John Coplans ~ Body Parts ~2003 ~ BOOK SALE

Up for auction is "Body Parts: A Self-Portrait by John Coplans" Photographs by John Coplans ~ Published by powerHouse Books, New York, NY ~ First Edition ~ Copyright 2003 ~ Printed and bound in Germany ~ ISBN: 1-57687-173-8 (hardcover) THis superb book measures 8-3/4" x 11-1/4" and contains 64 pages with 26 duotone illustrations ~ Publishers Comment: Following the attacks of September 11, artist and downtown resident John Coplans responded unconsciously to the disaster by making photos of his arms and legs and then collaging the two together into one image. After making four such images, Coplans realized the connection to the aftermath of the event, where workmen were digging up debris and constantly finding human remains, especially body parts. At the same time, Coplans' problems with his eyesight were exacerbated; he was unable to see facial features, and he could neither read nor focus. The days became dark, somewhat like dusk, but worse. For some time, his left eye had been useless because of Macular Degeneration; now, the same thing was happening to his right eye. Yet Coplans could still see flat images the size of a postcard fairly distinctly with the aid of a magnifying machine, and decided to continue working on BODY PARTS. Since he could not see, the question arises as to how Coplans could take these photographs. In fact, he had not taken any of the Images himself since he first began making the various "Self Portrait" photographs in 1984. Coplans would preview the pose with a video camera connected to a television set and have an assistant do the actual shooting. But once his eyesight had been severely diminished, this system became useless and he had to find another. For Coplans, the solution came in recognizing the fact that we don't actually see an image with our eyes--we perceive it with our minds. He then applied this concept to the process of making photographs for BODY PARTS; Coplans imagined the image in advance and then found the pose. In the past when he could see, it was necessary to take many photographs tomatch the image on the video, but now it was done in a single shot to get the first half of the image; then his assistant would take the complimentary pose. Very often this was accomplished on the first take with assistant Bradford Robotham....... About the Photographer: Following a career as a teacher, curator, and editor, John Coplans (1920-2003) took up photography full-time at age sixty. He began painting as a young man, after a tour of duty in the British Armed Forces during World War II. In 1960 he immigrated to the United States, where he settled in San Francisco and taught at the University of California, Berkeley. Two years later, he founded the periodical Artforum and served as its editor until 1980. Around the same time he also worked as director of the Art Gallery at the University of California at Irvine, as senior curator at the Pasadena Art Museum, and from 1978 until 1980 as director of the Akron Art Museum, Ohio, where he founded the Midwestern art magazine Dialogue. In 1980 Coplans moved to New York, where he still lives, and turned his attention to photography. In 1984 he began creating an ongoing series of self-portraits...........The overall condition of the book is excellent. The photographically illustrated paper-over-hardboard covers (no dust jacket) with burgundy cloth-covered spine is in excellent condition. There are burgundy endpapers. The interior pages are very clean, unmarked and tight. The duotone reproductions are excellent.... Please checkout my other books starting at just $4.95.... I will always combine multiple items to save my customers on shipping charges... Thanks for Looking.