Marcel Marceau
Master of Mime
Published on 20. March 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
162 pages
978-1-64197-258-1 (ISBN)
Description
"My art is an elusive art . . . making the invisible visible and the visible invisible."-Marcel Marceau
His face chalked, his head crowned by a ridiculous pink-feathered hat, Marcel Marceau stands alone in the glare of a spotlight and creates worlds of experience-yet never utters a sound. (He has even depicted the creation of the world in his most ambitious work.) Marceau is "the master of mime," a wizard of illusion, one of the theater's supreme artists. This magical book grew out of his friendship with photographer Ben martin. The text reviews Marceau's life, influences and philosophy, describes the traditions he inherited, and pays homage to his towering talent, which enabled him to surpass them. The hundreds of brilliant photographs show the private life as well as the public image-periods of relaxation as well as electrifying moments in performance-and, as always, they testify to the mystery, the silent eloquence, the thousand and one gestures of Marceau, the genius who revolutionized the ancient art of pantomime.
"A superb collection of photos . . . a treasure"-Los Angeles Times
"Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime" is a beautiful and moving book . . . a tribute worthy of its star."-St. Louis Globe-Democrat
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
465 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64197-258-1 (9781641972581)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ben Martin presents a photojournalist's view of Marcel Marceau in Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime, portraying the legendary mime artist behind the scenes, rehearsing, in performance and at home. Begun as a Life magazine pictorial in the mid-1970s, their artistic collaboration produced an intense, intimate portrait of the mime, whose stage creation, a white-faced clown in bell-bottom pants, sailor's pullover and crumpled flower opera hat, continued a century old tradition. In more than 350 photographs, 80 in exquisite color, Martin captures Marceau behind the scenes, rehearsing, applying makeup, and performing on stage, showing the artist expressing his miraculous emotional range as Bip, his onstage alter ego. Ben Martin (1930-2017), was mentored by W. Eugene Smith and hired by Wilson Hicks as a staff photographer at Time/Life upon graduation from Ohio University. He covered wars, fashion, politics, arts, business and sports for Time, Life, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated for thirty-three years. He covered Martin Luther King Jr.'s march from Selma to Montgomery, the first Nixon-Kennedy Presidential debate, Fidel Castro in Cuba and "Swinging London," capturing "evocative images that defined the 1960s," according to the New York Times. His books include A Different World and Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime. His archive is housed at the Briscoe Center, University of Texas, Austin.