{"product_id":"robert-frank-zero-mostel-reads-a-book-hardcover","title":"Robert Frank: Zero Mostel Reads a Book - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobert Frank\u003c\/b\u003e (Photographer)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA delightful moment of slapstick in Robert Frank's oeuvre\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe female subject absorbed in a book has prompted masterworks from Vermeer, Monet, Vuillard and Matisse, among many others. Less often portrayed are men in the act of reading--even Manet's portrait of ﾉmile Zola depicts the writer staring away from his open volume. Is it the supposed passivity of this act that has discouraged men from modeling it? This mini-genre remains even less explored yet by photographers, though it surely offers the supreme opportunity for coaxing subjects of either sex into unself-consciousness, if not outright reverie. In \u003ci\u003eZero Mostel Reads a Book\u003c\/i\u003e, Robert Frank takes a male comic actor for his subject but flouts the genre's quietist sobriety in every way possible. Mostel is depicted in cartoonish dimensions, bemused, baffled and apoplectic, as he makes his way through an unidentified hardback volume, while seated at a table or on a sofa in a large lounge area. First published in 1963 by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e \"for the fun of it\" and a collector's item ever since, this lovely publication relates a series of theatrical and playful vignettes in which Mostel's most famous roles--Tevye in \u003ci\u003eFiddler on the Roof\u003c\/i\u003e, Pseudolus in \u003ci\u003eA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum\u003c\/i\u003e and Max Bialystock in \u003ci\u003eThe Producers\u003c\/i\u003e--are clearly signaled. It is a delightful moment of slapstick in the Frank oeuvre.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 40\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.32 x 8.72 x 5.97 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 01, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47461335728306,"sku":"9783865215864","price":21.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/db8cebcc8957a6a15ebcd8737d68e847.webp?v=1778946881","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/robert-frank-zero-mostel-reads-a-book-hardcover","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}