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The following is a random list of some of my favorite erotic art / photography books. A ficiton and non-fiction list are currently in the works and will be posted as soon as I get my lazy butt around to it. Hope you enjoy!-- Webmaster
The Body : Photographs of the Human Form
by William A. Ewing
Though not strictly erotica, this is one of the greatest collections of figure photography to be found for its variety alone; delivering a spectrum of images from photography's beginnings to the modern day. It's sort of the photography must have equivocal to Kind of Blue being a music must have.
The Human Figure in Motion
by Eadweard Muybridge
Muybridge is probably one of photographic history's first great voyeurs-- Although his motions of the human figure study probably started out with honorable intentions, one can't help wonder why all the people in these studies are always naked. This is not necessarily a fine collection of nudes; but more a historic one, and a great resource for those who love to sketch the nude.
The Illustrated Kama Sutra :
Ananga-Ranga : Perfumed Garden : Classic Eastern Love
Texts by Richard Burton (Translator), Charles Fowkes, F.F. Arbuthnot (Translator)
Amidst the trite array of pseudo Kama Sutra books which were a photographic how-to, I spent years trying to find something with the ancient folk art-- and this is by far the best collection I've ever seen. While the Kama Sutra has been stigmatized as some sort of exotic sex manual containing contortionistic sexual positions few humans could bend themsevles into to reasonably enjoy themselves, anyone who reads a few pages realizes that this is quite false. The book is actually an interesting sort of "index" of emotional, sensual, and sexual behavior. With beautifully crisp images alongside the texts of the Kama Sutra, Ananga-Ranga, and Perfumed Garden, indulge in the artwork and educate yourself in the 64.
Nudes
by Edward Weston
Weston shot some of the first great art nudes and this collection shows them all-- From desert to water, he captures his models in classic sensual splendor; inadvertently setting the standards for and inspiring the artists of decades to come.
Eros
by Linda Ferrer (Editor), Jane Lahr (Editor), Jana Lahr (Editor)
A wonderful collection of more contemporary erotic imagry, as well as poetry and prose. This book is unique, aside from its outstanding quality, because it's very omnisexual; portrays both sexes equally, as opposed to the norm of being predominantly or totally single gender. A great book to explore by candlelight cozied up in a warm blanket and a glass of cabernet.
Graphis Nudes
by Annette Crandall (Editor), Heinke Jenssen (Editor), Michael O'Connor, B. Martin Pedersen
The quality here is unmatched-- Graphis Nudes is my personal favorite of contemporary erotic photography-- Showing a great span of various artists and styles, one can easily get lost in the colors and compositions of this book's exquisitely sensual images. If only there were more books like this around!
Graphis Nudes 2
by Peggy Chapman (Editor), Clare Hayden (Editor), Heinke Jenssen (Editor), B. Martin Pedersen (Editor)
Like most sequels, not as good as the original; yet still a nice book nonetheless. The photography in this edition shows fewer artists' work and the imagry is often a bit more fetishistic.
Men Without Ties
by Barry Hannah, Gianni Versace, Herb Ritts (Photographer), Bruce Weber (Photographer)
High fashion, to me, has long seemed to be pretty boys in bad clothes, and no where is this more obviously displayed in Men Without Ties, or any of the Versace books really. Personal taste aside, I love the layout of this book; which manages to present the perfect combination of fashion, flesh, and illustration.
Underworld
by Kelly Klein, Victoria Wilson (Editor), Anne Rice (Introduction)
It can be easily said that this is the greatest underwear themed book ever to be made-- containing as great a spectrum of underwear as the people wearing it; or not wearing it as the case may be. The book shows a lot of work was put into its making, since the pictures are not merely fashion photos (a given), but contain historical pics, avante garde erotica of the 40's and 50's, and more. One note, the editor of this book is Kelly Klein, the ex-wife of none other than Calvin Klein. While the reason for their divorce was never made public, one theory was that Calvin was allegedly bisexual-- I know most of you are shocked by this news: The man had a wife?!
One Thousand Nudes
by Uwe Scheid, Michael Koetzle
This book focuses on late 1800's, when skin pics were still provocative. If you thought today's pornography was unoriginal, you'd be right-- even more so than you ever imagined by looking at this book, which shows the origins of modern porn; using approximately the same cliched poses as today, but photographed over 100 years ago. In such a setting, it seems shocking, since we tend to think of the people of that time to be utterly puritanical. Don't be mistaken, this book isn't hardcore porn, more an archive of vintage erotica which is quite chalked full of lovely nudes in classic Victorian settings. And while you will most likely find looking at all 1,000 images of naked women a little repetitive, at least in one sitting, this is a nice little book to have around. (If you're more interested in men, the next book is a perfect companion to this one.)
The Male Nude
by David Leddick
An extensive and thorough history of the male nude in photography from von Gloeden to Weber. If this is something of appeal to you, then this book is one of the best around; and a great value for the money from the excellent Taschen publishing house.
Male Super Models : The Men of Boss Models
by George Wayne
A veritable who's who index of male models which shows pretty much every guy who's graced any sort of fashion ad. Interviews, slightly more grown up than any teeny bopper rag (but not by much), are meant to possibly add substance to this eye candy collection. Two things you learn from this book are: 1) After awhile, most male models start to look alike, 2) Even though 99% of these guys are all over six feet tall, they all seem to be wearing size nine shoes-- except, hmmm, for the black models. As someone who's five foot seven, half Asian, and wears a size ten shoe, I'm feeling very confident these days.
Marcus Schenkenberg : New Rules
by Marcus Schenkenberg
I think I saw some text in this book.
Straight Boys
by Steven Underhill
Buy it for the models, period. Anyone who's ever harbored a yearning for the boy next door type will love this book, which uses utterly American looking guys. And while the models are of a superior quality, those who aren't into gay cliches may find the incessant appearance of Calvins, cut-offs, and athletic paraphenalia annoying; while to photographers, the static compositions will wear too. However, once again, the models make the book a wonderful little treasure.
The Brewer Twins : Double Take
by Derek & Keith Brewer
The word "literary" will not appear in this entry-- What do Brandon Lee movies, cheesecake, and the Brewer Twins have in common? They're all guilty pleasures. Infamous for those Bruce Weber photos of them that seem to be all over the internet, which I of course know nothing about and have never ever seen, the Brewers' book is a portfolio of their work packed with all sorts of little trivial details. Like the fact that besides being paragon SoCal surf gods, they also have MBA's-- I'm still not sure whether I'm really impressed or totally spiteful.
Some Women
by Robert Mapplethorpe, Joan Didion (Introduction)
While infamous for his homoerotic photography, Mapplethorpe's actual portfolio consists mostly of portraits and flowers. Need proof Jesse Helms? Okay, then turn the pages of this book, and gaze upon the faces-- and bodies-- of the women within. While this book contains far less nudes than Mapplethorpe's average book, it does contain one of my favorite images of his: a flawless female nude cropped from shoulders to knees. It's much better than it sounds, trust me.
Mapplethorpe
by Robert Mapplethorpe, Arthur C. Danto (Introduction)
This book is bascially an encyclopedia of Mapplethorpe's work, from flowers to fetish, from portraits to nudes. I think it's a must for any photography library, despite a few pictures of penises so huge I think they would inspire fear of penetration from any man or woman, straight, bisexual, or gay.
Robert Mapplethorpe
by Richard Marshall
Like the above, but a smaller, less expensive collection of Mapplethorpe's works.
