Jock Sturges: Notes

by Jock Sturges (Photographer)

"Jock 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, shot as Polaroids, accompanies the finished works included here--offering visual testimony to the complex process and inspiration that underlies each of the gorgeous images his audience has come to love and admire.

Genres: Art, Photography

96 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2004

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 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.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This piece of work shows the "behind-the-scenes" thinking of what Jock Sturges uses to make his images 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 understanding of how he picks his people and who he talks to is all based on that one individual connection. It is the lives and individual stories that make his images all the more amazing to look at. The image of a little boy who now has a future to look forward to living because he was able to beat cancer is made all the more personal by showing his parents in the background indistinctly.

If you are a fan of his work or want to understand more about the process of Sturges methods, this is a book to read as it will help understand how he creates the worlds that he does. Be aware that the people he photographs are nude so if you are not keen to such pictures then this is a book to admire from afar.