Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The product of a unique, almost 20-year artistic collaboration between two stars in their respective fields, the actor and cultural icon John Malkovich and the photographer Sandro Miller, The Malkovich Sessions represents a profound meeting of the minds. The centerpiece of this stunning book is 'Homage', a series of 32 images that recreate the iconic works of photographers whose work inspired and influenced Miller, from Edward Curtis to Diane Arbus to Irving Penn to Annie Leibovitz. Malkovich's astonishing ability to channel others combines with Miller's technical mastery to produce images that transcend and amplify the originals, while creating something new and exciting in themselves. Bracketed by Miller's brilliant portraits of Malkovich as Malkovich, along with still work from a series of short films that the two made together, The Malkovich Sessions is a marvellous record of friendship and inspiration. Contents: Portraits; -Hello, I'm John Malkovich- by Sandro Miller; Homage; A Conversation with Sandro Miller by Jon Siskel; Meeting John Malkovich by Jon Siskel; Film; Motion by Sandro Miller; Butterflies; Ecstasy; The Allegory of the Cave by Plato; Appendix; About the Author; Acknowledgments; Index.
Synopsis
Over the course of seventeen years, award-winning photographer Sandro Miller and inimitable actor John Malkovich combined their larger-than-life personas and talents to produce a series of portraits and films, most notably those that reconstruct the most iconic images in photographic history, in their Homage series. Others in the collection here capture the genius and range of Malkovich's acting ability in distinctive portraits as well as in film works. For lovers of the arts, photography, and John Malkovich, this book is indispensable. The first section of the book, Portraits, includes Malkovich in a variety of costumes and characters, ranging from playful to serious; while the second section, Homage, is devoted to recreating some of the most iconic portraits of all time: the artworks that originally inspired Miller to become a photographer. Here are representations of the likes of Annie Leibowitz's image of Yoko Ono and John Lennon; Bert Stern's photographs of Marilyn Monroe, and Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother." At first glance, it is difficult to tell that the subject in the photograph is in fact Malkovich, emphasizing the unique nature of Malkovich's formidable acting ability and Miller's talent for perfectly creating the lighting, environment and demeanor of the original photographs. Finally, the third section of the book contains photographs from experimental films created by the artists in tandem. As one of pop culture's most cultish personalities, Malkovich's fluid ability as an actor perfectly complements Miller's talents as a photographer and director. Rarely is an art book published that exhibits so gorgeously and extravagantly the talents of two extraordinary individuals working in collaboration over such a long period of time, that also provides so much delight to those who are not cognoscenti, but merely aficionados of great and distinctive work.