 | |
| | Publisher: Smart Art Press
Salesrank: 1716154
|
| Our Price: $125.00 |
|
|
| Media: Paperback |
|
Editorial Review:
Recent Forgeries documents Viggo's first solo exhibition. It is an extraordinary look into the mind of an artist whose boundless creative output touches a myriad of media, from photography to painting to poetry to acting. Recent Forgeries includes a CD with music and spoken-word poetry. Introduction by Dennis Hopper.
Softcover, 7 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches, 110 pages, 83 reproductions
ISBN: 1-889195-32-4 7th Edition
Recent Forgeries Reviews:
Poesie at its best 
2008-06-16 - It's not only a book. It's an experience, a stop in your live, a konstant compagnion. A book always to have near just in case you want to be told a story, to find a new way to look upon your live. A creativ way. You think about it, you do it. It is so encouraging! Thank you, Viggo Mortensen!
If Forgeries, Where's Reality 
2005-03-10 - As a compilation of writings and musing with photographs and muted paintings, this book reads like a very intensely personal diary/journal and family photo album with an obsession for "RED." Because of the melancholic nature of the writings, it was difficult to comprehend the reality of "Forgeries." The photos show clarity, concise images with good composition though many are personal family shots. It is an interesting view of the author's family and home life but surpising, as a celebrity, anyone would want this much exposure to one's personal private life for outsiders to take a peek. Amazingly many of these photos and location for photo shots reoccur in other publication by the author/artist/photographer. The book is for the curious but not an inspiration as a keeper for literary and artistic merits.
This book is available
2005-01-31 - I've had this book on my wish list for some time but haven't ordered it. Now, it's no longer available here or other popular bookstores. However, I did find it from Percival Press and I didn't have to pay double! Hope this helps.
Surprising and beautiful. 
2004-11-11 - Viggo Mortensen, Recent Forgeries (1998, Smart Art Press)
Did you know Viggo Mortensen, alternately by turns Lucifer, Aragorn, the American Yakuza, and Tex is also an accomplished painter, poet, short fiction writer, and musician? (Well, I'm taking the "musician" part on faith, because the CD had been removed from the copy of this I just finished by someone who is not me.) And I'm not talking "accomplished" like Jimmy Stewart, Jewel, and Ally Sheedy are accomplished. Nope, Mortensen can be a little loose with his verbiage sometimes, but the man's got it. (And, really, all those reviews from people who had never heard of the man until Lord of the Rings? Where you folks been for twenty years? You never saw The Prophecy? Albino Alligator? Witness? The Indian Runner? The awful remake of Psycho? Get thee to a video store.) And while I'm far less schooled in the arts of photography and painting than I am poetry, it's obvious that Mortensen's photographs have a definite thematic unity to them, when they show up in series, and that the man has an eye for what makes a good picture. The paintings, which have a more restrained Basquiat-esque feel (one wonders if Mortensen's dating Julian Schnabel's daughter had any effect on that), seem as if they're a bit more confused, but still powerful. I liked the representations of both here, certainly enough to go looking for Mortensen's other published works in those two areas.
The poetry was what really floored me. The short fiction is good, but the poetry rips it up (aside, as I said, from some loose verbiage here and there). Mortensen is a man who truly understands the value of image in poetry. You'd think that obvious from someone who works in the film industry, but take a read of Jimmy Stewart's book sometime and get back to me on that. I guarantee you won't find anything as worthy of being called poetry as
...An errant vine has sprouted
two blue flowers
where it reaches
roots of the lemon tree.
They are beautiful;
I am suspicious.
("Cuttings")
A wonderful little book. Probably more wonderful had not some enterprising soul stolen the CD, but I can recommend it without hesitation. And come on, people, add a copy of Albino Alligator, one of the best films ever made, to your order. ****
Convincing "Forgeries"
2004-04-21 - He's a poet, he's a painter, he's a photographer. Don't think Viggo Mortensen is just an actor, as talented as he is in that. "Recent Forgeries" is a collage of his works of all kinds, with poetry woven together with pictures and paintings... not to mention the CD. Pieced together but never patchy, this is a must-have.
Mortensen offers a display of poetry, often melancholy and thoughtful ("I taste the blood/that shimmered/on your lips/Lingering, like guilt does"). There's also a selection of what seem like short stories woven in, like the slice-of-life "Relay" or the charming "Bedtime Story For Henry." And of course, paintings and photographs: the vivid "Sun Losing Its Yellow," soothingly surreal "Mute," and the quiet still photographs like "School." (A mildly decayed stone gate)
Accompanying the "Recent Forgeries" book is a CD, in which Mortensen reads his poetry out loud, including "Bedtime Story For Henry," "Clear," and a handful that are not included in the book itself. Mortensen's smooth voice is accompanied by Buckethead, DJ Bonebrake and others.
Most people who act don't have a lot of artistic dimension beyond that. Chalk one up for the eclectic bohemian: Mortensen has mastered self-expression in different ways, and shows it well in "Recent Forgeries." There's a little of everything -- everything, that is, that can be pressed between book covers. Along the way, the photos, paint and words seem to run together into a sweeping, colorful landscape.
Mortensen's assorted artwork can evoke anything -- his poetry ranges from funny (like the quirky "Home") to poignant to ironic, and his artwork can be soft or angular, usually filled with great waves of color. At first some of them look random, but closer inspection shows just how careful and deliberate they are. His photographs are about the only thing that stay the same -- Mortensen focuses on little things that most people would miss, like signs, trees, empty stone gates with overgrown roads, and so on.
A rich, well-rounded look into the mind of a talented artist. Viggo Mortensen's "Recent Forgeries" is a treat for anyone who appreciates art in all its forms. A rare creation, well worth having.
