Heads

By Alex Kayser

Book Overview

A hat designer, Punk musician, sculptor, fireman, professional rent-a-Buddha, heavyweight boxer, peace movement worker, gourmet chef, United Nations official, dog trainer, chiropractor, sanitation worker, Marine Corps pilot, tire retreader-these and many more: 184 men and women with only one thing in common. They are bald. Unmasked, void of make-up and shorn of hair, stripped of civilized disguise, what does a human face say? And how does it make us feel? Avant-garde photographer Alex Kayser launches us on an odyssey into the emotionally charged topography of the human countenance. Kayser shares the story of his work in a delightfully candid conversation, and National Book Award winner Richard Howard provides a brilliant and provocative afterword.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0896595242
• ISBN13: 9780896595248
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Abbeville Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 11.2" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Heads

This book is one of my favorites. It is a book full of photographs of human heads, with no hair or makeup. I could look at this book for hours! You will never tire of looking at them. Heads are always disguised in public under elaboratley fussed-with hair and a bunch of makeup. This book is oddly satisfying by showing simply a natural human head. They are very beautiful.

BEST possible portrait photo book imaginable in the universe

I am on page eighty one! i am hermine. this is part of my fifteen minutes of fame, which i plan to enjoy for many years to come. you really need this book, i am NOT KIDDING.

it changed my life

back in college, "suffering" through hair loss, i found this book, checked it out of the library and took it home to ponder my fate. i finally embraced it and shaved away. its a lot easier these days as the look is more fashionable, but i think everyone could benefit from seeing so many people without such a common differentiator.

Simple concept brilliantly executed

Heads is a photography book with an amazingly simple concept. 200 bald men and women photographed identically, face-on in close-up. The effect is staggering. You could never imagine the shocking differences in head shapes and facial features. You can't turn two pages of the book without having an immediate emotional response. Four people stare right at you as you turn each page. Each chosen for similarities or interesting pairings. The book is shot in black and white and each subject has a completely neutral expression. Because everything is the same the differences jump out at you with astonishing clarity. You can flip through the book comparing things in ways you could never do in everyday life. Each time you flip through the book you focus on something new. Eyelids, brows, eyes, noses, ears, and foreheads come in shapes you never imagined. Each face has a unique personality. Some almost tell stories about their whole lives even without reading the brief descriptions of who they are and what they do for a living. You will see faces that seem familiar and others that seem utterly alien. Flipping through the book produces a surreal morphing effect. There are just so many ways to look at "Heads" it is a new read every time. It is a great book to leave on the coffee table. I keep mine in the bathroom. Most people describe the book as "a real trip". Artist types will flip over it. I have never seen another book like it, but like a lot of people, I wish there were others like it showing heads from the side or even the back! People buy books to feel something, be educated and connect with humanity in new ways. Heads manages to do all these things without speaking a word.

Fascinating picture hook of bald headed people

I don't know why I bought this book, and I just can't seem to put it down. I hope Kayser will do the same treatment with profiles and 3/4 views. What haunting looks