Customer Reviews

Jock Sturges

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is by far the best collection of Sturges' work in publication. Unlike the previous Aperture monographs, it displays the images as the artist intended. It follows his chronology, and that of the models, so you can see how they developed over time from young women and men; through their teens, to adults raising their own families. Telling their stories as well as painting their portraits.

He portrays them with the familiarity and intimacy of one who is almost family himself; and captures their characters as well as their forms. It is wonderful to watch how the girls and their families grow over time, how they change and develop. One wishes to know more about them as people, to understand the story behind the pictures.

His models, though nude, are more comfortable in that state than most people are clothed. There are no clothes, no outside trappings, to get in the way of the full expression of the person. The people he photographs are relaxed and peaceful.

His work is free of gimmicks, of artificial tension, of blatant eroticism. It is all about beauty and innocence.

He has received numerous accusations of child pornography and exploitation from narrow-minded and perverse individuals. One only needs to look at his work to dispel all notions of such. Only the most twisted and sick-minded person could find his work pornographic. As a Christian, I find it to be a wonderful expression of the beauty of God's greatest creation.

The tones of his images are mostly soft, low-contrast. The beach images reflect in sand and sea the same light gradations and textures visible on the bodies of those he photographs; the models seeming to become a part of their environment, but still standing out from the background. Others are more contrasty, both in tone and setting, complimenting rather than echoing the models.

The printing is exquisite. Having attended two gallery shows of Sturges' work, and seen the prints, I can say that the book, though it can't reproduce the richness of the tones of the silver prints, does admirably in approximating them. The quality of the binding is superb; and the introductory texts are well-worth reading.

A book that i highly recommend for all lovers of find photography.

I am a white, male, Christian, conservative, Republican grandfather that teaches Sex Education to students the same age as some of Mr. Sturges' friends. How wonderful it is that my students can now see what other normal people their own age actually look like, and that their own body is OK!. Usually, they only get to see what Madison Avenue thinks that they should look like. How sad that Jock is persecuted, while everyday we see the use of little bare babes to sell toilet paper, skin lotion or fashionable pants. I love the book. Thank you Jock, and thank you, Amazon, for carrying Jock's work.

There is one mysterious thing about the work of Jock Sturges: 99% of his pictures are all very artistic and impressing. They are from real life, but they look like something from another world. You don't believe it. In those cases you see, that Sturges is the difference between art and simple photography. However, the last 1% of his pictures are pure nonsense. They are dominated by mistakes, that you can read from Beginner's Guide or Photography for Dummies. Or, they are just silly and meaningless, a waste of paper. But that's only 1%. The rest is enough for 6 stars, if I had the option. If you would like to have a look at Jock Sturges, but still short of money, you should buy only this book. It has got a number of the same pictures as in his other books.

I have always known that Jock Sturges was a genius, but this book proves it. Finally, his work is presented the way he intended and it has all the power, beauty and passion that one should expect from a visual artist of his caliber. It is truly a celebration of youth, beauty and life!

I consider myself an expert in this are of photography. I have completely analylized both of Sturges' other books and this one tops them both. His use of light and his angle of photography is unbelievable. He captures his shots excellently. Very few photographers these days take the time to take the picture the exact way they had orginally planned it. I used enjoy the work of David Hamilton more than Mr. Sturges, but after reading this one I will defiinitly support Mr. Sturges with a greater passion. My "co-viewer" and I both agree that this is the best work of photography of its kind in a long time!!!

I found this to be the best of the Sturges books. Not only did it contain the most photos, it allowed the viewer to follow the progression of his models through the years. Having raised two daughters, it was like deja vu to see how Sturges' girls "grew up" in front of his lenses. I only wish my two girls could have posed for him.

This was my first Jock Sturges book so I wasn't completely sure what to expect. I found it to be generally very well done with few pictures that were particularly erotic even though most were of nudes (generally of girls or women). I sometimes thought that the composition and lighting were a little odd (off centered or speck in the distance shots for example)but most poses were good. I especially liked the way Sturges showed some of his subjects as they aged through the years from childhood to womanhood. I do wish that the photo titles and dates were on the same page instead of on a separate paper, that made for very inconvenient reading having to constantly refer back and forth. Much better photographer than David Hamilton.