December 2004 • Observed
Polidori’s Metropolis
By Karen E. Steen
Robert Polidori may be the greatest architectural photographer of his time—but don’t tell him that. “I don’t photograph architecture,” he says. “I photograph habitats. Rooms are metaphors of soul life, our prenatal life. When human beings build a house or a room, they’re actually recreating a womb.” That urge, he says, comes out of Christian metaphors about being unhappily naked in a cold world. “Look at the monkeys, man,” he implores. “They live in trees and stuff because they still have all their fur.”
Finding Polidori’s conversation as colorful as his work, Metropolis decided to publish a book encompassing both: Robert Polidori’s Metropolis, the magazine’s new imprint, Metropolis Books. Polidori’s observations, like his photographs, are sharp, engrossing, and utterly unique.
Robert Polidori’s Metropolis is available now. If you’d like to order a copy, please call (800) 338-2665 or visit www.artbook.com.
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