Mario Testino. SIR

Description

"The way men are seen in photography, in fashion, and the way that men look at pictures of themselves has changed in recent years. It is a subject that has come into focus: The masculine image, a man's personal style, changing attitudes to the male face and body." - Mario Testino From Rio to London, Cusco to Seville, Mario Testino is renowned for his free-spirited chronicles of dress and demeanor. In SIR, his largest book to-date, the influential photographer presents over 300 photographs in his search to define the allure of men. Featuring an essay by Pierre Borhan, an interview with Patrick Kinmonth, and many previously unpublished works from Testino's archive of thousands, this book traces the evolution of male identity over the past three decades. Costume, tradition, gender play, portraiture, photojournalism, and fashion collide as Testino observes masculinity in all its modern manifestations: through the dandy and the gentleman, the macho and the fey, the world-famous face to the unknown passerby. Every photograph represents a unique point of view, and a new visual connection between photographer and sitter. With Josh Hartnett for VMAN (2005), Testino evokes the fall of Helmut Berger in the abyss of Luchino Visconti's The Damned. Studies of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Jude Law and Colin Firth are as candid as they are curious. David Beckham, David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards feature for the courage they have taken in redefining male identity. Through a kaleidoscope of guises, these portraits define a period in which men's changing role, style and appearance has never escaped Testino's eye and impeccable intuition.

...a sensual and alluring chronicle of modern masculinity. * vanityfair.co.uk * More than just celebrating the male body, this book looks at the shifting ways men present themselves and are, in turn, represented. * dazeddigital.com * An exploration of the evolution of male beauty and glamour over the last three decades-but most importantly, the jawlines and washboard abs, a lot of drooling! * Vogue Online * ...SIR is the work of a fashion photographer with an insight into what clothing, the lack thereof, and the fashion industry at large demonstrate about the state of masculinity at any given time. Best of all, it knows not to attempt to tell the story of evolving masculinity from beginning to end - just chronicling the moment a lot of change began. The Swiss bound, Japanese-cloth-clad volumes come packaged in a metallic slipcase ready for their readers' enjoyment. * GQ Magazine * Beautifully done. It's a beast of a book. * Anthony Mason * ...an extraodinary breadth of work, which may be suprising to those who know Testino only for his fabulously glossy documentation of high fashion and high society. It is as comprehensive a compilation as it is beautiful. This is masculinity in all its permutations. * Telegraph Men's Style *