Review: "Misty Copeland" by Henry Leutwyler

Misty Copeland by Henry Leutwyler
Published Septemeber 2023 via Steidl
★★★

Gorgeous pictures, of course (I don't imagine that Misty Copeland takes very many bad pictures), but o how I wished for more text!

This is a coffee-table book full of photos that could easily be framed and hung on walls. It's a mix of poses—in some photos Copeland is simply standing; there are a few close-ups (e.g., on her pointe shoe); in some photos she has taken flight. But the words are few: there's a page of commentary on page 8 about 1) a single photograph and 2) the way in which Copeland and Leutwyler are both artists, and this is the product of their mediums working in tandem. And then there's an author's note on page 68, about how Leutwyler met Copeland and they started working together.

And again, make no mistake: the pictures are lovely. But...I'd love for them to tell more of a story, and barring that, I'd love more words. The ankle and foot in battered pointe shoe on page 6: how close to dead is that shoe, and what is the brand, and did it come in a color other than light pink or did (as I suspect) Copeland have to color-match it herself? The pictures on pages 12 and 28 where Copeland is folded in on herself, first on pointe and in a black leotard, and then feet flat and in a white leotard: how did those come about? (They are striking, and they are unlike any ballet that I have seen.) How did Leutwyler (or the publisher) decide on the cover photo, in which the only things that give Copeland away as a ballerina rather than a non-ballerina athlete are 1) her pointe shoes and 2) the fact that she has Misty Copeland's face? (There's a pair of photos, taken front and back, in which Copeland is on pointe on one foot and in full extension over her head with the other, and dang it, they'd have made a great pair for front and back covers.)

In what is far and away my favourite photo of the bunch, on page 58, Copeland is again on pointe, one foot raised high above her head. Her arms are crossed—casually—and she's looking a little above the camera, unperturbed, maybe a bit thoughtful. Unfortunately I have a conscience, or I would tear it out of the library book and frame it for my wall. I'm guessing (semieducated, but not expert, guess) that it was one of those split-second-pose moments and a further split second later she was back with two feet on the floor, but the poise and the coolness with which she stares above the camera are impeccable.

Anyway. Gorgeous photos. One for your coffee table if you want something to flip through idly. Not one for your coffee table if you're a word nerd and like overthinking.