How many naked women fit on a mattress? Greg Friedler (30 years old, NYC) solved this riddle in the same way as New York solved the problem of living space: one behind another on his bed, making it the smallest stage for an artistically, aesthetically and erotically wonderful pose for a photo!
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
Mattress is Greg Friedler’s 4th book. If you don’t know the first set of books (Naked New York, Naked Los Angeles, and Naked London), you should, because they are wonderful. In those books as in this one, Friedler imposes severe limitations on himself, within which he realizes his art. Here, as with that series, Friedler has given himself a strict format. Nude women. A simple constructed backdrop, not elegant, not sleazy; rather neutral, a bare mattress, not luxurious, not overtly suggestive and a more or less self-limited camera approach. He allows the camera to speak with simplicity and directness. He’s chosen a difficult task for himself. For, just by description, he’s dealing with subject matter and situation that could invite criticism of voyeurism, titillation, exploitation, intrusion, submission, domination, and objectification. He avoids all of that.
There’s a long history of reclining nudes in art. Disparate examples that jump immediately to (my) mind are Goya, Helmut Newton (see the second to last sentence of the last paragraph, for where he’s coming from!) Klimt, Picasso, and Lucien Freud. But, here is where we get to the heart of Friedler’s book. Freud’s (mostly sleeping) nudes look rather unattractive. He shows the gravity of, well, gravity. Goya, Klimt, and Picasso used nudes to present their eroticized vision, and made you see women as they wanted you to see them. Friedler has a different "dialogue" with his subjects. The results are purer and more subject to the viewer’s psychic eye and interpretation. The "models" present themselves as they are and as they wish to be seen. All are wearing self-applied makeup. Some are pierced; some have tattoos, and trendy black-ish nail polish. Some are bejeweled, some wear crotch-less pantyhose. Some are sweetly and purely unadorned. Friedler is just there, calmly, honestly, with his camera.
While one may have a curiosity about Friedler’s personal eroticism, it’s
not necessary to go into that issue. That is for the viewer to experience/determine/imagine. When I wrote the jacket blurb for Naked New York, I said how more natural the nudes looked than when they were clothed. I no longer feel that way. I now see that many of the nudes in the first books are more concealed than when clothed. That issue never presents itself here. This is a book of remarkable sweetness, ease, and natural sensuality. Some of the women appear virginal, some seductive and smoldering, some vulnerable; none self conscious or fearful, all beautiful. I love the Brigitte Bardot look-alike. I love the whole book.
Jordan Schaps, New York, August 5, 2001.
About the Author
Greg Friedler received his Bachelor of Arts in political science and French from the University of Colorado at Boulder and then proceeded to receive a Master of Fine Arts in photography and related media from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Greg is a fine-art photographer who is the author of three monographs, Naked New York , Naked Los Angeles, and Naked London all published by W.W. Norton and Company. He also has been included in numerous anthologies including Exposed by
Thunders Mouth Press, Naked Women by Quarto Publishing, and Nerve/ The New Nude by Chronicle Books. His work has been published around the world and he has exhibited his work in New York, Paris, and London.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Girl Next Door....Or Not...on the Mattress,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Mattress (Hardcover)
These women are not professional models,and look more like someone you might see walking down the street, but they all look great laying on the mattress. They are all nude, but not explicit, still everything is there for the camera.
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Exciting Study of Art Nudes,
This review is from: Mattress (Hardcover)
This is Greg Friedler's fourth book of photography. Like the first three: Naked New York, Naked Los Angeles, and Naked London, he assumes a restrictive setting in which to create his art. In this publication, he poses his nude subjects, all female in this case, upon an equally naked and unadorned mattress. As a photographer, Friedler has created a wonderful series of razor sharp, color portraits, but as an artist he has created an exciting study where each subject allowed herself to be photographed totally naked, lying or sitting on the designated mattress. Each presents herself as she wishes us to see her. Some wear make-up, many are tattooed, some are obviously beautiful while others are more plain. It is a body of portraiture that finds its strength in an amazing sense of honesty on both the part of the model and the photographer. Admittedly, few could pull this off as well as Freidler and in less capable hands would very likely be just a boring exposé of naked chicks. But this is just the sort of book project the Greg Friedler was meant for, and is one that all savvy collectors will want to procure.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awakening and Refreshing!!!,
By "mpp-c" (Panama, Republic of Panama) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mattress (Hardcover)
MATTRESS circumscribes in an extremely objective terrain in order to transmit an intrinsic aspect of the female gender: courage. Defying and sincere stares, in an environment stripped from ruses in which a humble flowered mattress renders itself as support for earthly goddesses in repose, captured through the vision of the author. These are the images offered by Friedler to remind us of the insistence of women in declaring themselves as who they really are. In my opinion, many viewers from my own Latin culture may strike them as "provocative", a culture in which chastity is confused with annihilating the essence of women and a continuous attempt prevails to destroy the mystical nature of femininity: courage. In my humble opinion, this book is a revelation, an extreme experience into our own insecurities. You will not find the MAJA DESNUDA with her soft curves and gentle face, you will find in this book a raw nature, you will transcend from the nakedness of these bodies captured through the lens and sensitivity of Friedler to fully understand through his intense curiosity, the simplicity of our own human nature. I would recommend this book not only as an artful but also as a learning experience. I profoundly and sincerely thank Greg Friedler for portraying magnificent evidence of feminine potential, and for allowing me to come in contact with my own demons and vulnerability.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
