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 (Click for larger image) 
Michals, Duane.
EROS & THANATOS.
Santa Fe, NM:
Twin Palms Publishing,
1992.
Hardcover.
First Edition/First Printing.
64 pages.
As New.
Artist Book. The photographer's fourth collection of images with accompanying text published by Twin Palms. One of Duane Michals' most poetic works, it is one of his finest achievements. The First Limited Edition of 5000 copies. Should not be confused with its multiple subsequent printings. An austerely elegant production by Duane Michals and Jack Woody: Oversize-volume format. A very tall and slim book. Handsome black silk cloth boards with gilt titles embossed on cover and spine and photographic reproduction pasted on the recessed center, as issued. Photographs and text by Duane Michals. Printed in rich gravure on thick uncoated stock paper to the very highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Duane Michals' deepest meditation on Death and the closely intertwined demands of Eros until the very end. Allen Ginsberg was the quintessentially gay American poet, drawing on his sexuality but never letting his work be completely overwhelmed by it. Recalling (and owing a debt to) the serene, sublime, and simple greatness of the only collection Peter Hujar published in his lifetime ("Portraits in Life and Death"), Duane Michals' own meditation is the worthy successor to both late American artists' works, and occupies a privileged position in the world of photography today. "Eros & Thanatos" is a combination of verse and photography that probes love and mortality, wisdom and the search for inner peace. The metaphysical nature of its theme is echoed in the artist/photographer's choices of printing styles and manipulations. Often there is a sense of "looking through a glass darkly", at some distant hermetic time. The images are dimly and beautifully lit, with careful use of composition and focus. Many pages are black, which make the photographs alternate between leaping off the page to floating delicately over it. Michals' use of male models works perfectly. They have a quiet beauty and sensuality that blend with, rather than intrude upon, the images. This allows Michals to escape from the sometimes cliche-ridden tendencies of the male nude, and leaves his vision pure and undiluted. The final poem is an homage to another great American artist, Paul Cadmus, who was also openly gay, but not (to his credit) a rabid, fire-breathing, militant activist. Cadmus is in fact, the main influence of the book so the tribute to him is apt. The sequence ends with a self-portrait of the artist/photographer smiling triumphantly, looking as though he has not only suffered and survived the dark journey of love and death but (unlike his tragic predecessor/inspirations), prevailed. A "must-have" title for Duane Michals collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black fountain pen on the First Page by Duane Michals. This edition has been out-of-print as a First Edition but remains available in multiple subsequent printings. This is one of very few signed copies of the First Limited Edition still available online and has no flaws, a pristine beauty. A very scarce signed copy thus. 43 sheetfed gravure plates. One of the finest living American artist/photographers. A flawless collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER DUANE MICHALS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0944092209. $150.00 |
