Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this book after reading David Kamp's review in the November 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, which also has good background information on Rockwell. I suggest reading that article for a lot more information than I will provide here.
The book itself discusses the photographic process Rockwell used to plan his paintings. It includes interviews with models and a lot of background information on the technical processes used.
This all turns out to be much more interesting than it might sound. One can see exactly which details Rockwell kept and discarded from the photographs. Of particular interest is how important each detail in the photos is, and the extent to which Rockwell worked to get them right.
There is also some interesting commentary on the social milieu and attitudes of the time. Rockwell in some ways was conciously creating an American mythos, but it was a mythos very grounded in actual fact.
Some of the original paintings or covers are reproduced in a small format (and sometimes not at all) but these are generally easy to find elsewhere, so it is not a serious flaw.
All in all, this was a thought-provoking and educational book that is sure to increase readers' understanding and appreciation both of Rockwell and of painting generally.
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Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera is the first book to explore the meticulously composed and richly detailed photographs that Norman Rockwell used to create his famous artworks. Working alongside skilled photographers, Rockwell acted as director, carefully orchestrating models, selecting props, and choosing locations for the photographs--works of art in their own right--that served as the basis of his iconic images. Readers will be surprised to find that many of his most memorable characters-the girl at the mirror, the young couple on prom night, the family on vacation-were friends and neighbors who served as his amateur models.In this groundbreaking book, author and historian Ron Schick delves into the archive of nearly 20,000 photographs housed at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Featuring reproductions of Rockwell's black-and-white photographs and related full-color artworks, along with an incisive narrative and quotes from Rockwell models and family members, this book will intrigue anyone interested in photography, art, and Americana.
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