My rating:

add to my books

Jock Sturges: Notes

by Jock Sturges

4.14 · rating details · 7 ratings · 2 reviews

Over the past decade, Jock Sturges has produced an incomparable body of work that revels in the beauty of the human form and celebrates the naturist spirit. Jock Sturges: Notes gives fans of his unforgettable images a glimpse behind the scenes of his working process, opening up his studio and notes to the viewer for the very first time. A selection of preparatory studies, ...more

Hardcover, 96 pages

Published October 15th 2004 by Aperture

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-13 of 13)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 27, 2011

Chris rated it

Shelves: art, books-read-2011, foreign, non-fiction, photography

This piece of work shows the "behind-the-scenes" thinking of what Jock Sturges uses to make his iamges appear "real." His understanding of relationships with the people he photographes is more important than the people in the pictures. He feels that if he has a personal relationship of trust and understanding, they will give him ten-fold the look that he is after. And it is just this style of photography that makes his work so loved by so many.

The style and understa...more

· see review

Jul 29, 2011

Evan rated it

Shelves: __in-my-collection, artsy-fartsy, transgressive, 2011-reads

I have mixed feelings about this work, and about Jock Sturges. Technically, the photographs are impressive--exemplars of composition and lighting and painstaking concentration aimed at capturing the magical moment that turns an ordinary nude into a memorable image. Sturges, as an artist, has some interesting things to say in this "notebook" about how puritanism and the sexualized images of a commercialized culture render pure nudity (as depicted in his photos) as perverse or turn nudi...moreI have mixed feelings about this work, and about Jock Sturges. Technically, the photographs are impressive--exemplars of composition and lighting and painstaking concentration aimed at capturing the magical moment that turns an ordinary nude into a memorable image. Sturges, as an artist, has some interesting things to say in this "notebook" about how puritanism and the sexualized images of a commercialized culture render pure nudity (as depicted in his photos) as perverse or turn nudity into something equated with sexuality in the eyes of too many people. In brief, Sturges' work typically involves the photographing of nude girls and boys (mainly girls) from very young childhood into adolescence--sometimes in isolation or in groups or in familial settings (sometimes with siblings and parents or even with young lovers). His working method is to live among naturist (nudist) communities, becoming a friend of the families, and documenting his subjects often over a period of years. The shots are chaste and not really sexualized in terms of poses, and are often set on beaches or in other natural settings. Sturges frequently claims in the text that he is looking for some kind of realism, and that his art approaches some kind of reality or truth, but to me these images seem just as posed and glamorized as anything in the commercial realms that he criticizes. Like many artists, he seems to equate glum expressions or morose poses with truth, thus a dearth of smiling faces, as if moments of unguarded happiness are not truth. Because the work is so controlled, I find it hard to buy Sturges' claims of capturing truth. (The test-shot Polaroids printed in the book's opening spreads--many taken by others, including by his subjects--show more honesty than his own photos, precisely because they are unprofessional). I don't see a lot of happy childhoods in what he captures, even though he is constantly implying the happiness and healthiness of his subjects and their milieu in his text. The various testimonials offered throughout the book by subjects and parents and other Sturges acolytes are meant to make me feel better about the man and his work but end up making me feel like I'm being sold a bill of goods by cultists who've swallowed the Kool-Aid. Just so you know, Sturges is alleged to have had an affair with a 14-year-old girl and has had his studio raided by the FBI (in search of kiddie porn). So, far he has eluded any serious repurcussions. I'm inclined to sympathize with him in his quest to document adolescent beauty, since it's utterly absurd to think that the human form is only beautiful after the age of 18. Issues of consent and control and such would make--and have made--for interesting discussions, which I simply haven't the energy to delve into now. In any case, I don't find the images erotic and don't believe most people would, nor do I believe that they should be banned just because some people might.

The concept of this book is to explain Sturges' artistic philosophy and working methods and as such this is a decent attempt, but I have a feeling that some of his other collections such as Last Days of Summer or Radiant Identities are better from a purely artistic standpoint.(less)

like 5 likes

· see review

Jan 26, 2012

Aaron added it

Shelves: own

Sep 14, 2011

Red marked it as investigate

Jun 07, 2011

M. Sarki rated it

Sep 26, 2010

Dingus rated it

Jan 31, 2010

Clarita marked it as to-read

Shelves: art, wishlist

Oct 26, 2009

you added it

Aug 18, 2009

Timbre Michele added it

Shelves: art

Jul 29, 2009

¨•♥•.¸♥me♥¸.•♥•¨ rated it

Feb 27, 2008

Robin added it

Nov 03, 2007

Melissa rated it

May 04, 2007

space rated it

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Genres

Art

3 users

Art > Photography

2 users

See top shelves...

Books by Jock Sturges

Evolution Of Grace Photographs By Jock Sturges

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Jock Sturges: Notes

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Jock Sturges: Notes
avg rating	preview: Jock Sturges: Notes Goodreads rating: 4.14 (7 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/518924.Jock_Sturges?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312051103m/518924.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/518924.Jock_Sturges?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Jock Sturges: Notes by Jock Sturges[/url]