Document Type
Review Essay
Abstract
[First paragraph]
Antonin Kratochvil's Incognito is a coffee table book of black and white portraits of American celebrities. Kratochvil is most recognized for his photojournalism in Eastern Europe (he was the first recipient of the Eyewitness Essay Award), and celebrity portraits are presumably a different challenge for the photographer. Experienced in capturing the harsh reality of war and human suffering, Kratochvil now cuts through the make-up and glamour of the entertainment industry in order for us to see celebrities for who they truly are: Bill Paxton in a gritty urban landscape, Kevin Bacon obscured by shadows. Kratochvil's celebrity photos are billed as a spontaneous alternative to Annie Leibovitz's elaborately arranged portraits of the stars, or as Kratochvil explains in the interview in the back of the book, "I'm trying to work on the other side of the spectrum of [Leiboviz]... I'm always trying to deliver something real... I try to cut through the bullshit" [1].
Repository Citation
McConnell, Kathleen. "On Antonil Kratchovil's Incognito." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 3, no. 1, 2003, pp. 1–3. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol3/iss1/8