Description
Book Synopsis"National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. in association with Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford".
Trade Review"In the catalog Ms. Naeem gives this form's democratic range a place in the progressive pantheon."
---Edward Rothstein, Wall Street Journal"
Black Out . . . does the interesting work of considering the history and meaning of the evocative and possibly insidious outlined form. . . . [I]t is the older images that stand out as the most interesting. Less familiar to a majority of readers, the historical context of their creation is particularly rich. . . . In the end, it is the silhouette’s many oppositions and ambiguities that make it so compelling."
---Hannah Stamler, Brooklyn Rail"Readers will come away with a refreshed appreciation of silhouettes, both their significance historically but also their influence on today's artists whose art compels viewers to reflect on identity and its portrayal through time."
---Nancy B. Turner, Library Journal"The catalogue of a 2018–19 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, [
Black Out] examines an overlooked art form particularly popular in the first part of the 19th century, before the advent of photography. . . . There are 98 excellent pictures, a few in full color, plus pictures of tracing machines. The catalogue proper includes 49 examples, all carefully described. Including notes to sources with commentaries, this volume should become the standard reference on the subject." * Choice *
"Presenting the distinctly American story behind the silhouettes in the exhibition,
Black Out vividly delves into the historical roots and contemporary interpretations of this evocative, ever popular form of portraiture."
---Peter Bower, British Paper Historians Journal"The book’s strength is that it speaks to the lives of those without power. For this reason, I highly recommend it."
---Amy Ione, Leonardo Reviews
