Roy Stuart: Volume I (Hardcover)

by Roy Stuart (Author), Jean-Claude Baboulin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In turns voyeuristic, in turns narrative, Roy Stuart's photographs, with their disarming explicitness, subvert traditional moral codes and force the viewer to reevaluate his or her preconceived notions of sexuality.

Language Notes
Text: English, French, German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Benedikt Taschen Verlag (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822878723
• ISBN-13: 978-3822878729
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #989,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Erotic Art Photography, December 24, 1999

By A Customer

Many photographers would be afraid that they would be labeled pornographers if they did anything like what Roy Stuart has done. Perhaps that explains why there are almost no examples of great erotic art photography. This book is one such example, and it is a masterpiece.

Some people would not like this book, and they may even say it is pornography, but there are also quite a few people who would judge any book with nudes in it to be pornography.

But, in my opinion, the images in this book are not pornographic. They are actually much more erotic than the images in Playboy Magazine, which, by the way, many would not consider pornographic. And the images in this book are even more erotic than the images in many men's magazines that most people would definitely consider pornographic. However, unlike the pornographic images in those men's magazines, the images in this book are very artistic and beautiful.

Roy Stuart is an exceptional photographer. The photos in this book are well composed and exquisitely lit. His photos actually have some snapshot quality to them that intensifies the eroticism, but unlike many recent photo books by top fashion photographers, Roy Stuart does not sacrifice technical quality to give the photos that snapshotty edge.

If you appriciate erotic photography, you should definitely get this book.

If you appriciate photography that has a snapshot quality, but are disappointed with recent photo books that lack technical quality, you should get this book.

If you have found pornographic magazines to be boring, and want to see examples of very interesting highly erotic images, you may like this book.

If you think you would be offended by highly erotic images, no matter how artistic, you should probably not buy this book.

50 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A dissenting opinion, December 22, 1999

By A Customer

Wow, I am amazed at the positive comment this book has received. It was on the strength of reviews that I purchased the book. It is on the weakness of the photography in the book that I will send it back. Roy Stuart seems to be trying to straddle the line between the artistic and the erotic. Unfortunately, he achieves neither.

The subject matter looks like what I would expect from a cheap men's magazine: an uncreative theme with a few photographs showing it. Even this is done poorly. He usually picks up an idea in the middle and leaves us before the end. For example, he'll start with a partially dressed person have her/him remove an article of clothing and then he'll abruptly go to another subject. It leaves me wondering "what was the point of that?"

Many photos are blurry when they should be sharp, taken from a distance when they should be close-up, black and white when color would have been better. The photos of individuals are often obscure, almost pointless. Faces are frequently frustratingly hidden by hair, a turned head, or shadows. I'm assuming this is some kind of shame statement but I would prefer to see facial expressions.

The professed point to the book is an exploration of fetishes. Unfortunately for Mr. Stuart, taking a few close-ups of feet is not sufficient. And while there are other fetishes briefly presented such as a woman finding two men together in the woods, initiating young girls, some light domination, and girls with girls, I would not say that any of these themes was explored in any depth.

After reading reviews of this book, I expected more: creativity, photographic quality, intelligence. Perhaps I am missing the point or my expectations were too high. But, whatever the reason, the book is going back.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars delicious, November 28, 1999

By A Customer

There are few books of erotic photography that are in the league of this one. The composition is fun; the underlying philosophy is consistant enough to pass the standard of respectability; the women are beautiful; the technique is first rate; and the quality of production is wonderful. The degree of kink is the only element that might distinguish one reader's fondness for this book from another's: there is just a hint of leather to make Hamilton fans blush; but there isn't anything that really test the limit of one's appetite for surgical supplis.