Extreme Culture Review

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(More customer reviews)The predispositions of culture as defined by the "intellectual side of civilization" are part of the subject phenomenon to deconstruct society.Therefore, subculture, even further splintered from its original base definition, is the adjunct to the study - the wayward child throwing the uniformity of the normal out of balance.The fundamental significance of subculture interrupts the principles of unity and can offend, but is designed to redefine and illustrate the unique.

Pockets of non-conformity have been acknowledged throughout history, but became associated with style in the Dada art movement of the early 20th century.Ultimately, the revolutionary discourse unfolded with the polarization of the working class society, sparking the mod movement of the 1960s and thereafter the punk rock outlaws.Coming full circle, our society still marginalizes the fringe of humanity, most evidently seen in contemporary youth culture.

The real power behind subculture relies on its statement, but is it art?In his new book, "Extreme Culture: A Photo Anthology", San Diego based photographer Greg Passmore explores the fascination with severe subculture and molds a photographic narrative of the disaffected consciousness of counterculture.In it are individuals painted, sculpted, and etched, resulting in an artistically intrinsic menagerie of the sexual macabre and at times, poetic images of personal expression and young human frailty.

Passmore is known not only for his innovative technical uses of 3D laser scanners for special effects photography, but also as a forerunner for fetish and alternative fashion photography.This book culminates all of his devices on a palette of technically advanced photo work and complex and seductive subject matter.

The models in the book, with respect to genres, aren't just punks, goths, vampires, cyborgs, and heavily modified derelicts.They are women and men with passions and talents who feel their self better fits on the hem side of culture.Passmore includes with his photographs, text of his impressions of his subjects, giving identity to the sometimes overlooked and nameless faces behind the camera.

The appeal of the book points to its large format color photographs, where we are confronted with erotic latex-clad figures, zombie-like insanity, the haunting pallor of death, bloodied appendages, and beautifully tattooed and pierced bodies.The reality of suicide, drug abuse, and brutal confrontations are fully explored behind the facades of the images, perhaps to offend, but more so to push the envelope of radical privilege.These are significant issues that society needs to come to terms with.It's not necessarily about acceptance, it's about recognition.

While Passmore leans towards darker sensibilities, the book balances the images between the morbidly eccentric and the strikingly statuesque.Not meant just as a coffee table book, "Extreme Culture" exists as a voyeuristic interlude into a bizarre, but deeply personal realm.The challenge to investigate falls into the lap of the curious or experienced, whichever decides to dive into the deep end first.

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Product Description:
photographic look at the extremes of American Culture. Goths, punks, industrial, bod/mod and more. This large format book contains hundreds of images by noted fashion photographer Greg Passmore. In it, he takes you on a visual journey to the outer boundaries of current youth fashion and style.

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