Eva: Eloge De Ma Fille [Hardcover]

Irina Ionesco (Photographer)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 097270731X | ISBN-13: 978-0972707312 | Publication Date: October 1, 2004 | Edition: 1

In 1965 the esteemed photographer Irina Ionesco began photgraphing her young daughter, Eva Ionesco. Thus began a collaboration which culminated in this extraordinary testament to the beauty of a girl child as witnessed through the lens of her mother's eye. Never before in the history of photography has an artist of this magnitude photographed her child to such stunning effect. Weaving threads of baroque orientalism, gothic eroticism and surrealist fantasy, these mysterious images might well be controversial, but only if removed from the crucible of "dark love" which so ably contains and ferments them. Ionesco insists "The liberty I took in baring her is innocent....in my gaze the greatest love of all took place" Ionesco's photographs of her daughter Eva have been widely acclaimed since the 1970's. "EVA: Eloge de ma Fille" gathers 124 of these images into the definitive volume of Eva photgraphs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A virtuoso manipulator of the transgressive feminine erotic.... [Irina Ionesco] has a superlative eye, and some fabulous images result." -- Chris Miller, EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY, No. 76 2005, p.76

"This book is most extraordinary, stunning and captivating. I gave a most positive review" -- Tim Smith, Producer, MEGAPOLITAN, May 28, 2005

"[The ]very fact of the emotional power of the work testifies to its artistic strength....This collection is utterly distinct." -- Christopher Perring, Ph.D., mentalhelp.net, May 19, 2005

About the Author

Irina Ionesco was born to Romanian parents in Paris, 1935. At the age of four she was separated from them and spent her formative years in the city of Constanza, Romania. Steeped in that city's fabulous riches and fascinating traditions, she returned to Paris first to dance, then to paint, and finally to find her true vocation as photographer of the bizarre and beautiful as they are evoked in women's erotic mysteries. Ionesco was elected "Woman of the Year", Time Life Books, 1977, and has over 12 books and countless international exhibitions to her credit. Irina Ionesco currently lives and works in Paris.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 151 pages
• Publisher: Alice Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097270731X
• ISBN-13: 978-0972707312
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,256,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Art Photography, October 26, 2004

By 

Michelle7 "Editor of Michelle7(dot)com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eva: Eloge de Ma Fille, Limited Edition (Hardcover)

Separated from her parents at a young age, French-born Irina Ionesco was raised by her grandmother in Romania. Despite the love and attention showered upon her by her Grandmother and her uncles she always felt the sadness of her missing mother and father. Tragedy struck again when the "man of her life", her beloved husband suffered an early death. But before departing from this world, they shared in the joy of giving birth to the little girl that Irina says, "had always been part of my dreams". But even this joyous event was a struggle, for Eva, as she was named, had to fight to live the first month of her life, as a birthing mistake necessitated that she spend her early days in an incubator.

Irena recalls that it was her prayers that saved her baby girl. "She was the most wonderful thing that could happen. In order to maintain every moment of this irreplaceable dream, she turned into the most beautiful little girl of all time...She personified an angel."

This book is a mesmerizing collection of photographs, that were themselves a tribute to that little girl who became Irina's whole world. Much of the work was and remains controversial. Irena captured her little girl in various states of undress, often dolled-up adorned with makeup and jewelry. Despite its controversy, Irina's material with Eva is her most famous body work and fans of this collection with love this book. Unlike Irina's other books, where images of Eva are part of her larger body of work, this one is centered completely around what she created with her beloved daughter. As a single publication of Irina Ionesco's work, Eva: Eloge De Ma Fille stands as the masterpiece that every great artist deserves. This is a must have for all serious collectors.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars beautiful and disturbing, December 31, 2004

By 

Reader B "avid reader" (Plymouth Meeting, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eva: Eloge De Ma Fille (Hardcover)

This is an amazing body of work, and one might think it was done in the 1920's as the style is sort of the flapper mode. Irina chronicles her daughter as she grows from a young child to a young women. It is disturbing as one cannot look at the pictures of Eva as a young child and not think of the tragedy of Jon Benet. Eva as a little child is made up as a siren with a combination of innocence and provocation. That combination is what makes this such a compelling body of work, but also perhaps disturbing. More than one photo seemed to have some white specks, either from dust on the negative or a problem in printing. The composition and settings show a fine eye for photography and this is a wonderful collection. There is a lushness to the settings and a great variety. In the shots where Eva is looking directly at the camera, she appears to be looking right through the viewer. One will not forget these great shots.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful piece of history, March 11, 2005

By 

J. Ignarro (los angeles, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eva: Eloge De Ma Fille (Hardcover)

These are some beautiful photos of a very adored little girl.
The printing job on this book is impeccable and definitely
worth adding to the library. If you are interested in photography
at all there are some very nice examples of child photography
in here. If you want to see photos of a child that is loved to the
point of being idolized you will find that in here as well.
My only complaint is that there were tons of color photos taken
of Eva and this book is only black-and-white.