The Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges [Hardcover]

Jock Sturges (Photographer), Jayne Anne Phillips (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2005

"""In the fifty-eight images of this handsome ... monograph, Sturges sustains a delicate balance on a very precarious wire ... His struggle is to observe and render his subjects in all of their complexities, trembling on the cusp of change. The result of this long-term, communal effort is one of the most clear-eyed, responsible investigations of puberty and the emergence of sexuality in the medium's history, making a metaphor of the metamorphosis from child to adult."" --A. D. Coleman, The New York Observer In1990 the FBI entered Sturges's studio and seized his work, claiming violation of child pornography laws. Citizens, artists, and the media responded with outrage. With The Last Day of Summer, Aperture accords Sturges's vision the dignity and respect it so richly deserves."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In the fifty-eight images of this handsome, cleanly designed monograph, Sturges sustains a delicate balance on a very precarious wire. He engages us through the tension of polarities: between public and private, between tact and frankness, between childhood and adolescence, between male and female, between artist and model...His purity of intent shines through in the images. His struggle is to observe and render his subjects in all of their complexities, trembling on the cusp of change. The result of this long-term, communal effort is one of the most clear-eyed, responsible investigations of puberty and the emergence of sexuality in the medium's history, making a metaphor of the metamorphosis from child to adult."--A. D. Coleman, The New York Observer

"This is a truly beautiful and compelling group of photographs, an expression of innocence not lost by knowledge."--Eric Fischl

"The gelatin silver prints luxuriate in textures of sand, flesh, cloth, tide pools and gentle waves...superbly printed, expressive in their modulations of light and joyful tonalities...the high mark of Sturges' work is its naturalness, its gentle attentions to the pleasure that can be found in life."--Kelly Wise, The Boston Globe

About the Author

Jock Sturges received a B.A. in Perceptual Psychology and Photography from Marlboro College in Vermont and an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute. He has exhibited widely in the United States as well as in France and Japan. His photographs are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

Jayne Anne Phillips has received two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as a Guggenheim fellowship in 1987. She has published two books of short stories, Black Tickets (1979) and Fast Lanes (1987), and a novel, Machine Dreams (1984).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Aperture; 8th edition (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893814946
• ISBN-13: 978-0893814946
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A significant, beautiful work, November 15, 2003

By 

David R. Munson "Photographic lost cowboy" (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges (Paperback)

This is a beautiful body of work that I am proud to have in my book collection. Beyond the fact that they are expertly executed, Sturges' photographs are intimate, direct, and above all, honest. They hide nothing, and in fact reveal much - about the subject, photographer, and the viewer. They reveal a level of trust and understanding between photographer and subject that I challenge anyone to find anywhere else. And this is a critical aspect of Sturges work. He does not haphazardly choose subjects, moving from place to place with no long-term interest in the people he photographs. Rather, he will photograph the same people in the same places year after year, photographing the same individuals summer after summer, essentially creating an intimate photographic chronology of a person that may span decades. He is close to his subjects. And unlike so many other photographers, he is truly interested in the lives of these people, and more importantly, the people themselves.

I find it unfortunate at best that Mr Sturges' work has so often been met with such hateful and often irrational opposition as it has. In my opinion, the controversy surrounding his photographs is wholly unwarranted. More often than not, the most violent objections come from (what I would call) religious extremists who claim to be speaking up in defense of his subjects, who they apparently feel have been exploited. A lot of the problem seems to stem directly from a willful refusal to distinguish between what is sexual and what is erotic. Sturges' work is sexual, yes, but it is not erotic. Sexuality is an inherent aspect of the human experience that can hardly be excluded in an honest image of a person. We are sexual from birth. And to find fault with Sturges' work because it doesn't deny this detail of humanity is a rather backwards way of looking at things. But regardless of what minor sexual element may be contained in his images, it is important to note that these images are not erotic. They are neither meant to be sexually arousing nor do they have that effect. If the contrary were the case, then maybe his biggest detractors might have a point, but in fact this is not how it is.

Sturges work is significant. And if you are willing to approach this or any other volume of his photographs with an open mind, I think you'll understand. The photographs and words contained herein are luminous and not likely to grow old with many goings-over. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful masterwork, visually stunning and sensitive., May 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges (Paperback)

In "The Last Day of Summer," photographer Jock Sturges brilliantly attempts to capture the emerging, radiant beauty and sexuality of adolescence. Although most of his books have been derided as "child pornography" by certain conservative forces here in the U.S., they most certainly are not. To fully understand his work, one must not simply look at the pictures but delve into the many articles that accompany his art in his books. These girls and boys come to Jock, year after year, with their parents' consent (and their PARENTS even pose nude with their children in many of these images). This is the epitome of TRUST between subject and artist. This is not pornography. There is no sexual intimacy portrayed anywhere. It is a celebration of the beginnings of adolescnent life...a celebration of the beauty which Nature has given. It is a return to the sensual and beautiful works of the past. -JLC, Virginia

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb artist, not quite so superb book, May 11, 2001

By 

David Harland (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges (Hardcover)

A slightly less than perfect monograph by one of my favorite artists.

Regarding the work itself, i've not seen any work that surpasses, and little enough that matches, the beauty Sturges portrays. His models are not chosen because they are exemplars of some cultural standard of beauty. They are not high-fashion, trendy, or striking in the ways most people are used to seeing.

They are simply ordinary people. The girls are unenhanced, average girls. No different from any other you may know. But therein lies their beauty. Sturges shows them with a warmth and intimacy borne of long aquaintance; capturing the inner beauty present in all (though hidden in most).

His models are comfortable with themselves and their surroundings; and show that comfort in their unashamed attitudes. They look at the camera, as they would look at one another, not hiding or embarrased; just being who they are. He shows them as humans beings, with their friends and families; rather than the iconic or archetypal abstractions that most photographers portray.

The images themselves are exquisite. There is a gradual smoothness to the tones that echoes the bodies of the models themselves. Lighting and contrast reproduce in the sand and water of the beach scenes the skin tones of the models -- so much so that the girls almost seem to meld with their environment. Both seem to glow in the early morning and late afternoon sun.

Unfortunately, my praise for the book is more reserved. The quality of the printing is excellent. Having seen the original prints in several gallery showings, the duotones in the book do a very good job of capturing the feel of the originals.

A few quibbles, however. The arrangement of the photographs in the book are not in the chronological order that Sturges originally intended; so the progression of his models from youth to adulthood is lost. Many of the images are spread across two pages, instead of being printed on one; which is results in a degradation of the quality of the image.

Sturges himself was not happy with the Aperture monographs (_Last Days of Summer_, _Radiant Identities_) for just this reason (as well as some other problems with the Aperture staff); and has re-released most of these images through Scalo.

Unfortunately, there are some images in this book and the other Aperture monograph which are not available in the Scalo release. I would recommend buying the Scalo book, titled _Jock Sturges_, to see the images as the artist intended; and the Aperture books for the additional images.