Jock Sturges: Notes Hardcover – June 15, 2005

This is a beautiful little volume that features color portraits and preliminary studies alongside the wise, even brilliant observations of a most important photographer. His work, while always aesthetically sumptuous, exerts, without necessarily intending to, ineluctable commentary on a culture of shame, censorship, and perhaps the seminal component of societal dissembling and duplicity – repression of truth about the human body.How did we get here? Does this all evolve from “knowledge of good and evil”? I am not equipped to trace the lineage but do know that much actual evil can be tracked to an apparent contempt for our own bodies, this essential vessel of our humanity – without which our existence would be unrecognized. The tendrils of this contempt radiate as an entangling malignancy and acts as central embedded underpinning of false construct in many human societies.Sturges himself addresses this very concept in the following paragraph from the book. It is the most cogent direct insight on the subject I think I’ve yet encountered, encapsulating a truth one comes to almost instantly and certainly in any overview and appreciation of his oeuvre:“Naturists know that there is nothing shameful about the body – that it is by hiding our bodies from each other that we create perverse interest. Cultures that do away with these concealments suffer less social pathology. The vast sea of sexy, provocative photography with which we are bombarded daily invariably involves models/actors/performers/celebrities dressed in skimpy clothing and innuendo.Such visual tactics goad the imagination into lascivious exercise, an aesthetic callisthenic that is completely obviated by the simple fact of nudity.”NOTES Jock Sturges

For those who are simply wanting a collection of large Sturges photographs, this will not fill the bill. For those who are interested in Jock Sturges, the person, and some background on his models this is the one to get. You get some background into his process and how he goes about his work. There is a collection of Polaroid shots he uses in formulating his approach to the picture. You are then treated to a wonderful selection of B&W images, most taken in 2003 with a few from 2000 and 2001. Several of the pictures have comments by the model. For several of his models, there is an update of their lives as they were photographed as they grew older. There is reference to the sheer work involved in processing and printing his photographs, but I felt it was greatly understated; dealing with an 8 x 10 negative format camera and film is not a trivial task, but the results are fantastic. Nor is getting the lighting just right on the beaches easy, but the use of light and shadow in his prints shows he makes it look easy. The latter part of the book touches upon his newer work in fashion photography. Misty Dawn nee Johnson has quite a few pages to express her thoughts on her long association with Jock. The dimensions of the book are not large, but it is put out by Aperture, which stands for high quality in printing works of photography.

Jock Sturges is well known in photography and legal circles. His pictures of mostly young women have netted him praise and legal action. In this book, he explains how and why he makes these pictures. There are also comments from some of his subjects, many of whom have posed for him numerous times over the years. They uniformly seem to have been benefitted from the experience, and Mr. Sturges shares his beliefs about the nature of photographing people in the nude.If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, your reaction will certainly depend upon your own beliefs about what is appropriate subject matter for general publication. Mr. Sturges makes most of his pictures in France,(and some in the rural 'hippie' communes of Northern California) and, as was pointed out in the play 'My Fair Lady' the French don't care what they do, as long as they pronounce it properly. However, don't expect to see typical 'glamour' photography here. These pictures are set in peoples actual living spaces. There is beauty to be found here, but it is closer to reality than any fantasy dreamed up for sexual purposes. These are pictures that will make you think. So, is this art? As some judge said, I know it when I see it.

For the first time in a book, Jock gives an in depth behind the scenes look at how he performs his work. Included are notes from several of the models/Naturists talking about their experience as his models, including Misty Dawn. The color polaroids in the book present the human side of the characteristic Sturges photos which, while stunning, can be a bit stark.I also recommend that fans of his work view the Naturist DVDs Amazon has like: "Castle Naturism" and "4th of July". These types of works may not be possible in the future. Camera equipment is no longer allowed on the beaches in Montalivet, the Southern French town in which Sturges photographs.

Filled with Jock's stunning photos as well as test photos, this terrific book gives you an insight into what it takes to capture the beauty featured in his photos. Good quality paper and binding makes this book a must for any collector of Sturges.

As a photographer of interesting and often beautiful women, I found Jock Sturges' work both exciting and intriguing. I live in Europe but even in this social climate, the free intimacy Sturges invokes with his subjects is worth the efforts to understand this book. I would say that he evokes a natural intimacy that is usually absent from photography or the nudes shot by most photographers miss the wholesome quality evident in Sturges' images. The people are neither ashamed nor proud of their bodies...they inhabit them. I applaud his work and I will study this photos for years to come.

One of my favorite photographers. He exhibits in local gallery, Photos Do Not Bend (PDNB). 20+" prints are fantastic. If you love one of his photos, you should buy the print. Jock has a sensitive, European approach to photographing nudist families. May be shocking to folks in USA.

Gefällt mir, würde ich wieder kaufen.

Satisfied with my purchase.

A large amount of very beautiful black & white pictures. Photo art that is in a class for itself.Jock Sturges and Sally Mann is in class of there own, i think.

Buen libro, con buenas imágenes históricas. El formato un poco raro y descuadra un poco en la biblioteca, pero las fotos lo vale.

A nice artistic book with some lovely pictures, so natural, I myself am a naturist so it's nothing out of the ordinary for me