REFLECTIONS OF VENICE
Art and Beauty in the Water
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5.0 • 19 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Reflections of Venice–Art and Beauty in the Water, is a multimedia book created in iBooks Author specifically for iBooks. It is a unique portrait of a much portrayed city, consisting of photos and video of reflections in the canals and in the water, ranging from mirror image views to impressionistic images all the way to entirely abstract shapes and colors, accompanied by descriptive text and captions.
This is not a guidebook to Venice, though it has much to interest those who plan to visit La Serenissima and to those who have been there and are seeking memories of their visit. The book contains over 250 beautiful photos, 9 videos, a slideshow, a gallery of paintings and an audio clip, plus text. There is a section with maps of Venice and the Lagoon plus an extensive glossary with Venice-related terms, some in English, some in Italian.
This is a photography book which will appeal to photographers seeking ways to assert their originality in a world that has gone mad on the subject of photography; it is an art book which will inspire many artists to create different kinds of paintings and drawings, ranging from watercolors to abstract art; it is a travel book which presents an extraordinary city in an unusual way.
Reflections of Venice will appeal to anyone who has an eye for the beautiful.
The book is designed for iPad and Mac and is not recommended for iPhone.
Customer Reviews
Reflections of Venice
It is rare to experience a new perspective on this beloved city and yet that is exactly what has been accomplished. The glorious languid images are not only beautiful but also fascinating. There are abstract reflections that mirror the ingenious porphyry walls of the Basilica San Marco, and all of a sudden the marble incrustations make perfect sense! David has used the multi-media benefits of this platform wisely, offering video, audio, and an interactive glossary, none of which would be possible in a printed book. REFLECTIONS OF VENICE brings a remarkable awareness to this enchanting city “in” the water. Bravo David!
Inspiring New View of Venice, Exceeded Expectations
Wow! I have followed David’s photography and writing for some years and while I know he has a fantastic eye and is a terrific storyteller, Reflections of Venice was a surprise. It made me feel like I was on a journey and I really enjoyed becoming more and more surprised as I moved through the book. The images are all captivating, with several drawing me in to their own mysterious world and honestly those need to be art on my wall. I hope that many a world traveler get the chance to be inspired by this book! PS: The Venice geography and maps section is going to be helpful for anyone heading to Venice whether they’ve been there or not :)
Brilliant work of art
From the very beginning of Reflections of Venice, the author draws us creatively into the watery world of Venice. What a brilliant artifice: changing scenes by having a drop of water fall and ripple into the next scene. What a brilliant "looking outside the box”: capturing all the images for the book from the reflections in that same water, of the scenes in Venice. This is what we count on from good photographers: to draw our attention to the world in a way we have not seen before, and so changing our perceptions and worldview. In this book, which ranges from mirror-image realism all the way to complete abstraction, David Phillips seems to have captured the entire range of the art world itself between the covers. Quite a feat, as is coming up with a completely new view of a city that is probably one of the most photographed and painted in the world.
The images, occasionally syncopated with the well-saturated colors and the sharpness of objects photographed above the water for contrast, plumb the depths of the Venetian psyche, if a city can have a psyche, by use of another artifice that works very well indeed: capitalizing on a process that we all engage in when in a reflective mood: staring into still waters that run deep. In this rumination, Phillips allows the buildings and reflected scenes to speak for themselves, giving up some of the ghosts, eliciting a sense of the trials and tribulations, excesses and passions that have characterized this ancient city over the centuries. Now that is masterful—to photograph no people at all but nevertheless to have the viewer elicit by their own rumination, the lives of those who had gone before. A simple comparison with the lifeless images that are too often taken of buildings in cities serves to show how the author’s approach has given us the window into life that marks all great works.
I keep using the word “artifice” with good reason: it comes from Latin meaning “to make art,” and that is exactly what David Phillips is doing with his his unique perception and techniques. I look forward to more of his work.
Steven Ferry