The Blowfish Blog

Contemporary Nude Portraits

When we got the review copy of Contemporary Nude Portraits in at the office, I did my usual cursory glance through it before going back to what I’d been doing — and got stuck, staring and examining each photo with such intense concentration that I just sat down and reviewed it right away. It’s that good.

This is an extraordinary book, partially because it captures people in such ordinary situations. Each individual is photographed in what appears to be their home, giving you a glimpse into their personality that you just don’t get in pictures posed in a photography studio or even in a beautiful natural setting. There’s a huge photo of each person, with two or more smaller ones, letting you see even more of their personality through the varying facial expressions and poses they chose. We’re told how old they are (the fifty-five subjects range in age from about 20 to 45), their first name and their occupation. Just these little tidbits of information are compelling enough to get your mind working on creating their back story, though I do wish they mentioned at least what country each person is from (it’s clear from some of the names — Anja, Till, Mai — and from some of the settings that these aren’t all in, say, the U.S.). But the most striking thing is how they all stare into the camera, revealing more of themselves in their eyes than they do with their nude bits. This is the kind of book that bears more than a one-time-through glance. Keep it on your coffee table for those times when you need a little perspective, arousal or insight.

• Contemporary Nude Portraits

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 April 2007 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.