The Body: Photographs of the Human Form - Softcover

Ewing, William A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811807622 ISBN 13: 9780811807623

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 1994

Synopsis

The sensual curve of the shoulder, the disturbing line of a scar, the magnetic pull of a lashed eye -- since the birth of photography, images of the human body have attracted, disturbed, fascinated, and obsessed us. The body has been scrutinized by medical and anatomical photographers; it has been celebrated by photographers of sport and dance; it has inspired a long tradition of photographing the nude; and it has been depicted in phantasmagoric terms. In this rich, involving archive of over 360 duotone and color images culled from worldwide collections, renowned photo curator William A. Ewing has compiled the most comprehensive and arresting visual survey ever published of the human form. From nineteenth-century erotica to the politicized images of the 1990s, The Body offers an exciting, elegantly packaged, provocative record of the camera's infatuation with the human figure.

About this title

About the Author

William A. Ewing is a wellknown writer on the art of photography and an independent curator whose exhibitions have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art and the International Center of Photography in New York, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and many other museums and galleries. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

Through thoughtful essays, Ewing (Breaking Bounds, not reviewed) transforms a fantastic collection of photographs into a history of photography itself. With careful arrangement and stylish writing free of art- critic blather, Ewing has rendered accessible an almost intimidatingly wide range of works. The introduction covers attitudes toward photographed nudity (and therefore toward sexuality), beginning with a photograph of two topless Zulu women published in a British magazine circa 1879. Setting a pattern for the remainder of the book, Ewing discusses how these photographs reproduced their subjects and simultaneously served as a mirror for contemporary British culture. Chapters carry vague titles like ``Probes'' and ``Metamorphosis,'' which are pithily defined (in these cases as ``the realm of scientific exploration'' and ``the body transformed,'' respectively). Each section starts with a mini- essay expounding a basic principle and tying together the photos. For example, ``Flesh'' links Regina DeLuise's nude woman gripping the heavy, knotted rope of a tire swing and Robert Davies's close- up of a navel. ``Eros'' ponders the personal nature of sexuality, and an 1865 photograph of one woman inserting an umbrella in a second, tuba-playing model's behind is grouped with some squeaky- clean, pin-up-style shots from the 1950s. The shocking chapter entitled ``Estrangement'' contains a range of striking, often disturbing images, including a servant crucified for killing his boss's son and a grotesquely obese sideshow man with a relatively tiny towel placed over his behind, as well as a series showing ``the Hilton Siamese Twins of Texas'' cheerfully swimming, playing tennis, dancing, and flirting in tandem. Some ground is covered twice, and there is an occasional oversight (the essay on ``Estrangement'' brings up the 19th-century popularity of photographs of corpses of loved ones, but no examples are offered). Overall, however, the result is engrossing and the balance of text and photos just right. Stunning, clever, and very provoking. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ewing here presents a wide sampling of images of the human body under a dozen chapters with titles like "Eros," "Estrangement," and "Politic." If the organization follows a somewhat abstract scheme, the photographs themselves are powerful and direct. Included here are images of a single sperm fertilizing an egg, fetuses at various stages, a macrophotograph of an iris, and more titillating, fantastical, clinical, and even prurient images. There are also images by well-known photographers whose work has defined the photography of the nude, e.g., Weston, Cunningham, Bernard, Mann, and Gowin. Juxtaposing some of the 19th-century images with late 20th-century images suggests that there is nothing new to be accomplished in this genre. Indeed, several Eastern European and Japanese photographers contribute manipulated and dramatically staged photos suggesting that we may have exhausted straightforward approaches altogether. Informative and provocative essays complement the outstanding reproductions. Recommended for photohistory and photography collections.
Kathleen Collins, New York Transit Museum Archives, Brooklyn
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0811807622
• ISBN 13: 9780811807623
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448