Synopses & Reviews
Although there have been many illustrated editions of
Alice, rarely has one been done in Lewis Carrolls own visual medium of photography. Abelardo Morell, quickly gaining recognition as one of the major American photographers of our time, is the ideal artist to take on this challenge. His early photographs of illustrated books are striking images of worlds within worlds that in their alterations of an illustrations space and shape have the distinct flavor and mystery of Wonderland. So too do his oversize camera obscura images magical, cityscape projections that have received national attention mirror Carrolls own passion for upside-down and multiple worlds. For Alice, Morell goes further, photographing the Tenniel characters and then staging them in evocative three-dimensional settings.
In his fascinating introduction, historian and critic Leonard S. Marcus offers a glimpse into the intriguing connection between Lewis Carrolls pioneering efforts as a photographer and his timeless contributions to the world of nonsense. Marcus shows in what ways Lewis Carroll and Abelardo Morell are kindred spirits in the fierce delight they take in the crazy patchwork quality of life and in their shared belief that nonsense makes the best sense of all.
Review
"What an inspired idea, to combine two such Carrollian icons as Tenniel's Alice and Dodgson's passion for photography! Abelardo Morell's photographs stir the imagination powerfully....It is no mean thing to take up a work of genius and renew it for all inquiring minds, young and old, and that is what has been done here." Elizabeth Sewell, author of The Field of Nonsense
Review
"There are two reasons why Carrollians of all ages will relish this new edition of the first Alice book. One: the splendid introduction by Leonard S. Marcus; two: the book's remarkable illustrations. Abelardo Morell had the happy thought of combining cutouts of Tenniel's drawings with ingenious photographs that comment cleverly on the text. His picture of a rabbit hole going down through the middle of a huge dictionary was sheer inspiration. Lewis Carroll, pioneer photographer, would have been delighted and amused." Martin Gardner, author of The Annotated Alice and More Annotated Alice
Review
"For his illustrations, Abelardo Morell had the brilliant idea of making the book itself a character in the story. His photographs, at once eerie and full of wit, are beautifully realized." Peter Galassi, Chief Curator of Photography, the Museum of Modern Art
Review
"In an introduction, Leonard Marcus gives a convincing explanation for why Morell's shadowy black-and-white photographs are fitting illustrations for this classic text. Incorporating cut-outs of the original Tenniel drawings, the photos for this elegant, oversized edition are disquieting and surreal an effect that Lewis Carroll, an enthusiastic photographer himself, likely would have enjoyed." Horn Book
Review
"There is no end to the available editions of Alice, of course, but here is one worth having. It is in a nice big format, with an exquisite typeface, easy to read and to hold in the lap. It has a genial and erudite introduction by Leonard Marcus, with a bit of biography of Carroll and some Alice publishing history, but, most of all, there are unusual, engrossing illustrations. Morell has taken the original Tenniel images, placed them in collage with realia, and photographed the resultant construction in black-and-white....This edition illuminates the familiar story in ways that point up its essential, strange 'magick.'" GraceAnne A. DeCandido, Booklist
Synopsis
Featuring four color illustrations taken from many classic versions, this is a unique and beautiful edition of the beloved tale.
About the Author
Abelardo Morell is a photographer whose work has been exhibited and collected by a number of institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others. A traveling retrospective of his photographs entitled
Abelardo Morell and the Camera Eye has been organized by the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego. He is the recipient of several awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. Mr. Morell is a professor of photography at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife, Lisa McElaney, a filmmaker, and their children, Brady and Laura.
Leonard S. Marcus is a historian and critic whose books include Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom; Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon; and Lifelines: A Poetry Anthology Patterned on the Stages of Life. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Horn Book. The children's book reviewer for Parenting magazine, he has also been featured on radio and television. Mr. Marcus says, "Alice is the slyest book ever, and also one of the wisest. Our world looks more like Wonderland every day." He and his wife, Amy Schwartz, live with their son, Jacob, in Brooklyn, New York.