Bowie: An Illustrated Life - Hardcover

Hesse, María; Ruiz, Fran

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1477318879 ISBN 13: 9781477318874

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 2019

Synopsis

David Bowie was a master of artifice and reinvention. In that same spirit, illustrator María Hesse and writer Fran Ruiz have created a vivid retelling of the life of David Robert Jones, from his working-class childhood to glam rock success to superstardom, concluding with the final recording sessions after his cancer diagnosis.

Narrated from the rock star’s point of view, Bowie colorfully renders both the personal and the professional turning points in a life marked by evolution and innovation. We see Bowie facing the sorrow of his brother’s mental illness, kicking a cocaine habit while other musicians succumbed to deadly overdoses, contending with a tumultuous love life, and radiating joy as a father. Along the way, he describes how he shattered the boundaries of song and society with a counterculture cast that included Iggy Pop, Brian Eno, and Freddie Mercury—as well as his own creations, Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke.

Evocatively illustrated from start to finish, Bowie is a stellar tribute to an inimitable star.

About this title

About the Author

An illustrator and graphic designer, MaríaHesse is the author of Frida Kahlo: An Illustrated Life.
Fran Ruiz is a professor of geography and history, and his writing regularly appears in the magazine Cultural Use Manual.
Ned Sublette is a musicologist and the author of four previous books.

Review

"While Bowie portrayed many larger-than-life characters in his music, this book attempts to turn Bowie himself into a similarly superhuman character, adding a few extra dashes of magic, wonder and awe into his already stunning life as an artist." (Paste Magazine 2019-08-20)

"[A] beautifully illustrated book of [Bowie's] life—not a 'graphic biography' but something more imaginative." (Shepherd Express 2019-08-20)

"[Bowie's] fabulous ink and watercolor portraits...borrow elements of religious iconography to portray Bowie with heart and nerves exposed, wrapped in rainbows, or sprouting plant life. The art reflects a man consumed with himself as an evolving art project, at once self-absorbed and self-sacrificing, cooly aesthetic and curiously, lovably human." (Publishers Weekly 2019-09-23)

"Evocatively illustrated from start to finish, [Bowie] is a stellar tribute to an inimitable star." (OutWord Magazine 2019-09-26)

"[A] delightful little tome...it's easy to devour in a single sitting, making it more a creative introduction than an authoritative, essential work. That doesn't stop it from being pleasurable." (Pasatiempo 2019-09-06)

"This isn’t a traditional biography by any stretch, which makes perfect sense for anyone even vaguely familiar with the life and times of David Robert Jones...This illustrated version serves its purpose well because art (or artifice) was such an integral part of his persona...Hesse's work gives the pages a hypnotic power, mimicking legendary photographs in a style all her own." (Rogues Portal 2019-10-11)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1477318879
• ISBN 13: 9781477318874
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 168