Title: Certain people
First published: 1985
Description: "Countless photographers have focused their cameras on the cowboy's way of life and rodeo, the sport it spawned, but few have been as talented as Markus or Mauskopf. Both work strictly in black-and-white, producing images that display masterful technique and composition. Mauskopf has taken a traditional documentary approach, covering every facet of rodeo life: the travel, the preparations, the events, and the personalities. Complementing the photographs are extensive quotes from the cowboys and assorted hangers-on. The words and pictures reinforce each other, presenting the sport and the participants as rugged, rough, and romantic. Though predictable in its point of view, Rodeo is enjoyable. Markus's book combines formal portraits with shots of cowboys going about their daily routines; the latter are the more interesting. The book's large format accentuates the wide open spaces in which these men work. They are pictured against the backdrop of large skies in places like Tuscorara, Nevada, and Channing, Texas, doing what cowboys have done since the mid-1800s. In fact, Markus seems to have made a conscious effort to capture something of the quality of photos taken at the turn of the century. Unfortunately, this attempt at authenticity seems slightly contrived. Still, he, like Mauskopf, has brought an unusually impressive style to a hackneyed subject"--Amazon.com from Library Journal.
Subjects: Portrait photography, Social life and customs, Documentary photography, Pictorial works, Cowboys, Photography, artistic
People: Robert Mapplethorpe
LC classification: TR680 .M296 1985