Customer Reviews

Orgasm XL

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

 

 

Tony Ward crosses the line here...

Orgasm XL is an in-your-face exploration of human sexuality - and it's graphic, so powerfully graphic, that it will undoubtedly be too much for many of Tony's fans. But for those who enter the world he's created here with an open mind, the reward will be undeniable. Sexual deviations are not the focus here; just raw sexuality, mostly between male-female couples though there are frequent glimpses of girl-girl action. Beautiful women take their men into their mouths, an interracial couple shows us everything, and lesbian lovers engage in electrifying strap-on sex. These are similar scenes that one would find in most porn magazines, yes, but none could pull it off with the artistry that Tony does. It's not the grainy texture, nor is it the black & white film; what Tony does here is something indescribable that sets his work above the average, technically-oriented, Brooks Institute-trained photographer. The scenes he's created, his composition, his choice of models, his creative angles, his flair for graphics and design, everything, when taken as a whole are much more than the sum of their parts.

Hey, anybody can make a Gumbo with the right recipe, but it takes a true artist to cook up what Paul Prudhomme does in the kitchen. And that's what master chef Tony Ward does here - he cooks up a 5-star jambalaya that some might say is too spicy, but I say that's what makes it soooooooooo good, cher!

Once again the age old question is presented; Where does art cross the line to become pornography. Yet another question to be asked is why can't pornography be art? These are personal questions one must ask him/her self when veiwing this book.

Tony Ward did a fine job with this series of photographs. They are captivating and intriguing once you are able to get past the content. However, this is not a book for everyone, then again if it were I am sure "last Gasp" would not have published it.

Thats right, Art. A lot of people have a very hard time seperating porn and art, but for me, this book, as well as all of Ward books, was an easy decision. This is Art. Plain and simple.
With art and photography taking a huge turn these days in the area of erotica, it is very difficult to come up with something new and powerful. I know this because I am a photographer myself. Tony Ward has found a way to take extremely graphic erotica and turn it into beauty with his disturbingly grainy photographs.
Using very high contrast film, then enlarging, you are able to see every single little grain in Wards work, making this a Wow experience.
I will warn all readers though. This book is not for the squimish. If you are offended by depictions of homosexual sex, or any graphic sex acts, then this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a great art monograph with extreme erotica, get this book. It is incredible.

I originally bought this book thinking I would be able to see good, competent art photography that explored sexuality in a creative way.

When I got it I started reading the foreword (yes, I do READ these books even when they have little text) and I actually found the foreword to be insightful and--seemingly--a good prelude to a great exploration of explicit sex in art photography.

But to my dismay, the work itself, the photos, were a fraud. Not only they were not interesting at all, but they were cliched and reliant on cheap photoshop filter trickery. It was a though somebody scanned a few pages of Penthouse magazine, used a grainy filter in Photoshop, re-printed them again in a cheap, low-res inkjet printer and then submitted THAT to the editor as work worth publishing.

Photo after photo I got the same garter and stalkings lesbian cliche. There were no interesting poses, no interesting backdrops, no unusual settings. Nothing. Just Penthouse style models on some hotel room posing and pretending they were kissing.

Sometimes Ward tried to replace creativity with shock, as in the pictures where he shows a girl fisting another. But shock alone is NOT worth the price of this book. You can get shocked for free typing the word "fisting" on any search engine.

In short, what could'be been an interesting book ended up being a series of grainy photos pulled from Penthouse magazine. It's a good thing the book is no longer available because it will keep people from wasting their money.

It really is sad to see all of these books that are supposed to be about art with sex and porn themes failing misserably at the task of delivering anyting interesting. Now I feel even better about my own work in nude photography with sexually oriented themes (see for yourselves at [...] ). I may not work for Penthouse, but I take pride in the fact that my work is not a fraud.

Technically, the photographs are fine, nothing spectacular like Stuart or Merritt, but well done. The problem I had with this book was: where did the author stopped the art and started the schock value?
The "grainy-ness" of the photos make them look seedy and corrupt, which is part of the experience, but the golden shower and double fisting shots look straight out of one of those porno sites you get spammed everyday with.
I consider myself very open and liberal when it comes to sex and everything that surrounds it, but I have to give this book four stars only because I will need to hide it when I have guests; not that I mind people seeing art, but I feel there are a lot of people out there who will most definetely get offended by the photography.
A very fine publication, with very good photography and extremely erotic subjects.

Ok, I'm a Tony Ward fan. This edition of Ward's work pushes the edge in terms of content as well as his technical skill. However, I give this book a 3-star rating due to its single focus subject matter with an inherent, built-in factor - sex - which guarantees a certain amount of patronage. Ward, if he can be categorized, is a seminal pop artist struggling with anachronistic approaches to a subject matter which, today, has been overdone to the point of numbness. Ward's images, to his credit, are still fun to examine as staged fantasies. Perhaps in a world of reality-driven entertainment Tony Ward may have found a secondary fissure to incubate a pop art clone that is capable of inciting more people to the gallery instead of the bedroom tv.

some reviewers seem to think porn is bad & art is good. i don't agree. i do agree that this book contains art, but i think its also porn & i like both.

This book is living proof that we Americans are not the cultural barbarians we're always made out to be. Let's hear it for Tony Ward, who knows how to teach those stuffy European fuddy-duddies a lesson or two about real culture!