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Donata: Islands of Silence

by Donata Wenders

Photographs: Donata Wenders

Text: Siri Hustvedt, Mark Gisbourne

Publisher: Prestel Verlag

128 pages

Pictures: 48 duotone photographs

Year: 2006

ISBN: 978-3791336558

Price: 45 €

In this exquisite collection of everyday scenes and portraits of both famous and unknown people, photographer Donata Wenders reveals her talent for capturing the extraordinary within the everyday. Although she has 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 given her opportunities to catch her famous subjects in rare moments of unselfconsciousness. Including - actors: Andie McDowell, Milla Jovovic, Jessica Lang, and Jeremy Davis; musicians: Sam Phillips and Omara Portuondo (Buena Vista Social Club); dancer: Pina Bausch; artists: Balthus and Peter Lindbergh; authors: Siri Hustvedt; and, other VIPs: Wim Wenders, Yohji Yamamoto, and Michelangelo Antonioni. 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. "These images feel eternal to me, like they were always going to happen. She brings that kind of vision to the here and now. She knows her subjects, it's hope itself. These stills have her grace and composure." - Bono.

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