Robert Polidori's Metropolis

Download Free (EPUB, PDF)

Not only is he one of the world's preeminent architecture photographers, Robert Polidori is also--as his popular book Havana proved--a master of urban portraiture. The Montreal-born photographer has made haunting studies of bombed-out buildings in Beirut, decaying New York tenements, Versailles rooms in dusty disarray, Brasilia's paean to spare 1950s modernism, and, most recently, the abandoned, contaminated cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat. Taken together, they add to his ongoing project: the interpretation of the interrupted urban landscape. This new monograph combines the eye of a celebrated photographer with the distinctive voice of an artist and adventurer. Each breathtaking image--meticulously selected by the photographer from his own personal archive--is accompanied by a compelling first person account, based on interviews conducted by Martin C. Pedersen, executive editor of Metropolis magazine. Polidori tells behind-the-scene stories about the making of his photographs, takes us to war-torn Beirut and Brasilia and other world capitals, talks about what makes a building photogenic, how he shoots buildings he doesn't like, his favorite architects, and his love of mosques. A look at the world's great cities as seen through the eyes of a sharp social observer--and a great photographer.

Hardcover: 144 pages

Publisher: Metropolis Books; First Edition edition (November 2, 2004)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1891024981

ISBN-13: 978-1891024986

Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 0.8 x 11 inches

Shipping Weight: 3 pounds

Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,625,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #132 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography & Video > Equipment, Techniques & Reference > Color #4014 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography & Video > Individual Photographers #5361 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Buildings

I pick up this book in Beverly Hill Library today and I was attracted by the photograph on the cover. It is Shanghai. Three red brick low-rise old buildings as the foreground and the new highrises as background. I am doing the similar study in L.A. now.However, after quickly went through this look I am rather disappointed to most of the rest of the images. I called some as "images" because I don't think they even qualify as "photographs". The editor of the book is damn low level or he might be sleepy in choosing the pictures.The organization of the book is in chaos. Images after the very impressive parking lot photographers show up in disorder like a daydreamer's murmur. Postcard landscape shots of beautiful ruins then Shanghai's urban study and continued to Dubai, after one good shots then following by 3 tourists quality snapshot; then Las Vegasshots without careful composition and lack of contrast and without architectural, urban and cultural meaning. For example, the facade shot of Casino Caecars Palace put behind two electricity poles in almost noon time. What is the meaning of it? It the photographer is in a hurry that he could not wait for a better sky, a better timing or another standpoint, why made and published such a photo? Yes, there is some thinking here, but rather naive.The rest of the pages show up like every 10 pages there is a good one but out of nowhere.I don't want to comment on the locations I do not have personal experience. That the comment on the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels by the photographer and the shots of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth really annoyed me and pushed me forward to criticize this book.

Robert Polidori's Metropolis Robert Polidori: After the Flood Robert Polidori: Hotel Petra Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability Down and Delirious in Mexico City: The Aztec Metropolis in the Twenty-First Century Metropolis: Mapping the City Escape from Detroit:The Collapse of America's Black Metropolis A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850-1900 An Unnatural Metropolis: Wresting New Orleans from Nature Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability Remaking Metropolis: Global Challenges of the Urban Landscape Robert's Rules: QuickStart Guide - The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Robert's Rules of Order Robert's Rules: QuickStart Guide - The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Robert's Rules of Order (Running Meetings, Corporate Governance) Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places: 5th Edition (Robert Young Pelton the World's Most Dangerous Places) Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York The Art of Robert E McGinnis Robert Crumb's Sex Obsessions Robert Crumb: Sketchbook, Vol. 1, June 1964 - Sept. 1968 Robert Mapplethorpe: The Photographs Robert Motherwell: The Making of an American Giant