David Levinthal: Modern Romance [SIGNED]

LEVINTHAL, David, PARRY, Eugenia

ISBN 10: 0967174414 / ISBN 13: 9780967174419

Published by St. Ann's Press, West Hollywood, California, 2000

About this Item

First edition, first printing. Signed in black ink on the title page by Levinthal. Hardcover. Fine red cloth, with tipped-in four-color plate on cover, no dust jacket as issued. Photographs by David Levinthal. Essay by Eugenia Parry. 140 pp., with more than 100 four-color illustrations. 11 x 9 inches. Fine. From the publisher: "The "Modern Romance" series dates from the mid-1980's, and utilizes the small format Polaroid SX-70 camera. Selections from this series have been included in previous books, but this is the first comprehensive study of this pivotal series in Levinthal's career. As each of the SX-70's are unique images, and as the editions began to sell- out, Levinthal withdrew the series from sale several years ago, making the publication of this book even more important. Inspiration for "Modern Romance" comes from the film noir of the late forties, and from the paintings of Edward Hopper. The images seem familiar, although nearly always faceless. A woman stands on a corner, a theater marquee, a roadside motel, an interior meeting of a man and a woman, a subway car, strip joints.All the images create mystery and challenge the viewer to imagine the scenario, as an observer or voyeur." Signed by Author.

Seller Inventory # 111815

Bibliographic Details

• Title: David Levinthal: Modern Romance [SIGNED]
• Publisher: St. Ann's Press, West Hollywood, California
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0967174414
• ISBN 13: 9780967174419
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket as issued
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • About Photography
  • Polaroid
  • Cinema
  • Signed Books

About this title

Synopsis

American-born photographer Levinthal has earned national recognition by creating potent, ironic, and sometimes controversial visions using miniature figures and toys as characters in staged tableaux. Since publishing his first major work in 1977 (Hitler Moves East: A Graphic Chronicle, 1941-43), he has worked with Barbie, blackface memorabilia, toy soldiers, and various modeling figures to explore the icons and stereotypes of popular culture. Levinthal executed his series Modern Romance in the mid-1980s. Echoing the paintings of Edward Hopper and film noir, these are scenes of urban life in dreamy neon-lit color and television blues. Levinthal shows us figures lingering on street corners, entering movie theaters, passing through alleys, conversing in diners, and interacting in confined spaces. He also depicts the impersonal landscape of the city: cop cars on the streets, doorways, and murky bedrooms. Levinthal's lovely and vaguely troubling photographs house a tension of possibilities; with details obscured, they speak of solitude, sexual isolation, and urban anxiety. An illuminating essay by Eugenia Parry opens the book, nicely placing this formative series in both a personal and an artistic context. This is serious art, dealing with fascinating ideas. Highly recommended for contemporary art collections of academic and public libraries. Deborah Miller, Minneapolis--Library Journal

About the Author

David Levinthal is a recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1995), and an NEA Fellowship (1990-91). His work has been exhibited internationally, and is represented at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Eugenia Parry is a widely respected scholar on the history of photography and art. She has been a Professor of Art at both Wellesley College and at the University of New Mexico. She has published extensively on the history of photography, and is the author of Crime Album Stories (ISBN 3-908247-18-7, Scalo Publishers) which blends elements of found photography, historical crime evidence, and fiction.