MICHELLE7'S BEST BOOKS OF 2000

LIGHT WARRIORS
By Joyce Tenneson
Published by Bullfinch Press
Tenneson's photographic career has been one of experimentation and growth. Books of her work have been published at every step of the way, and we have seen her pictures get better and better. Light Warriors is a collection of beautiful, interesting looking women. Props and clothing are often employed in a way that creates an ethereal quality. The women are sometimes holding sources of light, which are overexposed here and create a glow that adds to the mystery. The pictures in this book are flawless, and there are no clinkers. It will be difficult for Tenneson to top the photos in this book, but that's OK. A collection this interesting by any photographer is rare indeed.

Review by William McEwen

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  MALE NUDES BY AN ARTIST 

AS I SEE IT
By Greg Gorman
Published by Powerhouse Books
Internationally acclaimed photographer Greg Gorman has just completed his most personal work to date: the male figure study. Twenty years in the making, this epic artist's project features carefully selected young men--not big or overly built--who exemplify for Gorman a perfected state, allowing him to frame grace, beauty, and elegance in the form of the male nude. Included amongst the 240-plus portraits are many of Gorman's friends and acquaintances, as well as professional models, many of whom had never posed nude before. The cumulative effect of As I See It creates a pleasurable zone of contemplation, allowing one to reexamine the precepts of beauty within a refreshing framework of exalted maleness. According to Gorman, "As I see it, they're not really boys, yet they're not really men. They are caught somewhere in between--almost at that point of maturity that defines masculinity."

Review by Amazon.com

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  FEMALE NUDES (COMPILATION) 

DERRIERES
By Carlton Books Ltd.
Although this book is only 128 pages in length its artist representation is quite commanding. What it lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in character, as the photos displayed are mouth wateringly beautiful. Any human being will be immediately drawn to the powerful imagery contained in this volume as it focuses on the universally appealing rear-end of the species - specifically the female bottom. With photos from the likes of Günter Blum, Lucien Clergue, Thomas Karsten, Craig Morey, Ben Westwood, Gilles Berquet, Steven Diet Goedde, and others, this book is assuredly a most reputable endeavor. Finally, to quote Thomas Karsten, "..a female's bottom is a source of great erotic attraction. There is something Godly about it that moves me deeply.". 

Review by JCG

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  MALE NUDES (COMPILATION) 

NAKED MEN, TOO
By David Leddick
A remarkable sequel to the award-winning book Naked Men: Pioneering Male Nudes 1900-1950, Naked Men, Too, exposes the breakthrough nude male photography and art that changed the perception of male beauty. Focusing on the work of influential photographers such as George Platt Lynes, Robert Mapplethorpe, Harriet Leibowitz, and Bruce Weber, author David Leddick chronicles the visual revolution that paralleled social and sexual liberation since the late 1950's. With brief biographies of the models, including early renegades like Yves St. Laurent, Joe Dallesandro, Rupert Everett and more-this provocative book features reproductions of the original photos alongside portraits of the models today. This dynamic history of male nudity in art and advertising is for all audiences, gay and straight. 

Review by Amazon.com

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  EROTICA 

MY WIFE
By Petter Hegre
Published by Edition Stemmle, 2000
In many ways this book sets the bar for what good erotica should be. It provides an intimate glimpse into the marriage between renown photographer Petter Hegre and his beautiful wife Svanborg. They met in 1996 when she volunteered for a photo-shoot and they've been together since then, marrying in 1998. Petter's been shooting her ever since that first day and this book is the result of that monumental effort (he's shot over 6000 photos). What is so inspiring, and what many people will undoubtedly fail to appreciate, is that Hegre has created a holistic documentary of their life together. My Wife features scenes from their family life, images from their travels together, and an image or two of their wedding day. This is most elegantly juxtaposed with a huge amount of erotic imagery. Much of it is of Svanborg in the nude. But it's more than that - there is some amazing sexual (and oftentimes kinky) imagery here, where we see Svanborg with other women and with Petter. We've never seen a body of work that so seamlessly interweaves an adventurous sex life within the blessed union of marriage. Delightfully wholesome and sinfully sexy all in one - this book is fantastically great!

Review by JCG 

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  HOMOEROTICA 

MEN OF KRISTEN BJORN
By Kristen Bjorn
In 1957 a small boy was born to loving parents in London, England. His parents moved to the suburbs of Washington, D.C. where the boy grew to be a strapping young man. At the tender age of age the boy, now a man, Kristen, left his parents' home to seek his fame and fortune in the world. Luckily for us, Kristen was a trashy kind of guy who went to work for Falcon Studios. Kristen eventually made his home in Brazil where he encountered amazingly hot men of every imaginable stripe. Kristen Bjorn took pictures of these men in just about every stage of the act of having sex in two's and three's. The result is this new coffee table sized book with exquisitely sultry photos.  These men are a fantastically well endowed group who always seem to be caught just before they are about to devour some other nude, muscled-up hunk on a tropical beach or a promontory overlooking the city.

Review by Amazon.com

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  HISTORICAL 

THE ROTENBERG COLLECTION: FORBIDDEN EROTICA
By Mark Rotenberg and Laura Mirsky
Published by Taschen
One should consider this a most scholarly effort, quite nasty, but scholarly nonetheless. It's 576 pages! And it is awesome! Mark Rotenberg was inspired to begin collecting lost and forgotten erotic photographs after he stumbled upon over a thousand very graphic vintage photos in a dumpster in Brooklyn. His collection now tops out at about 95,000 photos covering the period from 1860 to 1960. TASCHEN's second book drawing from Rotenberg's collection features more crazy hardcore photographs that would make your grandmother squirm. How odd it is to see ladies in bloomers and corsets with men sporting handlebar moustaches, transfixed in the raunchiest of positions! 
 

Review by JCG/TASHCEN

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  NUDES (GENERAL) 

NUDE BODY NUDE
By Howard Schatz and Beverly J. Ornstein
Published by Harper Collins
This is Howard Schatz's eleventh book of photographs, is very likely his best to date, and is destined to become the classic body book. It's 320 pages. The images are full-body studies of women and men, pairs and groups, models and dancers, from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. It also features exquisite close-up explorations as well as sensual and graphically arresting nude studies of couples, ranging from classically serious to fanciful and fun. This project is a unique artist's original and exciting vision of the human body.
 

Review by Amazon.com

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  FETISH  

FETISH: MASTERPIECES OF EROTIC FANTASY PHOTOGRAPHY
By Tony Mitchell
Published by Carlton Books Ltd. and Thunder's Mouth Press (USA version)
The mainstream acceptance of images from the once secretive world of S/M fantasy has helped make fetish photography a legitimate art form. And 'Fetish' presents the very best of this exciting genre combining contemporary icons with some of photography's most notable masters. Featuring 220 beautifully produced images from the likes of Peter Ashworth, Nobuyoshi Araki, Wolfgang Eichler, Richard Kern, Charles Gatewood, Günter Blum, Eric Kroll, and many, many more, it is an exquisite compilation that every serious collector should have.

Review by JCG/Amazon.com 

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  INSTRUCTIONAL 

PROVOCATIVE SHOTS
By Alex Larg and Jane Wood
Published by Rotovision
An aura of eroticism sparks every page of this exciting instructional that shows camera artists exactly how to create provocative shots through carefully placed lighting. A wide-ranging selection of complex studio shots and natural exterior settings feature provocative contemporary photographs by top professionals, accompanied by explanatory text, equipment specifications, and set up schemes for each composition. 

Review by Amazon.com

BOOK OF THE YEAR:  LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

JEANLOUP SIEFF 1950-1990: tIME WILL PASS LIKE RAIN
By Jeanloup Sieff
Published by Taschen
A Masterpiece! This book is so full: full of talent and inspiration, full of insights and facts, but most importantly it is full of beautiful, visually intoxicating photographs. It's big, oversized, almost 300 pages, and impeccably designed and printed. Throughout Jeanloup Sieff retraces in word and photos the span of his 40 year career. It's divided into four chapters, 50's to 90's and brings in many previously unpublished photographs. His art is strong testimony to his lifelong quest for art and beauty through fine art black & white photography.

Review by William Blake