2016 has been known as the year the world lost too many legends; one of whom was the iconic rock superstar David Bowie.
A Portrait of Bowie is a unique tribute to David Bowie which includes portraits and written tributes by his artistic collaborators and contemporaries.
This glossy hardcover volume is a must have for fans of the iconic artist, whether you are just interested in the 40 illustrative and photographic portraits of Bowie throughout his career or if you want to hear how his contemporaries and artistic collaborators remember him and working with him.
Bowie embraced the need to create an artistic persona and refused to be limited to one, his artistic persona and his artistic genius was fluid and he used them to push the boundaries and throughout his long and acclaimed career he repeatedly broke those boundaries.
The introduction and interviews in the book are by Brian Hiatt, a senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine, where he has written over 45 cover stories.
There are a wealth of memories included that show a little of the man as well as the artist, the first written tribute comes from George Underwood who met David Jones when they were both nine years old; before David Bowie was created.
My life has been at least a decade shorter than Bowie’s career and though I’m familiar with some of his work I only have a very small picture of the massive career and impact this artist has had on the world. The reason I tell you this is because I’m not familiar with many of the artists interviewed for the book, though of course there were some names that jumped out at me like Toni Basil, Debbie Harry and Cyndi Lauper.
The written pieces are insightful and help tell the story of Bowie the man as well as the artist; they are written by artists and musicians who have worked closely with Bowie at some point in his career. Written pieces are included by George Underwood, Dana Gillespie, Mike Garson, Toni Basil, Earl Slick, Carlos Alomar, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Martyn Ware, Derek Boshier, Nile Rodgers, Stephen Finer, Gail Ann Dorsey, Zachary Alford, Cyndi Lauper and Robyn Hitchcock.
The contributing artists and photographers include (alphabetically): Edward Bell, Derek Boshier, Anton Corbijn, Kevin Cummins, Chuck Connelly, Chalkie Davies, Stephen Finer, Greg Gorman, Derry Moore, Terry O’Neill, Mick Rock, Masayoshi Sukita, George Underwood, Justin de Villeneuve and more.
A Portrait of Bowie is available now through Hachette, Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
RRP: $39.99
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!