Viggo Mortensen is an actor celebrated for his compelling performances in epic film trilogies and critically acclaimed dramas. His acting is marked by a profound depth and an ability to embody diverse characters, often exploring the intricacies of the human psyche and complex moral quandaries. Beyond his screen work, Mortensen is a multifaceted artist, expressing himself through poetry, music, photography, and painting, reflecting a truly holistic creative spirit.
Viggo Mortensen presents new contexts for old feelings, trusting the formation of sentences that may or may not take me anywhere and the images that may or may not show us something we can see. Configurations of photographs and words captured near and far, shown clearly or hardly at all, in a continuing effort to trail lost memory and hold mirror shards to what we discard.
This long awaited second publication by the highly recognized film actor and artist/poet, Viggo Mortensen melds his acutely sensitive ability to intertwine words, paintings and photography into one lyrical conceptual landscape. Working like a personal diary, SignLanguage, takes us on a visual journey into the soul of Mortensen's creative forces. His diary-based photographs, taken while filming 'The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Rings' become dream-like landscapes shrouded in mystery and suspense while his multi-layered paintings entwine themselves around stanzas of poetry. The melding of all three forces allows the reader to become acutely aware of the details surrounding the artists existence, a multiple of split-second images burned into the mind of a thousand different places. SignLanguage exquisitely features extensive color and black and white reproductions of both his photographic works and his intensely personal collage based paintings, partly intertwined in an informative essay by international critic and poet, Kevin Power. Special highlights also include unique photographs by Mortensen while on location during the filming of 'The Lord of the The Fellowship of the Ring'.
The official, fully authorized companion to the second part of Peter Jackson's award-winning trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers Visual Companion is a full-color guide to the characters, places and landscapes of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth as depicted in the second film in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and features a special introduction by Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn. Lavishly illustrated with more than 100 full-color photographs, including exclusive images of Gollum, Treebeard and the battle of Helm's Deep, The Two Towers Visual Companion offers a privileged tour through the principal events of the second film. It begins with a recounting of The Fellowship of the Ring, and then takes the reader on the separate journeys undertaken by the Fellowship in The Two Towers. The Ring Quest: in which Frodo and Sam journey alone towards Mordor, alone that is, except for the sneaking figure of Gollum, who has been dogging their footsteps since Moria. The Captives' Journey: in which Merry and Pippin are carried by the fearsome Uruk-hai towards a fateful encounter with the wizard, Saruman, at the stronghold of Isengard. The Companions' Journey: in which Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli pursue the abducted hobbits across the Plains of Rohan and into the eaves of Fangorn Forest. Also included are a brand new map of Rohan and Gondor and a specially commissioned battle plan of the climactic events at Helm's Deep, where a brave stand will be made by the Free Peoples of Middle-earth against Saruman's horde. The companion offers an unforgettable tour of the haunted swamp of the Dead Marshes and the lovely but dangerous land of Ithilien which borders Mordor, the breathtaking kingdom of Rohan, home of the Horse-lords, its seat of power, Edoras, and the ancient stronghold of Helm's Deep, and provides an invaluable introduction to Peter Jackson's The Two Towers.