The Art of the SNL Portrait by Mary Ellen Matthews

Book review.

First, a confession:  about this collection of celebrity portraits, which were shown as “bumpers” (for three seconds before commercials) on Saturday Night Live – well, mostly these are people I’ve never heard of.  Mick Jagger – check; Martin Short – check; Steve Martin – check.  Who the hell is Bad Bunny?  I’d have to comb through the rest to find a handful that, maybe, left some fleeting imprint on my consciousness.  Must have something to do with the fact that 11:30 is way past my bedtime.  The pictures are stunning – but, remember, I’m not a fan of digital manipulation and these images absolutely scream Photoshop.  The photographer is Mary Ellen Matthews and she has a crew for god’s sake.  A few favorites:  Alec Baldwin (oh – I know him) as the Godfather; some guy and his dog raising their paws; some gal as Gilda Radner; a The Birds spoof.  No camera info or other technical information and not even an acknowledgement that at some point the photographers (initially Edie Baskin) must have switched from film to digital.  I get the feeling that I was not the target audience for this book.  Two f-stops (out of five).  

My copy was from the Mendocino County Library.