count the picture index. The photographs in "45031" are overlaid on examples of Mortensen's handwriting. It's often indecipherable, scribbled out and either thin and pale, or dark and sprawling. That makes it even more enticing, and an effective frame for such enigmatic photographs.

And Mortensen again shows his ability to make the mundane seem magical. Horses, riders, trees, sky, clouds and houses all get the treatment, either shown in motion, shot from unusual angles, or in a strangely distorted manner. And of course, light and color are what the magic of the pictures sometimes depends on -- a strangely colored sky is all it takes to lend the photo an eerie look.

Given its gritty, otherworldly look, "45031" is a strangely dizzying book to read. With entrancing abstract photos and a unique format, this is another winning collection by Viggo Mortensen.