Personal Vision: Photographs [Hardcover]

Cowans is one of the great unrecognized photographic luminaries of our time [and has] creating one of the major archives of a living American photographer today, seen here for the first time in an expansive collection.This book is a must-have for photography enthusiasts, history buffs, African-American history aficionados, and anyone who wishes to view the evolution one of the most important photographers of our time....for a much-needed dose of spiritual nourishment and artistic inspiration, look no further than Personal Vision, the handsome new monograph of the photographer Adger Cowans terrific body of work.Though the Metropolitan Museum and MoMA have exhibited his professional work, [Adger Cowans'] book... features frames from his personal collection. The tome contains 40 years of photographs  including Malcolm X at a rally on Fifth Avenue, Halle Berry and Al Pacino on set, and portraits of Gordon Parks.'Personal Vision' attests to Mr. Cowans mastery, featuring a broad range of photographic subjects& Pulsing with the heartbeat of their subjects, these images make visible that which is often unseen: the complex humanity that defines each of us, making us far more similar than different& Mr. Cowans production has been prodigious.Over the course of a long career that included an apprenticeship with Gordon Parks, a run as a successful magazine portraitist and film set photographer and a longstanding interest in fine art, Adger Cowans has been driven by the desire to capture emotion& [Personal Vision] celebrates the span of his work, from street studies to portraits of creators ranging from Romare Bearden, pictured with his cat, to Mick Jagger napping in a hammock. Asked what he has meant to the world of photography, Cowans replied, 'I dont think like that. Spirit touches me and something comes out. It belongs with the world, it doesnt belong with me.' Mr. Cowans also paints, makes music, and works with fiber, bolstering his Renaissance Man stature. The book rlĂ3