THE NATURE OF DESIRE by Michals, Duane (Artist/Photographer); Whitman, Walt (Poet) & Woody, Jack (Designer) - 1986

Pasadena, CA: Twelvetrees Press, 1986. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. Pasadena, CA: Twelvetrees Press, 1986. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 96 pages. Artist Book. One of the most beautiful art photography books of the 20th century. Deluxe Slipcased Edition of 50 numbered and signed copies. Should not be confused with the First Limited Edition of 5000 copies, which was issued simultaneously with it, or the 1992 Second Edition. The Deluxe and First Limited Editions have the same ISBN. The Deluxe Edition is now rare. An austerely elegant production by Duane Michals and Jack Woody: Oversize-volume format. Blue cloth boards with titles embossed on cover and spine, as issued. Photographs and poetry by Duane Michals. Matching blue cloth slipcase with titles embossed on one side and spine. Printed in sheetfed gravure on thick, uncoated stock paper in Tokyo, Japan to the highest standards. The reproduction quality is outstanding in every respect. In white-dominant pictorial DJ with black titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents, in its Deluxe Edition format, Duane Michals' "The Nature of Desire". The very first collaboration between the artist/photographer and the pioneering photography book designer Jack Woody. An ardent sequence of photographic narrative-cum-original poetry on erotic love, it is dedicated to Walt Whitman. Self-contained parts, now identified with Michals, have been reproduced in various subsequent collections: "Narcissus", "The Most Beautiful Part of A Man's Body", and "How Nice To Watch You Take A Bath". Michals is often regarded as a male-nude photographer, which is misleading (indeed, wrong) because while he has photographed the male body, his real theme is the way reverie transforms life's ordinary moments into something numinous and magical. Duane Michals' Artist Books are among the most innovative - and beautiful - photobooks ever made. Yet they remain under-recognized as such by the mainstream, partly because of their explicit homo-eroticism (which always makes emotionally stunted, straight photographers squeamish) . "Photography reproduces with exquisite fidelity the appearance of things. But things are not always what they appear to be. By its nature, it cannot show the true realm of experience, the invisible world of our emotions. I feel that language combined with photography helps me express myself more precisely and intimately". This is why his photographic narratives are liberating and revolutionary, expanding the possibilities of the photographic image by turning it into a photographic sequence that tells a story (with and without words) . An absolute "must-have" title for Duane Michals collectors. <b><i> This is a copy of the Deluxe Slipcased Edition of 50 copies, indicated/numbered as such on the Back Limitation Page. It is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen by Duane Michals. This title is a classic. As far as we know, this is the only copy of the Deluxe Edition available online and is especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Should NOT be confused with the First Limited Edition or the 1992 Second Edition. A rare signed copy thus. </b></i> 45 gravure plates. One of the greatest artist/photographers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER DUANE MICHALS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0942642236.