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Taryn Simon: Birds of the West Indies
£36.80£57.00 (-35%)
In 1936, an ornithologist called James Bond released the definitive taxonomy of birds found in the Caribbean, titled Birds of the West Indies. Ian Fleming, an active bird watcher living in Jamaica, subsequently appropriated the name for his novel’s lead character. He found it to be perfectly “ordinary”, “brief”, “Anglo-Saxon” and “masculine”. This co-opting of names was the first replacement in a series of substitutions that would become central to the construction of the Bond narrative. In a meticulous and comprehensive dissection of the Bond films, artist Taryn Simon (*1975 in New York) inventoried women, weapons and vehicles in Bond. The contents of these categories function as essential accessories to the narrative’s myth of the seductive, powerful, and invincible western male. In Birds of the West Indies, Simon presents a visual database of interchangeable variables used in the production of fantasy, through which she examines the economic and emotional value generated by their repetition.Exhibition schedule: 2013 Carnegie International, Pittsburgh October 5, 2013–March 16, 2014
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Additional information
| Publisher | Hatje Cantz Verlag, Illustrated edition (4 Oct. 2013) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 440 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 3775736638 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-3775736633 |
| Dimensions | 20.32 x 4.83 x 29.21 cm |
by echo
As has been previously mentioned by some reviewers, there are missing plates from the book (10 if I counted accurately) representing those actress that refused to take part. I must say that that this represents a real negative to the project. Don’t try to be complete, if you can’t even get close.
The photographs of the actresses are stark and honest, while the gadgets are photographed low key and detail is difficult to pick out. The composition of both is minimalistic and the subjects are often small in the frame.
It’s a collectors’ item, but perhaps more so because of its flaws than its successes.
I am left disappointed, wanting a lot more for the price.