Resources for Chapter 3 —
The Body Itself — A Survey of Modes
Nobuyoshi Araki
Obsessed with women, and particularly their crotches, Araki's attitude toward
women is routinely cited as a problem with his work. Some consider him a pornographer.
His depiction of women smeared with paint or tied in bondage ropes reflects
attitudes that are rooted in Edo's ancient past and Tokyo's modern sexual underworld,
a world that he embraces. But, Araki has his fans, too, and they admire his "unflinching
leer" and raw, sexual energy. No doubt, he plays the provocateur, and
that is part of what makes his work distinctive. A prolific artist, he has
published more than 350 books. Some of his most popular photography books are
Sentimental Journey, Tokyo Lucky Hole, and Shino.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fa20061123a1.html
Araki Gold by Filippo Maggia, Skira, 2008
Araki by Araki: The Photographer's Personal Selection, Kodansha International,
2003
John Berger
Storyteller, essayist, novelist, screenwriter, dramatist and critic who
is well known for his 1972 BBC Television Series and companion book entitled
Ways of Seeing. The book explores the psychological and social implications
of visual imagery.
Andreas Bitesnich
Self-taught photographer whose nudes are well known. His work focuses upon
the lyrical and sculptural aspects of the figure.
bitesnich.com
Woman, teNeues, 2005
Polanude (Polaroid Nude), teNeues, 2005
On Form, teNeues, 2003
Bruce (Bellas) of LA (1909-1974)
Influential photographer of male nudes. His camp approach and early lighting
style, which gave a slightly amateurish look, inspired Bruce Weber's
early campaigns for Calvin Klein. He is considered to have also influenced
Robert Mapplethorpe and Herb Ritts.
bruce-tribute.com/brucebio.html
bigkugels.com/content/Bruce.html
Bruce of Los Angeles: Inside/Outside, powerHouse Books, 2008
Elinor Carucci
Her photography is very personal, and she seems to use the camera almost
as a means of processing her experiences. Intimate color photographs
chronicle her life with her husband, mother and father, brother, grandparents
and cousins. Carucci admits to being obsessed with her mother and with
the passage of time. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002
and won the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Award for
best young photographer in 2001. Carucci was chosen by Photo District
News as one of its “Thirty under 30 Young Photographers to Watch” in
2000. She currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York.
elinorcarucci.com
houkgallery.com/carucci/carucci1-2006.html
http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/in-focus-elinor-carucci/
Daniel Edwards (Britney Spears sculpture)
American sculptor whose often controversial works look at popular culture
and celebrity. His life-size "Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of
Sean Preston" was intended to commend Britney for choosing family
over career. Edwards has also sculpted the "Paris Hilton Autopsy," a
message about drinking and driving.
msnbc.msn.com/id/12055117/
culturekiosque.com/art/exhibiti/britney_spears_birth_sculpture.html
Nan Goldin
The best way to experience Nan Goldin's work is through her slide shows,
which are meticulously assembled with sound tracks. Her photography is
a record of her personal experiences and the people she is closest to.
She says "My work originally came from the snapshot aesthetic .
. . Snapshots are taken out of love and to remember people, places, and
shared times. They're about creating a history by recording a history."
matthewmarks.com; Click on Artists.
youtube.com; Search for Nan Goldin. Video clip of Nan talking about
her work.
The Devil's Playground by Nick Cave, Richard Price, Sharon Olds, and Catherine Lampert, Phaidon Press Inc., 2008
Nan Goldin (Monographs) by Guido Costa, Phaidon Press Inc., 2006
Henry Horenstein
Horenstein is author of over 30 books, including monographs, and is a professor
of photography at Rhode Island School of Design. His book Black & White
Photography, published by Little, Brown, has sold nearly 700,000 copies
to date.
horenstein.com
Animalia by Elizabeth Werby and Henry Horenstein, Pond Press, 2008
Humans, Kehrer Verlag; Bilingual edition, 2003
Beyond Basic Photography: A Technical Manual, Little, Brown and Company,
1977
Sally Mann
Best known for "Immediate Family," a collection of 65 black and
white photos of her children all aged under 10. Among images with themes
typical of childhood photos, such as reading the funnies, dressing up,
skinny-dipping, and napping, Mann offered images that touch on insecurity,
loneliness, injury, sexuality and death. The collection was met with controversy.
The photo "Virginia at 4" was censored by the Wall Street Journal
with black bars over her eyes, nipples and crotch. Some accused her of
child pornography and of staging her images, but others said that her work
was an accurate vision of motherhood and an antidote to the view that childhood
is all sweetness and innocence. The New Republic called it it "one
of the great photograph books of our time." Time Magazine dubbed her "America's
Best Photographer" in 2001.
Still Time by Sally Mann, Aperture, 2008
Immediate Family by Sally Mann, Aperture, 2005
What Remains by Sally Mann, Bulfinch, 2003
Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989)
After receiving a BFA from Pratt Institute, where he painted from appropriated
photos but never shot any of his own, he gradually shifted over to photography
as his sole medium of artistic expression in the mid-1970s. With a large
format press camera, Mapplethorpe began making photographs of a wide
circle of friends and acquaintances, including artists, composers, socialites,
porn stars and members of the S & M underground. The photos, which
displayed a high degree of technical mastery, were often described as "shocking." In
late 1988, Mapplethorpe told ARTnews “I don’t like that particular word
‘shocking.’ I’m looking for the unexpected. I’m looking for things I’ve
never seen before… I was in a position to take those pictures. I felt
an obligation to do them.” During that phase, he became embroiled in
the controversy over public funding of artworks. His later work emphasized
formal beauty, and maintained the same high technical quality while he
explored new techniques and formats, including platinum prints on linen,
photogravure, and dye transfer. In 1987 he established the Robert Mapplethorpe
Foundation to promote photography, support museums that exhibit photographic
art, and to fund medical research and finance projects in the fight against
AIDS and HIV-related infection.
Jill Masterson (character), "Goldfinger"
James Bond encounters Auric Gloldfinger and Jill Masterson in Miami, where
she is helping Goldfinger to cheat at cards. Bond thwarts Goldfinger
and beds the girl. Goldfinger retaliates by completely covering her in
gold paint, causing her to die of skin suffocation. The phenomenon is
a myth, but it makes for a nice, dramatic plot element.
bond-girls.net/shirley-eaton.html
Helmut Newton (1920-2004)
Influential and controversial photographer who considered himself a "gun
for hire," rather than an artist. Newton is known for bringing fetish
chic into the fashion mainstream. His book Sumo, published by Taschen,
measures 20" x 27.5" and weighs 66 pounds. 10,000 copies were
printed worldwide, and the book was its own coffee table — it came with
a special stand designed by Philippe Starck.
helmutnewton.com
The Best of Helmut Newton: Selections From His
Photographic Work, Schirmer/Mosel,
2004
Helmut Newton: Portraits, Schirmer Art Books, 2004
Private Property by Helmut Newton, Schirmer/Mosel, 2004
Terry Richardson
The son of fashion photographer Bob Richardson, Terry did not begin to
explore photography until his mother introduced him to the photographer
Tony Kent, who took him on as an assistant. Richardson's snapshot aesthetic
parallels the work of Nan Goldin, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Martin Parr.
He frequently becomes a participant in his photos and many are at least
semi-autobiographical. His work often graphically depicts sex.
terryrichardson.com
richardsonmag.com
Terryworld, Taschen, 2008
Terry Richardson (Stern Portfolio), Stern Gruner + Jahr AG & Co., 2004
Herb Ritts (1952-2002)
Equally adept at shooting portraits, fashion, and nudes, Ritts created
memorable photographs of noted individuals in film, fashion, music, politics
and society. Graphic simplicity, clean lines, and strong forms characterize
his images, which often challenged conventional notions of gender or
race. His images often alluded to social history, fantasy, and mythology.
herbritts.com/images/
staleywise.com/collection/ritts/ritts.html
Herb Ritts, Thames & Hudson, 2000
Africa, Bulfinch, 1994
Egon Schiele (1890-1918)
Drawing and painting in a style that is generally described as a mix of
Expressionism and Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau his work consists largely
of portraits and self-portraits. Gustav Klimt was an early friend and
mentor. Schiele's work is often called grotesque, erotic, and disturbing,
and much of it focuses on sex and death. His figures are often gaunt
and skeletal, and feature distinctive hand gestures. In 1912, he was
arrested on the charge of "immorality" and jailed for seducing
a girl under the age of consent. He spent a total of 24 days in jail,
21 days awaiting trial, and was only convicted of exhibiting erotic drawings
in a place that was accessible to children. During his incarceration,
Schiele made 13 watercolor paintings and kept a diary detailing his difficulties
and discomfort. The experience of being jailed and having one of his
works burned during his trial had a profound effect on him.
www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~svb/Schiele/
Egon Schiele: Eros And Passion by Klaus Albrecht Schroder, Prestel Publishing,
2006
Egon Schiele: Drawings and Watercolors by Jane Kallir, Thames & Hudson,
2003
Egon Schiele 1890-1918 by Reinhard Steiner, Taschen, 2000
Kishin Shinoyama
An innovator of the photographic nude, he also shoots portraits and architectural
photography. Shinoyama shot the cover photo for John Lennon's "Double
Fantasy" album, and is one of Japan's most prolific and versatile
photographers.
shinoyamakishin.jp
michaelhoppengallery.com;
Click on First Floor, then Artists, then Kishin Shinoyama.
dailymotion.com; Search for Kishin Shinoyama. Video of Sept 8, 2007
gallery opening in Paris.
The Painter's House, teNeues, 2000
Water Fruit, Asahi Press, 1991
Aaron Siskind (1903-1991)
Has been described as the first abstract expressionist photographer. He
became obsessed with photographing surfaces at close range to emphasize
their abstract qualities. Photographers did not immediately embrace his
work, but painters such as Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline did. His
early work was in the documentary mode.
aaronsiskind.org
Aaron Siskind 100, powerHouse Books, 2003
Aaron Siskind 55 Series by James Rhem, Phaidon Press, 2003
Justice Potter Stewart (1915-1985)
Nominated to the Supreme Court by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958.
He met privately with President Nixon to have his name removed from consideration
for Chief Justice, because he didn't want to subject his family or himself
to the confirmation process. Stewart well known for a fragment from his
opinion in the obscenity case of Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964). The
state of Ohio had convicted the manager of a movie theater and fined
him $2500 for showing the banned Louis Malle film Les Amants (The Lovers).
He wrote that "hard-core pornography" was hard to define, but
that "I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in
this case is not that." Justice Stewart went on to defend the movie
against further censorship. Sandra Day O'Connor succeeded him.
http://library.findlaw.com/2003/May/15/132747.html
ohiojudicialcenter.gov/p_stewart.asp
Jock Sturges
On April 25, 1990, FBI agents and San Francisco police officers raided
his studio, seizing his cameras, his prints, his computer--everything
relating to his occupation as an internationally recognized fine-art
photographer. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors denounced the raid
and a San Francisco grand jury refused to indict Sturges on any charges.
More recently, activists have destroyed copies of his books in Barnes & Noble
stores, and directed the attention of prosecutors to some of his published
work. Out of these experiences Sturges surmised in 1998,"A virulent,
aggressive minority has decided that Americans don't know themselves
what it is they should see, and need to be protected by people who are
wiser than they are, even if they are only a tiny sliver of the population."
paulcava.com/jocksturges.html
metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.19.98/ — Click on the "Bodies
of Evidence" link.
johnpaulcaponigro.com/lib/artists/sturges.php
Jock Sturges: Life Time, Steidl International Photography, 2008
Misty Dawn: Portrait of a Muse by Jock Sturges, Aperture, 2008
Radiant Identities, Aperture, 2005
Jock Sturges: Notes, Aperture, 2005
Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series
by John Berger, Penguin, 1990
This small book is a collection of six essays on the psychological and
social implications of visual imagery. It is still as resonant and valid
today as it was when it was first published in 1972.
Bruce Weber
Widely known for his fashion photography, including the first campaign
for Calvin Klein underwear. That iconic image featured Olympic athlete
Tom Hintnaus in white briefs, and it opened the door for men to be portrayed
as sex objects in advertising. He is widely credited with having introduced
a new level of artistry to commercial photography. A ground-breaking
Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly — a clothing catalog — featured male
nudes. He is also credited with launching the modeling career of Isabella
Rossellini. Weber's work often explores themes of longing and nostalgia.
It has been criticized for being an almost exclusively white and affluent.
charlierose.com/view/interview/3310
bruceweber.com/bw/
Blood Sweat and Tears, teNeues, 2005
Bruce Weber, Bulfinch Press, 1991