Customer Reviews

Richard Kern: Model Release

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

 

 

I bought this book without any predisposed notion of what it might contain. I read several reviews of Kern's work, which raised my curiosity level to the point where I arbitrarily decided to acquire one of his books. .... However,...there is a distinct quality to some of Kern's rather stark photographs that transcends anything that you would find at the adult bookstore. One can't help but admire the fact that he uses some very ordinary women as models who are shown in very ordinary contexts, blemishes and all. It's difficult to be "titillated" by what I consider to be Kern's frequently blunt approach to presenting the female body. While viewing the photographs in this book, there were times that I felt like I was receiving a visual biology lesson, while at other times I felt like a voyeur. In that regard, I suppose Kern has succeeded in challenging the viewer's pre-existing perceptions of the female body, and perhaps women in general. In a broader sense, it would appear to me that Kern challenges the definition of art, and blurs the border between it and pornography. Model Release is not a coffee table book, and it's not suitable for anybody who is even moderately immune to being offended. But with an unbiased attitude, the reader may be able to gain a better understanding of Kern's personal artistic vision.

Finding out about Richard Kern is like discovering one of the photography world's best kept secrets, excuse the cliche. Always ignoring the line between pornography and art, Kern continues to use his mastery of light and colour to create visually fascinating pictures. Unlike his earlier book, New York Girls, Kern seems less concerned with s&m theatrics and relies on the personality and physical attributes of his models to interest the viewer. For the most part, the barely-legal appearance of the models and the use of his apartment for a background create a sense of unity throughout the book, and some of his most interesting shots are ones that appear in sequence, an influence of his earlier film days I am sure. One of my favorite things about the book is how Kern seems to use a lot of natural light in these new works, which complements the freshness and imperfection of the girls. The compromising positions of the models and use of ...(aparatus) may be too much for some people with their own issues to handle, but keeping an open mind one can really indulge his or her voyeuristic tendencies! The almost academic introduction is written by one the models, a film student herself. All analysis aside, the book is provocative and incredibly beautiful to look at!

From bondage and leather to latex and guns, Richard Kern is known for incorporating the elements of fetish imagery into his photos, but there is something different about Kern's most recent photographs. They're so fresh. The tough latex-clad chicks from NEW YORK GIRLS are gone. These days his girls are less equipped and they also smile a lot.

MODEL RELEASE features Kern's recent work, a testament to the new phase in his photography. Saturated colors and bright atmospheric lighting accentuate his young and pretty-but-not-perfect nude subjects. Still adhering to a "no airbrush" philosophy, Kern's unpretentious, honest photos draw you in close and make you feel like you're right there. Imperfections galore, these sophisticated snapshots show the girls as they really are - just like real life. Fans of Kern's previous work will find this new direction refreshing, but will not be disappointed if their taste runs to the explicit and hard-core, for there is plenty of that as well.

If your fantasy ideal is "the girl next door" putting on a lascivious show just for you, then Richard Kern's latest collection is one you won't want to miss!

There is no blurring, no grey area about the status of this book: it's porn. The question is not whether it is art in the alternative to porn, but art as well as porn. But its status as porn is beyond doubt. For one thing, it helpfully admits it. There is also the introduction by Lucy MacKenzie that, whilst doubtless sincere, reads like the validatory (always female)editorial of a porn magazine. However, as porn, it is actually relatively tame. Anyone buying it as porn would probably be able to get more satisfaction from cheaper top-shelf sources. Once it is accepted as porn, its other qualities, good and bad, can be more properly examined. All of the pictures are nicely presented, although the facing page lurid block colours tended to detract or influence the images - was this intentional? The labelling is not always clear, which is irritating if the work is to be treated at all seriously. It does not compare well with Ewing's collection "Love and Desire". There are some excellent pictures which show real character on the part of the models, though often these are the "off set" shots such as "Lisa strips". The best parts of the book are where the pictures are presented as a sequence. For example, there is a "block" of images of Ms MacKenzie, culminating in a (fully clothed) image that will shock many. But even here there are pictures of Lucy at the beach that do not make sense except as "other pictures in the portfolio." The reader looking for a "deeper" level to this collection may be forced to the conclusion that such is really all it is - a snapshot album. If we look too hard for the deeper level ... why is one of the first shots apparently of Lucy MacKenzie at a very young age wearing a brace? Did anyone else feel uncomfortable looking at "Kirsten's tie"? It has the qualities of looking at Schiele's pictures - is the artist commenting on or delighting in the situations presented? But the images generally lack Schiele's definite statement. It is not Sally Mann. It is not David Attie, whose "smiling nude" does tell us something about self-presentation. It is an interesting work, but flawed, and sadly possibly nothing really special. Like most porn.

Finding out about Richard Kern is like discovering one of the photography world's best kept secrets, excuse the cliche. Always ignoring the line between pornography and art, Kern continues to use his mastery of light and colour to create visually fascinating pictures. Unlike his earlier book, New York Girls, Kern seems less concerned with s&m theatrics and relies on the personality and physical attributes of his models to interest the viewer. For the most part, the barely-legal appearance of the models and the use of his apartment for a background create a sense of unity throughout the book, and some of his most interesting shots are ones that appear in sequence, an influence of his earlier film days I am sure. One of my favorite things about the book is how Kern seems to use a lot of natural light in these new works, which complements the freshness and imperfection of the girls. The compromising positions of the models and use of dildos may be too much for some people with their own issues to handle, but keeping an open mind one can really indulge his or her voyeuristic tendencies! The almost academic introduction is written by one the models, a film student herself. All analysis aside, the book is provocative and incredibly beautiful to look at!

When I think of Kern I can't help but go back to the days of his super8 films. The hardcore collection was eons ahead of it's time, most still can't see beyond. Kern is transcendent in his work and this book is a brilliant 'no frills' example. It's as though the images ae bordering on self parody, there are some rather untypically attractive woman as well as the others which shows again Kern's fascination with the female body. IF YOUR LOOKING FOR PORN SHOP MASTURBATION MATERIAL YOU WILL BE ABOUT 30% HAPPY. However, if your new to his work, or even photography as art in general, this is not a world of digital hyper-bole. This is not easy on the eyes, but the more you look through, the more you will appreciae flourescent lighting. Kern is the exact opposite. Don't let my or anyone else's opinion influence you. Check out more samples yourself at www.richardkern.com. It ussually goes over the heads of the not so cerebral, but can easily be embraced by the most common lower degenerate types as well. Too many critics, too few doing anything about it.

I like color photography. I also like monochrome photography. And I like naked females. A lot. There's plenty of truly artistic mono nude work, but with color it's almost always this snapshot-style stuff you see published nowadays and I don't like it much.

I don't have restrictions about what type nudes I like, if it's good, I like it all from simple non-sexual standing fine art images to gritty borderline porno. If it's good photography, it's good photography. This book of Richard Kern's is just perfect for what it is. Page after page, you don't know quite what's coming next, but somehow it's all in the groove. You really feel a connection with the models and you see them for who they really are, whether that's being photographed while sick in bed or while they are posing for the camera and getting a bit nasty, you sense a genuine connection with the photoartist (perhaps a literal connection, judging from a couple of the apparently post-sex images in the collection). Mr. Kern, with his simple snapshots, has captured and put together something in this book that just feels so ))) REAL (((.

The girls are great. None of them are great beauties (although the young brunette named "Alisa" is pretty darn close), but instead these seem like the "bad girls" you knew in high school that your mother didn't approve of but you loved to play with (or at least wanted to).

This isn't a book of fine art. But somehow it's much more than just naughty naked snaps. Richard Kern is something unique: he really can present the simple color snapshot as an art form and this book is certainly worth owning. The production quality is darn good for a softcover, but it's TASCHEN so I guess that's to be expected. Enjoy!

DBAX

Unlike many nude photos, these models often seemed to be having fun. From the front cover where two young babes are arm wrestling to the back cover where two girls are holding hands as they wave to someone, there are many happy yet sexy
photos.

Check out this blurb on the back cover: "There exists an ordinariness in Kern's images that is disconcerting and that ultimately undermines any masturbatory potential or intent". The ordinariness is indeed perplexing. Masturbatory concerns aside, this book has no aesthetic potential or intent either. The pictures seem to be a random selection of cheap Web porn, ranging from the tedious to the vulgar. There are a few better ones, but nothing that you will not forget after turning the page. The book is badly designed and the printing quality is mediocre. You will not keep it in your hands for more than a couple of minutes or pick it from the bookshelf more than a couple of times.

If you cut out two thirds of this book it might be worth the money. This concept of snapshot photography passing as the new art form is beginning to get real old. Wake up and smell the coffee people, Nan Goldin's fifteen minutes is up. In fact, it's been up. If you really need to pay (price) to see unattractive people do unattractive things, here it is. Now, with that said, the other third of this book is interesting. It would have made a nice little book for (price).