Venus: French Exotic Girls [Paperback]

Makoto Orui (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2000

In keeping with the current retro chic boom, French pin-up girl images of the 50's and 60's have become highly sought after both for their bent toward eroticism and as inspiration for today's photographers. Proliferating during the heyday of nude and glamour magazines, these images were precursors to the coming changes in societal mores and sexual expression. This book is the second of two volumes assembled by noted Japanese editor and art director Makoto Orui; and like its predecessor, L'Amour: French Glamour Girls, Vnus presents us with an intriguing look at the sensual side of postwar French culture. These are subtle yet powerfully erotic photographs, alluring in their quiet, daylight settings and classically posed models, whose aura lies in their natural, imperfect beauty-a beauty that has mostly been disregarded by the narrow standards of today's mainstream aesthetic. This fascinating and exquisitely reproduced book features over 150 photographs by artists form different countries, as well as a special jacket designed as a pin-up.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Makoto Orui is a renowned art director and freelance editor of Japanese magzines, including the visual art journal V and the music magazine Rockin' On. He is also the director of The Deep art gallery in Tokyo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Graphic Sha Publishing (September 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4766111346
• ISBN-13: 978-4766111347
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,136,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Snapshots from the Sixties, October 17, 2006

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Venus: French Exotic Girls (Paperback)

The format is plain and straightforward: B&W figure photos, one per page. The only text is the copyrightand such on the back of the title page, and an ad for another book on the back flap of the dust jacket. That focusses attention completely on the models and on how they're presented. To tell the truth, the look is almost as archaic as the "French post cards" of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

"Jackie Kennedy" and "Barbarella" hair styles dominate. Fashionable figures then were generally better-rounded than in more recent collections, except that (praise be) implants hadn't become widespread. Lingerie shots are very common among these photos, and clearly predate the pantyhose era. I prefer the shots of simple, unadorned figure. They emphasize feminine features that haven't changed since the human species evolved, so they've held up better in the years since these shots were taken. A very few shots give the impression of a model happy and comfortable displaying herself - those, of course, are the ones I'm most drawn to.

Perhaps you have some special fondness for the pinup look of the sixties or early seventies. In that case, Venus is a real treasure. Otherwise, there's no special reason include this in your collection of figure photography.

//wiredweird

PS: Don't miss the full-length foldout printed on the inside of the dust jacket!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Le Beau Pinup, February 21, 2001

By 

Jason B. White (Poulsbo, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Venus: French Exotic Girls (Paperback)

Like the last book of this series "L'Amour: French Glamour Girls", "Venus: Frend Exotic Girls" accomplishes the beauty and eligence of the 50's and 60's pin-up girls, bringing this vintage fantasy to life, in this stunning book. With one glimpse of the pages inside this masterpiece, you will be sure to fall in love, as I had.

8 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Boring, February 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Venus: French Exotic Girls (Paperback)

Don't let the title of this book fools you. The pictures inside the book are in poor quality, of course, we can not find any pretty model inside the book.