From: donz@ui.org (Don Zirilli)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Maddona's new book
Date: 12 Nov 92 19:01:21 GMT
Organization: UNIX International, Parsippany, NJ

In article <1dtvtaINNm2e@morrow.stanford.edu> francis@oas.stanford.edu (Francis Muir) writes:
>That sounds like an honest, if somewhat brief, crit. I must confess to some
>irritation at the several readers who have posted on this new book and give 
>no indication of having actually opened it. For myself I would like to hear 
>an informed description and commentary on the book. There's been too much
>authorial intent crap and too many sermonettes from our resident Roundheads.
>
>							Fido

Ah...finally a book that I have read!  :-)

I got this book as a Waldenbooks preferred reader for a mere 40 bucks
American (should've been even less, actually.  I smell a rat at the
Middletown NY Waldenbooks).  

First of all, whether it is aware of it or not, this book is following the
tradition of what are called 'Art Books' by some (the library at MoMA,
f'rinstance).  For example, it has a metal cover (critics say its
aluminum), which is reminiscent of the metal books created by the Futurists
in the Twenties.  The Futurists were making a statement about incorporating
technology into the arts.  Madonna is probably not so sure what statement
she is making, however--but I still like the cover because it does place
the book into a tradition AND Madonna really does represent a sort of
Futurism that touts Pop Culture as some sort of future technology (and vice
versa).  Plus, it goes well with the completely unglossed paper (sorry I
don't know the technical term) and all together makes me think of this book
as something of a presentation of different pieces of art--each page, or
each spread, or each few pages have their own "presence"

Now that I've said it is a group of presences and I like this context, I
must say that the individual presences are of highly inconsistent quality.
Most of the prose is downright silly as are some of the photographs.  But
many of the photos are quite interesting and well-done.

Oh, bother.  Let me just explain why I like this book.  This book would be
tripe if it were done by anyone but Madonna.  However, Madonna has her own
tradition, a tradition of defining and redefining herself.  This book
continues that tradition, but now at last she's defining herself in ways
that actually seem somewhat off the beaten track (at least off of a track
that's been beaten by the masses).  She has a disclaimer in the beginning
saying that it's all a fantasy, but I find the disclaimer irrelevant.
Every image she's ever given us is a fantasy.  So what's in the new
definition?  Well, she's a bisexual (but she still expresses an ultimate
need for the Great Pee-pee which is an unfortunate concession to the
porn-readers in her audience), she likes S&M, etc etc, all kinky behavior,
all done before.  What makes this important to me is that Madonna, a Pop
icon, is incorporating this kinkiness into Pop, the Pop of one of the most
sexually repressed countries in the Western world (USA).  In Europe, this
book might be completely trivial (you'll have to ask a European), but to
have this book be a NUMBER ONE BEST SELLER in the US is a work of Genius.
And that is what's always intrigued me about Madonna.  The wonderful
contradiction of a Shallow, Blithering Genius.

So go out and buy your own copy!  (especially if you're a practitioner of 
voyeuristic masturbation)

Yours,

Posthumous O'Toole



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