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Title: The Age of Innocence by David Hamilton, Gertrude Hamilton, Liliane James ISBN: 1854103040 Publisher: Aurum Pr Ltd Pub. Date: May, 1995 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $55.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.41
Rating: 4
Summary: But is it art? Yes. A review adapted from the TLS
Comment: The following is adapted from my review of David Hamilton's The Age of Innocence, from the Times Literary Supplement (London):
... Even by the self- consciously sophisticated standards of Manhattan, The Age of Innocence is a transgressive book (among Americans, anyway, for it would be otherwise in France and in its place of publication, the United Kingdom, which while also subject to child abuse hysteria, has at least sensibly taken the position, so I understand the law, that no part of the body can in and of itself be considered obscene). My wife carelessly left the book out, however, at a brunch for parents from our daughter's day care, a group of magazine editors, Legal Aid lawyers, academics, doctors, and entertainment industry consultants - elites, that is, not easily shocked by consumables, at least in the form of handsome, $50 coffee table books - and it is safe to say that their reactions to two hundred pages of photographs of gauzily adorned nude young teenage girls ranged from disturbed to shocked. Too embarrassed to examine it closely, they did not see that it had an underlying project if anything still more transgressive, to illustrate pictorially, in chapters, the progression from virginity to defloration, passing through staged pictures of young girls masturbating, kissing in lesbian scenes, and finally a girl being carried and laid naked upon a bed by a frontally naked young man - a boy, perhaps? - nothing gynecological, in the terminology of the men's magazines, but still more explicit than most. The artistic project, the illumination of the psychology of virginity and innocence (and the fact that in the most ordinary course of things and yet often with great moment for an individual, they both come to an end) through photographs and a text mixing contemporary commentary with much historical quotation on the beauty and desirability of innocence, fails badly. This is not to say that the project is illegitimate, aesthetically or morally, but The Age of Innocence's rea! ch greatly exceeds its grasp. The text is alas insipid, perhaps inevitably on this topic in this day and age but perhaps not, and the photographs, as a collection; well, I asked my wife, a former photojournalist, to characterize Hamilton's reputation as a photographer and she said delicately but accurately, vulgar.
And yet, for all that, I am glad of the book. The reason is simply that if one ignores the faulty project, the faulty aesthetic; indeed, if one ignores the photographs as "works of art," in the way that, for example, Sturges' work must be regarded, to concentrate solely on the preservation of beauty, the beauty not of the photograph as artefact, but simply the beauty of the girl, then Hamilton's achievement is real. Hamilton seems to recognize momentarily that this is the value of his work, in the one bit of text that moved me, a line of dedication that reads "and to all my little ones between these pages they stay forever young." For these photographs range across many years' work, and many of the girls in them are women now, some perhaps no longer beautiful, some perhaps no longer young. There are other forms of beauty, including that etched across the face of fifty years, but is it finally so transgressive to preserve the fleeting beauty of a new breast or a pubis only recently covered in fleece, when we all grow old so soon?
Hamilton's photographs skirt the edge of high art; their appeal is that they are not high art and thus, unlike, say, Jock Sturges' work, invoke desire directly because they are not about the photograph but about the girl ...
* * *
Rating: 5
Summary: Beautiful teen nudes
Comment: Hamilton wonderfully captures the beauty of the young nude female. Make no mistake, these pictures are erotic and very compelling. Hamilton has a knack for capturing the essence of young teenage and pre-teen girls precisely at their "Age of Innocence." The photos are very alluring and sensuous. The book does have drawbacks, however. The text is, for the most part, pure drivel (but let's face it, no one buys a Hamilton book to read the words!). Also, I feel Hamilton should have included a few more full-nudes. But other than that, this is an excellent book and one well worth picking up. I can hardly wait for the next Hamilton book!
Rating: 4
Summary: Unabashed Intentions
Comment: This book has the guts to tackle the touchy subject of sexual awakening head-on. The prose under each picture is about sex, and the introduction to the book by L. James is about sex, too. This is a good thing. Since sex amongst young people is obviously a very real thing, why is it considered bad to address it in print or other artistic mediums? It is my opinion that anything having to do with the life process should be fair game for artistic representation, including sexual awakening. Those who would condemn this book are denying that such feelings and desires do exist amongst young people. They do exist, and how. I am nineteen years old, and the sexual confusions and longings of adolescence are still fresh in my mind. I had to see this controversial book for myself and see if Hamilton got it right. While his is an older man's perspective on the subject, he still did surprisingly well. While most of the pictures, (with some VERY striking exceptions) tend to be very similar and can get monotonous, the overall effect of the book is impressive and memorable. As long as freedom of artistic expression reigns, as opposed to fascist misinformation and ignorance, books like this will always have a secure place for those mature enough to understand and relate to them.
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Title: David Hamilton : Twenty Five Years of an Artist by David Hamilton, Philippe Gautier ISBN: 1854102664 Publisher: Aurum Pr Ltd Pub. Date: May, 1998 List Price(USD): $65.00 |
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Title: Jock Sturges: New Work by Jock Sturges ISBN: 3908247365 Publisher: Scalo Verlag Ac Pub. Date: December, 2000 List Price(USD): $70.00 |
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Title: The Last Day of Summer by Jock Sturges ISBN: 0893815381 Publisher: Aperture Pub. Date: April, 1993 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Jock Sturges by Jock Sturges ISBN: 3908247357 Publisher: Scalo Verlag Ac Pub. Date: 15 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Radiant Identities by Jock Sturges ISBN: 0893815950 Publisher: Aperture Pub. Date: November, 1994 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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