It is a testament to their artistry that the parts here are greater than the whole, and that the book's muteness only draws attention to the power of its most commanding images.
Although the thousands of roadside portraits bearing his image are gone, a giant relief of the ruler ordering the construction of a bridge across the Tigris is intact, complete with his uniformed, commanding figure.
Where his early work simply collided high and low, black and white, sacred and profane, art and shit, Ofili now makes more commanding, syncretic images – of the raising of Lazarus, or couples boogying on intricately patterned dance floors – that reject such dualism and thrill to mixing, creolisation, and promiscuity.
Another commanding and highly unusual image is Air Show #1, originally taken decades ago using black and white film, which was inadvertently misplaced and then years later when it was found again sent to the lab for processing.
As Mr. Bush faces narrowing economic options at home and rising challenges abroad, some of his advisers said they feared he still did not project the image of a commanding leader.
Then he scrapped the idea — the desk was in bad light and too bulky to move — but the message would have been unmistakable: Mr. Paterson was determined to project the image of a commanding and sure-footed leader at a time of deepening uncertainty.
The image of the commanding Supreme Pontiff has been replaced by that of the softer, gentler Holy Father.
Again and again, strong color, bold composition and a commanding internal scale render simple images complex.
In these images, Lucas is commanding and sober-seeming, even when her environs offer a subversive note of humor.
Other images depict women as commanding and powerful, as they are frequently characterized in Mr. Meyer's films.
