[photopress:586_6.jpg,full,alignright]Ahh, pulp novels. Those gritty, rough, testosterone filled paperback books that deliver what they promise.
Heroes, Villains, Women and Action.
In thick doses.
One of the classic literary genres that has a visceral feel all its own. The covers were salacious and graphic in the way a sensational gut level emotional story should be.
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Nothing like sitting on a plane and pouring through the modern version of these.
And I just did.
Yum.

Thomas Allen has a unique take on this genre of paperback book and the aforementioned cover art. His version is all photographic.
Kind of.
What he has done is created 3 dimensional works sometimes combining books, and story lines, sometime sticking with the same message.
He cuts the characters out of the covers in various stages of removal. Then by placing them into a scenario, he uses the lensing and depth of field to bring it all home and create a new scenario with an action like nothing we’ve ever seen.

These images could ONLY be achieved with photography.

After seeing the work exhibited at PhotoLA for a few years, Aperture has finally published a book of his work. Upcoming exhibit also.
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Now they printed it on a hard thick cardstock, which I’m not sure what the concept behind it, but it IS sturdy. How about that?

When we find a unique vision that sticks with us for a while, it’s something we share.Love this work.

And a special thanks to Nick Danger of Firesign Theater for the classic headline.