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"Method of this work:
literary montage.
I have nothing to say only to show."
(Passagenwerk (1927 - 1940) - Walter Benjamin)

2005, Aug 16; 17:38 ::: Kitsch

Arizona (1950) - Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)

Biblis (1884) - William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)
image sourced here.

On kitsch: Theodor Adorno - art - aesthetics - aesthetics - bad taste - camp - cheap - cheesy - commercial - consumerism - culture - culture industry - false - formula - Jean-Léon Gérôme - Clement Greenberg - low culture - mass - popular - quality - postmodernism - vulgar

Opposite of kitsch: authenticity - authorship - avant garde - genuine - greatness - originality - unique

Kitsch is a German term that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. The term is also used more loosely in referring to any art that is pretentious or in bad taste, and also commercially produced items that are considered trite or crass.

Because the word was brought into use as a response to a large amount of art in the 19th century where the aesthetic of art work was confused with a sense of exaggerated sentimentality or melodrama, kitsch most closely associated with art that is sentimental, mawkish, or maudlin; however, it can be used to refer to any type of art which is deficient for similar reasons — whether it tries to appear sentimental, cool, glamorous, theatrical, or creative, kitsch is said to be a gesture imitative of the superficial appearances of art. It is often said that kitsch relies on merely repeating convention and formula, lacking the sense of creativity and originality displayed in genuine art. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsch [Aug 2005]

See also: kitsch - 1884

2005, Aug 16; 16:38 ::: Encyclopedia of Bad Taste (1990) - Jane Stern, Michael Stern

Encyclopedia of Bad Taste (1990) - Jane Stern, Michael Stern [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

From Publishers Weekly
Lava lamps, Hawaiian shirts, accordion music and outlandish performer Charo are among the kitschy or lowbrow people, places and things affectionately featured in this entertaining, colorful reference book. Illustrated. $50,000 ad/promo. (Oct.)no PW rev Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Pop culture mavens and authors of 15 books, including Elvis World ( LJ 10/1/87) and Sixties People ( LJ 1/90), the Sterns have assembled a directory of American "ersatz culture" that would make Roseanne Barr proud. Their goal is, "to catalogue bad taste, define the standard masterworks, and inaugurate the annals of the world's favorite faux pas." With entries running the gamut from Chippendale dancers, Tammy Faye Bakker, and the jogging suit to Jello, nose jobs, and tattoos, the result is a somewhat humorous and whimsical volume that celebrates lowbrow culture more than berates it. This encyclopedia offers trivial information aplenty, most of it from secondary sources: the origins of bowling, the invention of the Lava Lite. It might make a good gift item, but as a library reference purchase it is not recommended. Perhaps for pop culture or humor collections. - David Nudo, New York, Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. via Amazon.com

Taste (sociology)
Taste as a sociological concept is expressed in the idea that certain personal preferences develop as the product of social pressures. The notion of taste in aesthetics is often associated with manners and good habits that are of innate nature. The main critic of this idea is French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, whose main argument is based on the claim that individual tastes and preferences are socially produced. According to Bourdieu, individual tastes are shaped by certain aspects of social practices and position within society. People aspire towards "higher" cultural forms and produce their identities accordingly – they want to be associated with those who are considered to be more developed intellectually and artistically and therefore tend to consume corresponding cultural products. In this sense the notion of taste is closely linked to consumption and consumerism: the viewer or reader consumes various artistic products and then interprets them by the means of criticism that rests upon the idea of taste.

Bad taste is generally a title given to any object or idea that does not fall within the normal social standards of the time or area. Varying from society to society and from time to time, bad taste is generally thought of as a negative thing, but also changes with each individual.

Some varieties of black humor employ bad taste for its shock value, similarly some artists deliberately create vulgar or kitsch works of art to defy critical standards or social norms. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste_%28sociology%29 [Aug 2005]

See also: taste - sociology - aesthetics - bad taste - kitsch

2005, Aug 16; 16:38 ::: Francis Haskell on taste

Taste and the Antique (1981) - Francis Haskell, Nicholas Penny [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Past and Present in Art and Taste: Selected Essays (1987) - Francis Haskell [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

From Library Journal
"Taste" in art is a constantly recurring theme among many philosophers, artists, and historians. Here, Oxford art historian Haskell continues his study of the changing nature of artistic taste begun in Patrons and Painters (1963) and continued (with Nicholas Penny) in Taste and the Antique ( LJ 4/1/81) through an exploration of the careers of several 18th- and 19th-century collectors. Haskell has a gift for animating his subjects. His essay on Morris Moore's lifelong attempt to prove he owned a genuine Raphael is brilliant in its portrayal of the egos and politics that invade the art world. The other essays in the book are no less readable, providing a unique and valuable look at some of the forces that shape and reshape our concept of taste. Terry Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See also: Francis Haskell - aesthetics - art - taste - criticism - art history

2005, Aug 16; 15:12 ::: The European avant-garde of experimental film

Un Chien Andalou (1928) - Luis Buñuel [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Two conditions made Europe in the 1920s ready for the emergence of experimental film. First, the cinema matured as a medium, and highbrow resistance to the mass entertainment began to wane. Second, avant-garde movements in the visual arts flourished. The Dadaists and Surrealists in particular took to cinema. René Clair's Entr'acte took madcap comedy into nonsequitur, and artists Hans Richter, Jean Cocteau, Germaine Dulac and Viking Eggeling all contributed Surrealist shorts. The most famous experimental film is generally considered to be Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí's Un Chien Andalou.

Working in France, another group of filmmakers also financed films through patronage and distributed them through cine-clubs, yet they were narrative films not tied to an avant-garde school. Film scholar David Bordwell has dubbed these French Impressionists, and included Abel Gance, Jean Epstein, and Dimitri Kirsanov. These films combines narrative experimentation, rhytmic editing and camerawork, and an emphasis on character subjectivity.

The Soviet filmmakers, too, found a counterpart to modernist painting and photography in their theories of montage. The films of Dziga Vertov, Sergei Eisenstein, Alexander Dovzhenko and Vsevolod Pudovkin were instrumental in providing an alternate model from that offered by classical Hollywood. While not experimental films per se, they contributed to the film language of the avant-garde.

The U.S. had some avant-garde filmmakers before World War II, but as a whole pre-war experimental film culture failed to gain a critical mass. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_film#The_European_Avant-Garde [Aug 2005]

See also: Europe - avant-garde - experimental film

2005, Aug 16; 15:12 ::: Germaine Dulac

Still from La Coquille et le clergyman / The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928) - Germaine Dulac
image sourced here.

Germaine Dulac, born 17 November 1882 in Amiens, France, died 20 July 1942, was a French film director and early film theorist. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Dulac [Aug 2005]

See also: 1928 - experimental film - Germaine Dulac

2005, Aug 16; 13:34 ::: Viking Eggeling

Still from Diagonal-Symphonie (1924) - Germaine Dulac
image sourced here.

Viking Eggeling, born October 21, 1880, died May 19, 1925, was a Swedish artist and filmmaker.

His work is of significance in the area of experimental film. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_Eggeling [Aug 2005]

See also: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015384/ [Aug 2005]

See also: 1924 - experimental film - Viking Eggeling

2005, Aug 16; 13:34 ::: Writers linked to Fascism

--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriele_D%27Annunzio [Aug 2005]

See also: author - fascism

2005, Aug 16; 13:34 ::: The Book of the Virgins (1884) - Gabriele D'Annunzio, J. G. Nichols

The Book of the Virgins (1884) - Gabriele D'Annunzio [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Book Description
The Book of the Virgins, published here in its first English translation, is one of Gabriele D’Annunzio’s very first collections. Remarkable for its descriptive powers, it is a compelling account of self–knowledge and coming–of–age. Foreword by Tim Parks.

Recovering from a near–fatal illness, a young woman resolves to experience for herself all that life has to offer. Spurning her old saintly ways, she sets out to explore the beauty and energy in everything around her. But as she senses the first stirrings of passion, so too comes tragedy, and with it, the realization that to truly live, she must embrace life in all its brutality. Poet, dramatist, and novelist—and one of the most popular and controversial Italian writers of the 20th century—Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863–1938) represented the very height of decadence in Italy. --via Amazon.com

From the Publisher
Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach and new translations. Through these short classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of genuine rediscoveries. --via Amazon.com

Gabriele D'Annunzio (12 March 1863 – 1 March 1938) was an Italian poet, writer, dramatist, daredevil and war hero, who went on to have a controversial role in politics as a precursor of the fascist movement.

Literature
At the height of his success, D'Annunzio' was celebrated for the originality, power and decadence of his writing. Although his work had immense impact across Europe, and influenced generations of Italian writers, his fin de siècle works are now little known, and his literary reputation has always been clouded by his fascist associations.

A prolific writer, his novels in Italian include Il Piacere (The Child of Pleasure, 1889), Trionfo della Morte (The Triumph of Death, 1894), and Le Vergine delle Rocce (The Virgin of the Rocks, 1896). He wrote the screenplay to the early motion picture Cabiria based on episodes from the Second Punic War. D'Annunzio's literary creations were strongly influenced by the French Symbolist school, and contain episodes of striking violence and depictions of abnormal mental states interspersed with gorgeously imagined scenes. One of D'Annunzio's most significant novels, scandalous in its day, is Il Fuoco (The Flame of Life) of 1900, in which he portrays himself as the Nietzschean 'superman' Stelio Effrena, in a fictionalized account of his love affair with Eleonora Duse. His short stories showed the influence of Guy de Maupassant. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriele_D%27Annunzio [Aug 2005]

See also: 1884 - dandy - fascism - decadent - Italy - author

2005, Aug 16; 13:08 ::: Dino De Laurentiis

Agostino De Laurentiis, usually credited as Dino De Laurentiis, (born August 8, 1919) is an Italian movie producer born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples. He grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father. A study at the school of cinematography in Rome was interrupted by the Second World War. Nonetheless de Laurentiis succeeded in making movies.

Since his first movie, L'ultimo Combattimento, (1940) he has produced nearly 150 movies to date. In the early years de Laurentiis produced neoclassical art films as Bitter Rice (1946) and the Fellini classics La Strada (1954) Nights of Cabiria (1956). In his later choice of stories he displayed a strong preference for adaptations of successful books, especially sweeping classics like the Bible, Barabbas (1961), or Dune (1984).

He has 4 children with his previous wife, actress Silvana Mangano who died in 1989. Today, he is married to the movie producer Martha Schumacher and they have two daughters. His granddaughter is Giada De Laurentiis, hostess of Everyday Italian on Food Network.

In 2001 he received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_De_Laurentiis [Aug 2005]

See also: Italian cinema - Silvana Mangano

2005, Aug 16; 12:55 ::: Le Streghe (1966) - Various directors

Le Streghe (1966) - Various directors
image sourced here.

Le Streghe (aka Les Sorcieres; The Witches) 1966 - France/Italy

Hard-core Clint Eastwood or Dino De Laurentiis fans will definitely appreciate this truly bizarre film... well... maybe. One of De Laurentiis' more eclectic films, it was produced at the same time Eastwood was filming his three Spaghetti Westerns with Sergio Leone (Per un pugno di dollari, Per qualche dollaro in più, and Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo - respectively: A Fistfull of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The fact that two Hollywood greats worked on this film lends it an innocent credibility that should have seen it rise into cult film status... but unfortunately didn't.

Dan Pavlides, of All Movie Guide, had this to say...

This Dino De Laurentiis production from 1965 is actually an anthology of five different directors' work, each telling their own stories about witches. The five stories are "The Witch Burned Alive", "Civic Sense", "The Earth As Seen From The Moon", "The Girl From Sicily", and "A Night Like Any Other". Silvana Mangano appears in all five, with Clint Eastwood starring in the last featured vignette. Like many gang-directed projects, this film is also plagued by a lack of continuity and by the pretentiousness of the individual directors.

The five segments were directed by Franco Rossi, Luchino Visconti, Mauro Bolognini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Vittorio De Sica. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Streghe [Aug 2005]

See also: 1966 - withches - Italian cinema - Clint Eastwood - Silvana Mangano

2005, Aug 16; 12:27 ::: Juergen Teller

Juergen Teller: Tracht (2001) - Juergen Teller [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Book Description
Available in an extremely limited edition, "Tracht" is based on photographer Juergen Teller's "Miss World" project, in which he took portraits of the contestants from each country during the 1999 pageant. These close-ups are printed with spectacular, glossy precision that convey the feeling of prints themselves. Bound in a linen cover and slipcased, each copy has 76 color plates and is signed and numbered by the artist. Signed and numbered Limited Edition of 500. 76 color.

About the Author
Juergen Teller is a German-born photographer whose fashion work has been in publications throughout the world. His previous book, "Go-Sees," introduced him to an even wider audience. He lives and works in London.

Kristin McMenamy, Backstage, Paris 1995, photographed by Juergen Teller
(Photo credit: Fotomuseum im Münchner Stadtmuseum)

Juergen Teller (* 1964, Erlangen, Germany) is a German photographer, based in England. He came to London from Germany in 1986. He initially photographed celebrities, and then quickly graduated to shoots for youth style magazines such as The Face and i-D. He is regarded as one of the most influential of contemporary fashion photographers. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juergen_Teller [Aug 2005]

See also: i-D - magazine - fashion photography

2005, Aug 16; 11:13 ::: The Face (1980 - 2004)

Unidentified copy of The Face magazine, design Neville Brody

Influential British magazine The Face was started in May 1980 by Nick Logan out of his publishing house Wagadon. Logan had previously created titles such as Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s during one of its most successful periods.

The magazine, often referred to as the "'80s fashion bible", tried to keep a finger on the pulse of youth culture for over two decades. Although its best selling period was in the mid 1990s under editor Richard Benson. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Face [Aug 2005]

Neville Brody
Neville Brody (April 23, 1957, London) is a graphic designer, typographer and art director. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Brody [Aug 2005]

See also: The Face - Jon Savage - magazine - music journalism

2005, Aug 16; 11:13 ::: Jon Savage (1953 - )

Jon Savage (born 1953) is a self-styled 'cultural commentator' and music journalist, best known for his award winning history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming (1991).

Savage wrote and published a fanzine called London's Outrage in 1976, and in 1977 began working as a journalist for Sounds. "Sounds" was, at that time, one of the UK's three major music papers, along with the New Musical Express and Melody Maker. Savage interviewed punk, New Wave and electronic music artists for "Sounds" until 1979, when he moved to "Melody Maker", and then in 1980 to the newly founded pop culture magazine The Face.

Throughout the 1980s, Savage wrote for The Observer and the New Statesman, providing high-brow commentary on popular culture.

England's Dreaming, published by Faber in 1991, was lauded as the definitive history of punk music, and remains the single most comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon. It was used as the basis for a television programme, "Punk and the Pistols", shown on BBC2 in 1995.

Savage continues to write on punk and other genres in a variety of publications, most notably Mojo magazine.

Several compilation CDs based on his tracklistings have also been released, including "England's Dreaming" (2004) and "Meridian 1970" (2005), the latter of which puts forward the argument that 1970 was a high-point for popular music, contrary to critical opinion. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Savage [Aug 2005]

See also: punk - Jon Savage - culture - criticism - music journalism

2005, Aug 16; 10:46 ::: J.G. Ballard Quotes (2005) - J.G. Ballard, V. Vale, Mike Ryan (2005)

J.G. Ballard Quotes (2005) - J.G. Ballard, V. Vale, Mike Ryan (2005) [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Synopsis
A compendium of quotations from J.G. Ballard's fiction, plus impossible-to-find articles and interviews. This is the first time Ballard's philosophic views have been edited into one volume, grouped by topic. A companion to J.G. Ballard: Interviews, this could be the 21st-century version of the Portable Shakespeare --via Amazon

see also: J.G. Ballard - V. Vale - 2005 - USA

2005, Aug 16; 10:46 ::: Search and Destroy #1-6: The Complete Reprint (1996) - V. Vale

Search and Destroy #1-6: The Complete Reprint (1996) - V. Vale [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Ingram
This comprehensive history of the Punk scene in America in the 1970s contains more than 30 interviews which capture all the excitement, rage, and revelations of the period's new breed of musicians. Featured are Cabaret Voltaire, Dead Kennedys, Ramones, DNA, Weirdos, Exene, Suicide, Iggy Pop, Devo, and others. Over 100 photos. --via Amazon.fr

Synopsis
By the late 1970s the Punk explosion and the Punk aesthetic spread out from Britain to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and into music, film, fashion and writing. The American Punk scene, far from being a poor impersonation of the British movement, soon developed an energy and talent of its own, which was documented in its own home-grown magazine, "Search and Destroy", edited by V. Vale between 1977 and 1979. Drawn from the pages of this underground magazine, this is a collection of interviews, photographs and documentation of the punk philosophy and culture. Capturing the rage, riot and revelations of the period, the book features Patti Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Nico, the Buzzcocks, the Clash, the Cramps, Siousxie, the Damned, Captain Beefheart, Throbbing Gristle, Devo, Iggy Pop, Cabaret Voltaire, the Dead Kennedys, and the Romones, alongside writers and filmmakers such as William Burroughs, J.G. Ballard, John Waters, Russ Meyer and David Lynch. --via Amazon.uk

see also: punk - V. Vale - 1996 - USA

2005, Aug 16; 00:01 ::: Score (1973) - Radley Metzger

Score (1973) - Radley Metzger [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Score (film)
Score is the name of a pornographic film directed by Radley Metzger that was part of the brief porn chic fad in the early 1970s that also included The Devil in Miss Jones and Deep Throat. It was based on an off-Broadway stage play that ran for 23 performances at the Martinique Theatre in late 1971 and that featured Sylvester Stallone in a brief role. The play was written and directed by Jerry Douglas, who later became a mainsteam screenwriter, and was set in Queens. The film, however, was filmed in Yugoslavia on a relatively high budget and was set in a mythical land. It has been released in both soft-core and hard-core versions. The most recent DVD release, a soft-core version, shows a renewed copyright date of 1976 but the film itself was first shown in 1972. Even the hard-core version, however, reflected its theatrical origins and had relatively little graphic sexual activity compared to today's typical pornographic film.

The story concerns a swinging bisexual couple who make a bet as to who can first seduce one of the members of an apparently straight and very attractive young couple. The cast was only five people: as the sexual sophisticates, Claire Wilbur, repeating her theatre role, and Gerald Grant; as the other couple, Cal Culver, better known as the late gay porn star Casey Donovan, and Lynn Lowry; and Carl Parker in the Stallone role as a repairman. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Score_(film) [Aug 2005]

see also: poppers - Score (1973) - Radley Metzger - 1973 - porno chic - American cinema

2005, Aug 15; 17:06 ::: Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (1979) - Francesco Rosi

Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979) - Francesco Rosi [Amazon.com]

Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli) is a book by Carlo Levi, published in 1945, giving an account of his exile from 1935-1936 to a remote town in southern Italy called Gagliano, in the region of Lucania.

It was made into a movie, directed by Francesco Rosi, in 1979. The movie starred Gian Maria Volontè as Carlo Levi, with Paolo Bonacelli, Alain Cuny, Léa Massari, and Irene Papas.

It received the British Academy Award for Foreign Language Film in 1982. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristo_si_%C3%A8_fermato_a_Eboli [Aug 2005]

see also: Italian cinema - 1979 - neorealism - Jesus

2005, Aug 15; 17:06 ::: Bitter Rice (1949)


Italian poster for Riso Amaro
Image sourced: here.


French poster for Riz Amer
Image sourced: here.

Bitter Rice
Bitter Rice (Riso Amaro, 1949) is an Italian movie, written and directed by Giuseppe De Santis.

Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Silvana Mangano and Vittorio Gassman, Bitter Rice was a commercial success in Europe and America. It was a product of the Italian neorealism style. The film was nominated for the 1950 Academy Award for Best Story. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_Rice [Aug 2005]

Silvana Mangano (1930 - 1989)
Silvana Mangano (April 21, 1930 - December 16, 1989) was the most sexy actress of Italy's neo-realistic period. She was born in Rome, Italy. Trained as a dancer, she was supporting herself as a model.

Mangano's earliest connection with filmmaking occurred through her romantic relationship with actor Marcello Mastroianni. This led her to a movie contract, though it would take sometime for Mangano to ascend to international stardom with her stunning performance in Bitter Rice (Riso Amaro, Giuseppe De Santis, 1949). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvana_Mangano [Aug 2005]

Legion of Decency in the United States
Bitter Rice, (Italy, 1948) was nominated for an Academy Award in Screenwriting and packed theaters around the world-despite being banned by the Legion of Decency in the United States. Directed by Giuseppe De Santis, in Italian, the film explores the harsh conditions endured by women laboring in Italy's rice fields. --http://www.umassd.edu/communications/articles/showarticles.cfm?a_key=82 [Aug 2005]

see also: Italian cinema - 1949 - neorealism - Silvana Mangano - Bitter Rice (1949) - Legion of decency

2005, Aug 15; 17:06 ::: Daniel Auteuil

Daniel Auteuil and Isild Le Besco in
Sade (2000) - Benoît Jacquot

Adapted by Jacques Fieschi and Bernard Minoret from the novel La terreur dans le boudoir by Serge Bramly, Sade, released in 2000, is a Benoît Jacquot directed dramatic film about the preparations of the Marquis de Sade to be transferred to a detention center and rest home where he will relive one more time the highlights of his youth. It takes place during the reign of terror in France and stars Daniel Auteuil as the Marquis. His performance of the eccentric writer is very restrained and dignified in contrast with other accounts of the Marquis by other actors in other films.

His love interest is Emilie de Lancris, played by Isild Le Besco. She has travelled there with her parents and in her youth wants to learn and chooses the Marquis to be her guide into an unknown world.

Sade has been considered one of the underrated films that have come from France lately. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sade_%28film%29 [Aug 2005]

see also: French cinema - Maquis de Sade - Sadean cinema - Sade (2000)

2005, Aug 15; 17:06 ::: Serge Bramly

Anonym (1996) - Serge Bramly [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Publisher Comments:
This is a fascinating photo-album of historical "pornographic" portraits made between 1850 and 1950, all taken from the collection of French author, essayist, and critic Serge Bramly. Far from the smutty snaps we tend to associate with pornography today, these are carefully composed shots that betray the obsessional perfectionism of the professional photographer as much as the voyeur. Expertly lit, theatrically posed (often with elaborate props), and meticulously printed, they have the boldness and formality that signal true works of art.

Bramly's accompanying essay explains the social and artistic circumstances under which they were made, making this a valuable find for both the connoisseur and the scholar. --http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?show=Hardcover:Used:3929078325:20.00 [Aug 2005]

Quatrième de couverture
Il y a un blanc de huit mois dans la vie de Donatien Alphonse François, marquis de Sade. Le 8 mars 1794, le ci-devant marquis, âgé de plus de cinquante ans, pourrissait dans un cachot révolutionnaire lorsqu'on le transféra à Picpus, établissement fort coûteux, à mi-chemin entre la geôle et le boudoir. Qui protégeait Sade ? Fallait-il sauver cet « être que rien ne peut réduire » quand tout l'accablait aux yeux de la Convention ? Qui donc payait pour lui ? Et surtout quelles furent les délices de Picpus ? Alors que la Terreur ensanglantait la France, que « le rasoir national » tranchait chaque jour les têtes, que montait l'odeur du sang, Sade s'amusa à Picpus manille, biribi, aimable société, jolies femmes, jardin, charades, tableaux vivants et bientôt le théâtre de l'irréductible libertin. Encore un peu de plaisir avant la mort...

Serge Bramly invente mais il retrouve la vérité violente de Sade. Il mène son ouvrage comme une enquête policières un puzzle érudit, un voyage parmi les écrits du temps, les filles de joie et les députés corrompus, les caprices de son imagination. C'est une illusion de l'histoire, une énigme érotique, le roman sanglant de la Terreur dans le boudoir, où l'on entend presque Sade, triomphant, s'écrier : « Je jouis de tout et ne m'aveugle de rien. » --via Amazon.fr

Serge Bramly (1949 - )
Serge Bramly was born in Tunisia in 1949 and came to Paris to study literature in 1961. He has published short stories, novels, biographies, screenplays, and photography, and has contributed essays to various exhibition catalogs. Bramly’s fiction and essays have been published in numerous collaborations with Bettina Rheims, including X’mas (Scheer Editions, 2000) and Chambre Close (Gina Kehayoff, 1992). His biographies include Leonardo: The Artist and the Man (Michael Joseph, 1992). Work from his photography collection was published in Anonym (Gina Kehayoff, 1996). Bramly is a member of the purchase commission of the Centre Pompidou in Paris and has served as a curator for institutions and galleries. Bramly lives in Paris. --http://www.powerhousebooks.com/titles/shanghai.html [Aug 2005]

Sade, la terreur dans le boudoir (2000) - Serge Bramly [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Serge Bramly (January 31, 1949 Tunis Tunisia) is a french language writer and essayist. He was married to Bettina Rheims, whith whom he has collaborated frequently.

His novel La terreur dans le boudoir was adapted by Benoît Jacquot for the 2000 French film Sade. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Bramly [Aug 2005]

see also: Bettina Rheims - Sade

2005, Aug 15; 17:06 ::: Bettina Rheims and Serge Bramly

I.N.R.I. (1999) - Bettina Rheims, Serge Bramly [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

From Booklist
Bramly and Rheims either put their foot in it or put their best foot forward with the picture on the dust jacket. It shows a beautiful young woman, clad only in a loincloth, on a cross, imitating Christ. In the book, a dazzling photographic re-presentation of the life of Jesus, this image appears in a tryptich that dispels any hint of mockery. By itself on the cover, it may infuriate sacrilege-sensitive souls, who then, if they only glance at other pictures inside, may go ballistic. Reading the text and looking again, however, may calm some of them. That text, Bramly's work, is a serious conflation of the four gospels and a few noncanonical legends that modernizes nothing. Bramly and Rheims' photos are another story. They show mostly young people coiffed, made-up, and dressed in contemporary styles in contemporary settings, reenacting Gospel events, miracles and all. Initially surprising, these revisionings really just follow the lead of medieval and Renaissance Christian art, which portrayed biblical persons in their eras' trappings, too. Challenging and reverent. Ray Olson via Amazon.com

see also: Bettina Rheims - Jesus

2005, Aug 15; 17:06 ::: Bettina Rheims and Serge Bramly

Work from the Chambre Close series (1991-1992) - Bettina Rheims
image sourced here. [Aug 2005]

Le Lait miraculeux de la Vierge (1997) - Bettina Rheims
image sourced here. [Aug 2005]

Chambre close (1992) - Bettina Rheims, Serge Bramly [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Rheims frequently photographs celebrities, and addresses issues of voyeurism and confession, particularly in her 1991-92 project 'Chambre Close', a collaboration with Serge Bramly. This series can be seen as a work of fiction with an obsessive curiosity about women's bodies - trapped in hotel rooms with flowery wallpaper. Yet her work always returns from voyeurism to an examination of gender instability. --http://www.picassomio.com/BettinaRheims/ [Aug 2005]

Bettina Rheims (born in 1952) is a French artist and photographer. She's the daughter of Maurice Rheims, of the French Academy.

She started as a model, then opened an art gallery, before turning to photography in 1978. She did many commissionned works (albums covers, such as for Jean-Jacques Goldman; photos of various stars...); in 1995, she took the official photograph of Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic.

In 1992, she published Chambre Close, a series of photographs of nude young women in various postures. In 1998, she published, with Serge Bramly, I.N.R.I., retracing the life of Jesus in a contemporary settings. The book was controversial in Christian circles. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettina_Rheims [Aug 2005]

See also: Bettina Rheims Google gallery [Safesearch must be turned off]

see also: Bettina Rheims - fashion photography - erotic photography

2005, Aug 15; 16:39 ::: Comics index

Related: adult comics - American comics - caricature - drawing - fumetti - erotic comics - European comics - Italian comics - manga - photonovel

Characters: Barbarella - Diabolik - Gwendoline - Lucifera - Pravda - Satanik - Valentina - Vampirella

Authors: Enki Bilal - Guido Crepax - Robert Crumb - Tanino Liberatore - Jean Giraud - Milo Manara - Guy Peellaert - Georges Pichard - François Schuiten - Eric Stanton - Jacques Tardi - John Willie - Georges Wolinski

Magazines: Cannibale - L'Echo des Savanes - Frigidaire - Hara Kiri - Heavy Metal

Publishers: EC Comics - Eric Losfeld - Elvipress - Glittering Images

see also: comics - 1900s

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