American Grotesque : The Life and Art of William Mortensen - Hardcover

Michael Moynihan; A. D. Coleman; Larry Lytle; William Mortensen; George Dunham

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1936239973 ISBN 13: 9781936239979

Publisher: FERAL HOUSE, 2014

Synopsis

American Grotesque is a lavish retrospective of occult and erotic images by forgotten Hollywood photographer William Mortensen (1897-1965), an innovative visionary whom Ansel Adams called the """"Antichrist"""" and to whom Anton LaVey dedicated The Satanic Bible (Avon, 1969). Mortensen's countless technical innovations and inspired use of special effects predating digital manipulation and PhotoShop. The book includes a gallery of more than 100 striking photographs in duotone and colour and accompanying essays by Mortensen and others on his work.

About this title

Review:

"William Mortensen's grotesque photographs of death, nudity and torture and are now having their day. Chris Campion pays tribute to a master of the macabre who... in recent years has been recognised as a unique and innovative visual stylist." --The Guardian

"Although his imagery was grounded in the 19th century romanticism of Symbolist art, Mortensen had a modernist sensibility for line and composition, and a postmodernist's interest in the symbolic nature of photography. He was the first American visual artist to thoroughly explore grotesque imagery. He pushed the bounds of commonly accepted photographic subject matter, which enraged his foes and ensured his obscurity by the purveyors of photographic history. Happily, however, all of these factors also meant that Mortensen's work would have importance long after his death. Although the forces of photographic change savaged him in the mid 20th century, his unique vision and methods foretold the momentous upheavals facing photography at the turn of the 21st century.&auot; --Vice

'In the thirties, William Mortensen was one of the most celebrated photographers in the nation - his pictures were "unabashedly theatrical, bizarre, and often louche." What sank his reputation: a critical tiff with Ansel Adams.' - --The Paris Reviewtumblr

About this edition

• Publisher: FERAL HOUSE
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1936239973
• ISBN 13: 9781936239979
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 296