Kern Noir: Photographs by Richard Kern (Paperback)

by Geoff Nicholson (Author), Sabina Spada (Author), Richard Kern (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
One of the most transgressive of American photographers, Richard Kern makes brazen portraits of enticing nude women. But if his photographs easily cross over into the world of pornography, they are distinguished from prosaic porn by their beauty and, more importantly, their treatment of voyeurism as a theme. As Kern once said, "The best part of anything is watching," and through his photographs, he not only seduces the viewer into looking but forces a subsequent recognition of his or her own voyeurism. This publication presents a new series of black and white photographs.

Essays by Geoff Nicholson and Sabina Spada.

Paperback, 180 pages, 150 b&w images.

About the Author
Born in 1954 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, the turning point of Richard Kern's life happened one afternoon in 1971, when he was picked up by a carload of hot, young, scantily-clad New York City glam girls while hitchiking after a day of skipping high school. He was captivated. The end result has been more than two decades of hard, sexually blunt work, starting with early projects like the Cinema of Transgression films made in collaboration with a crew of Lower East Side denizens Lydia Lunch, Nick Zedd, Sonic Youth, and Karen Finley. Kern's recent work has concentrated on the photography of women, and has appeared in Hustler and Barely Legal, as well as in the art monographs New York Girls and XX Girls.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Charta (August 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 888158378X
• ISBN-13: 978-8881583782
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #311,380 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black, White, and Noir, April 13, 2003

By A Customer

This volume could also be called 'The Best of Richard Kern' as it presents a review of his work ranging from 1976 to 2001. Covering a wide range, we find bondage shots and girls with guns, as well as girls in the bedroom, bathroom and other scenarios, presenting an overview of Kern's interests and low-key fetish work.

Perhaps the strongest pictures are the close-up portrait shots, where the models reciprocate your gaze, as though daring you to enter their slightly dark and edgy world. In one shot, a small lizard crawls over a model's face, in the stark monochrome looking almost like a tribal tattoo. Most striking is the picture from 1993, simply titled 'Monica with Candle'. The model tilts her head backward and a lighted candle protrudes upright from her mouth. A very arresting picture the first time you see it (why that was not used on the cover is a mystery. Too provocative maybe?) Certainly a deeply erotic image.

Like all the best books of photography, this one starts well and gets better the more you look into it. A good one to keep on the bookshelf and delve into from time to time, and well worth buying.

5.0 out of 5 stars Kern, April 1, 2009

By	Hans A. A. Müller "Whipsplash" (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wow...if you like Kern don't hesitate! He is special! I Like Richard Kern a lot!

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Light of Kern, November 27, 2002

By	Mark Edgar (England) - See all my reviews

As a young man I have been searching for the perfect woman and theres no such thing. But Kern captures both a meaningful persona and porcelain like femininate in his photography. And this book delivers all expected from Kern and more, its better than New York Girls and thats hard to do. This book deseves to be on even the Queen of Englands coffe table but I for one will keep it hidden away as a unsering boy may hide his chocolete easter eggs from his anoying sister. (ABLOL)