Jock Sturges [Paperback]

Jock Sturges (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2000

This is the first comprehensive publication on American photographer Jock Sturges (b.1947) compiled by the artist himself. It is nothing less than an ode to beauty. For more than 20 years, he has been taking photographs of girls growing up, both in his native California and at a nudist resort on the Atlantic coast of France. Nudity in Sturges' work has never been a cheap or tawdry gimmick, rather it is shown as human being's natural state. His photographs are an expression of the trust he has established over the years with the girls and their families. Calmly and almost casually, Sturges observes the aging process of his models. His striking long-term studies chart barely perceptible changes in their appearance, the slow maturing of the female body. Sturges preserves transient states that will never return; graceful forms that time will eventually extinguish. A sweet melancholia pervades Sturges' images as he knows that beauty is not an everlasting state-but a brief moment in time whose essence we should cherish.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Scalo Publishers (October 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3908247357
• ISBN-13: 978-3908247357
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #600,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People cared for beautifully., February 14, 2004

By 

John M. Kimpel (Columbiana, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jock Sturges (Paperback)

Gerry Badger, in a listing of 250 key photographers, refers to Jock Sturges as the leading photographer of the "natural" nude (p. 170, Collecting Photography, Mitchell Beazley). This is fine, as far as it goes, but is too limited an introduction to Mr. Sturges's work. Mr. Sturges's photography is not limited to nudes. Neither can his subject matter be properly described as the nude or the natural nude. Rather, Mr. Sturges cares deeply about people. He is interested in people - in the whole of what a person is - and his work reflects this valuing. Simply turn to page 114 of the first Scalo book - the book I'm reviewing here - or page 31 or 87 or 126 - this is a wonderfully rich book - to find the definition of a great portrait.

I find that I can go back to Mr. Sturges's books again and again with pleasure and for profit. I look at people differently since meeting the books - with greater pleasure and discernment. Having Mr. Sturges's work in my home makes my house feel more like home. Enough said.

Mr. Sturges's monographs include Jock Sturges (Scalo), Jock Sturges: New Work 1996 - 2000 (Scalo), The Last Day of Summer (Aperture), Radiant Identities (Aperture), Notes (Aperture), and Evolution of Grace (Gakken). The Gakken book is printed too darkly (at least the copy I have is) but I'm grateful to the book, nevertheless, for the images it shares. Those wishing to catch a glimpse of Mr. Sturges's Irish work could look for an April 2001 copy of B&W: Black & White Magazine.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL WORK, December 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jock Sturges (Hardcover)

This book contains nude young girls either by themselves or with family and friends. A guide tells you what models are in each picture. You will get to follow many of these young ladies as they start at the adolescent age and progress to young adulthood. There are a good many photos of some models and only one or two of another one. These children are very beautiful and Sturges will always have a large audience for his work.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, beautiful, and thoughtful, January 29, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jock Sturges (Hardcover)

After viewing this book several times I believe I have come to understand what the photogrpaher is doing. Seeing the models progress in age and maturity is both exciting and thought provoking. The poses gently force the viewer to see the models as real people verses just bodies or shapes. They, (the models), are there because they want to be there. Their beauty is self evident and the viewer can almost hear their voices saying, "here I am; deal with it world!" The fact that many of the models are nude only makes the voices seem louder and more forceful. How brave of the models and the photographer to stay with their vision in a mad world. Also, after viewing the photographs; I can only view their critics as small minded, misguided, book burning, insecure fanatics uncomfortable with themselves and their own bodies and emotions. God created beauty and Jock Sturges photographed it as only a master could, in all it's beauty.