The Command to Look was one of William Mortensen's most influential and sought-after books, and has been out of print for fifty years. Reproduced here in full, this book includes an essay by Michael Moynihan on how its images influenced the occult "lesser magic" of the founder of the Church of Satan, Anton Szandor LaVey. The book reproduces fifty-five images of Mortensen's best work and text by the wittiest and most biting writers on photography of their time.
"There's a reason why Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, called upon Mortensen's artistic aesthetic and psycho-optical theories when creating LaVeyan Satanism and iconography of the Church. But you don't have to be the Black Pope to appreciate or make use of Mortensen's trademark techniques for commanding the gaze."
The Alibi
"Command to Look--influential, especially in renegade realms. Feral House simultaneously published the exquisite compendium American Grotesque."
Shawn Macomber, Fangoria
"Mortensen was a giant, and it is time to acknowledge his stature. Buy both of these new books. But be warned: if you do, you may well find yourself haunting used bookshops and the internet to round out your collection with everything he ever wrote."
