Donata: Islands of Silence: The Photography of Donata Wenders

Although she spent many years assisting her husband, filmmaker Wim Wenders, Donata Wenders is a celebrated photographer in her own right. Her access to some of the most important creative figures of our day-musicians, artists, actors, and dancers-has allowed her opportunities to catch her famous subjects in rare moments of unselfconsciousness. Presented in an elegant package that features a linen jacket and gold embossing, these sumptuous black-and-white images of celebrities and ordinary people illustrate moments of exquisite contemplation, which she likens to "islands of silence." Accompanied by essays from novelist Siri Hustvedt and critic Mark Gisbourne, these glimpses of everyday life remind us of the world we all inhabit, regardless of our fame.

In this exquisite collection of portraits of both famous and unknown people, photographer Donata Wenders reveals her talent for capturing the extraordinary within the everyday.

Although she spent many years assisting her husband, filmmaker Wim Wenders, Donata Wenders is a celebrated photographer in her own right. Her access to some of the most important creative figures of our day-musicians, artists, actors, and dancers-has allowed her opportunities to catch her famous subjects in rare moments of unselfconsciousness. Presented in an elegant package that features a linen jacket and gold embossing, these sumptuous black-and-white images of celebrities and ordinary people illustrate moments of exquisite contemplation, which she likens to "islands of silence." Accompanied by essays from novelist Siri Hustvedt and critic Mark Gisbourne, these glimpses of everyday life remind us of the world we all inhabit, regardless of our fame.

Debora Miller Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information - Library Journal

Long immersed in film, theater, and the arts, Wenders (b. 1965) has worked professionally as a photographer since 1995. She has been internationally published and exhibited and has written several books in collaboration with her husband, filmmaker Wim Wenders. For this, her first solo monograph, she pulls from across her oeuvre a collection of 60 intimate and strangely quiet black-and-white images of people, some of them famous (e.g., choreographer Pina Bausch, actress/model Milla Jovovich). Taken together, these images are studies of observed reflection, engagement, and self-immersion, a meditation on self-imposed isolation and privacy. Two images, one of a bird in a cage, the other of a misted island, bookend the collection, informing Wenders's theme and setting the tone. Exploiting grain, contrast, and focus to dramatic yet serene effect, the images are both filmic and profoundly still. These are not stolen shots of someone in motion; they are revealed moments of stoppage, often within hectic surroundings. Through them, Wenders is asking us to pay attention, observe, and relate. Novelist Hustvedt and critic Gisbourne contribute essays. Elegantly reproduced with excellent print quality; recommended for large fine art collections with potential crossover to film sections.