book-full

This book has been haunting me since I laid eyes on it earlier this year. These large closeup “portraits” by Matthew Rolston of ventriloquist dummies at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, make you realize the individuality of these (largely) arcane performers that convey their age through cracks, wear, and other curious details. The brief history of ventriloquists and their partners at the back is very insightful, and may I suggest pairing this book with Marco Anelli’s Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramović (Damiani, 2012), because the inadvertent similarities and parallels will kind of blow your mind.