Pure
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Photography & Video
Pure Details
From Publishers Weekly Black and white newborns and mothers are featured in full color in Australian photographer Geddes's latest postpartum spectacular. It has been more than five years since Down in the Garden, Geddes's bestselling set of stylized babies-as-flowers. These 123 new color and b&w photographs offer a variety of mother-and-child poses and guises, many of which, through the ingenious use of body stockings and some careful camera work, simulate pregnancy: here are babies in fetal position on mother's stomach, held in place by flesh-like mesh; babies surrounded by strange, womb-simulating white fluff; babies projected into Mars-like pulsing red-yellow backdrops suggesting a living womb. The effect is unsettling, to say the least. There are also more conventional shots of newborns precariously balanced on women's backs or nestled at the breast, and simple, intense closeups of sleeping infants. Single words appear en face to the full-page photos: "DELIGHTFUL," "MIRACULOUS," "DELICATE," "CHERISHED." What aren't they doing? Screaming, eating, moving or looking expectantly at the viewer and demanding something they cannot yet verbalize. These babies are like Geddes's other preferred subject, flowers: beautiful, silent, content. Yet fantasy and idealization are as much a part of life as gritty verit‚: Geddes's books have sold 15 million copies in 50 countries.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Library Journal This sumptuous large-format book deals exclusively with the subject of birth and calmly sleeping babies. The 123 black-and-white and color photographs feature infants held by mothers or fathers, twins cuddling together in various poses, women carrying infants, and many other imaginatively rendered tableaux. The variety of the photographs is remarkable, especially given the singularity of the subject, and each one is beautifully executed. A few of the photographs are a bit stylized, but the theme of the book as a whole succeeds admirably. Geddes (Down in the Garden), whose earlier photographs of babies gained widespread popularity, set out to make this volume "a celebration of the very essence of new life-the beauty, innocence, and promise of every newborn." Aptly titled, this collection of technically and aesthetically exquisite photographs is imbued with grace and hope. It will be a welcome addition to all photography collections but will also be enjoyed by anyone who simply likes babies-what can be sweeter and more charming than a newborn contentedly snoozing in its mother's arms? Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, ILCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more About the Author Born and raised in Queensland, Australia, Anne Geddes is the world's best-selling photographer. Her classic images of newborns grace greeting cards, calendars, books, stationary, and photo albums and are curently published in more than 50 countries. Anne's books have sold more the 14 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 15 languages.Her new collection of baby clothing designed for babies up to 12 months is now available exlusively on-line. She and her husband, Kel, live in New Zealand with their two daughters. Read more
Reviews
Anne Geddes captures such a beauty & purity of the process of development for babies & motherhood in this beautiful picture book. It would make a great book for all pediatricians or gynecological offices-- and perhaps a great gift for an expectant mother... Absolutely wonderful view of how each of us come into the world: small & innocent...