Hips

By Patrick Roddie

The human hip is one of the most enigmatic and alluring parts of the body. Photographer Patrick Roddie makes portraits by framing the sensuous curve and swell of his subjects to create a stunning body of work that reveals endless variations on the same shot. Hips is a collection of 250 arresting and inspired photographs of hips (some in costume, some in body paint, some in nothing at all), taken at the vibrant and insanely creative annual international arts festival known as Burning Man. Each subject is photographed in the exact same position, but the images themselves are varied and unique, providing a rich kaleidoscope of self-expression and individuality wherein conventional rules and regulations no longer apply. This highly original photographic document, captured in a chunky and irresistible package, portrays a style and sensibility that cannot be properly defined with words, and offers a visual portfolio to spur the imagination from an instinctive photographer who shoots straight from the hip.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811847047
• ISBN13: 9780811847049
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 1.0" x 1.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Who knew hips were so hot?!

Beautiful photos of an oft-overlooked part of the body that is -- now that I think about it -- a stunning intersection of the functional and the sensual. Great conversation/titillation piece for the coffee table.

Beautiful!

This is a quirky and cool book that delivers exactly what it promises....hips! Lots, and lots and lots of hips. And if you thought that the vocabulary of hips was limited, think again. Without showing a single name or face, or using any descriptive text, Patrick Roddie manages to capture a unique and distinct personality in every shot. As he notes in the afterword, these pictures speak for themselves. Recommended.

A rainbow's palette of Burning Man

It is so hard to describe the Burningman experience to some one who hasn't been there. When looking at any pictures of BM you view the experience from the eyes of the participant and in this case the artist/photographer. Whilst you can never truly understand the experience from afar, this book will give you a good idea of the creativity not only spawned by the hips (and creative minds) of these participants, but what the event spawns in the creativity that it creates in me and those whom experience what is a life changing, artistic event. Roddie, a great photographer, gives the reader a good idea and road trip of that which inspires this wild, creative epoch of BM fashion. And for those whom have been to BM, it will forever bring up a cascade of good vibes and reminenicenses.

Finally, a "Burning Man book" without the Burning Man

I've been waiting for a book like this for a long time - a Burning Man photography book that does nothing but simply focus on the many different varieties of playa fashion that exist out there in Black Rock City. However, I must admit that I wasn't expecting something quite so, um ... narrowly focused! No, this isn't a Shoichi Aoki's "Fruits" for the Burning Man crowd. Because, in this case, all the playa fashions shown are purely limited to only showcasing the hips of Burners. Yup, that's it. Just the hips. Nothing else. No faces, no full body shots, no nothing except the right hip of 250 assorted Burning Man attendees. But, oh, what a fashionable right hip it is! All the photos are closely-cropped in a very similar fashion, which makes for a very mesmerizing quick flip-through. (And really, with a book such as this, a quick flip-through is what will happen every time you pick up the book - probably while sitting in the bathroom.) The beauty, however, is in that every time you flip though it, you will discover an image that you had previously passed over. Perhaps it will be a particular tattoo that will draw your attention, or a juxtaposition of colors. But there's definitely enough here to satisfy months of bathroom time - and I'm sure it's no coincidence that the book's size is perfect for sitting atop a commode! What I really love about this book is that it's a Burning Man book, but without ever showing the same tired images of the Man, or playa art, or theme camps, or any of the usual, cliched Black Rock City imagery. In fact, this book really has very little to do with the actual event itself. Instead, it focuses on the only reason I still go to Burning Man - it's the people! But who are these people in 'Hips'? Certainly, based on the photos, you're given a bunch of clues. But there's gloriously little text, and no captions, which lends every image an air of mystery. In the end, you're simply left with a wonderful, highly-focused study of the hips of Burners - and the fashion that adorns them!

Bold, Evocative, Compact

If you ever wanted to get a sense of the creativity, hedonism and otherworldly experience that is the annual Burning Man festival, the simplest, easiest and most cost-effective way to do so is to pick up Patrick Roddie's "Hips." The photographer had the brilliant idea to shoot the unique mid-sections of reveler after reveler at the desert gathering, edit his favorites and assemble them into a book. The repetition of motif from page to page may recall Warhol's use of repeated, slightly altered images, but the singular nature of each subject's body and style in Roddie's book creates a mosaic effect that amounts to a microcosmic view of the event and its participants. Beautifully designed and fun to flip through, "Hips" brings Burning Man to your home, minus the brutal sun, sand storms, rain and mud. It's also a perfect gift for any weekend Bohemian who longs to join the art tribes in the desert and just can't get it together.