Capturing the naked body on film has been a convention of photography practically since its inception as a medium. Throughout history (and the present is no exception) it has been mostly the female form viewed through the lens of a camera, but this image changes over time. The bodies differ through the decades, the ideal fluctuating with fashion, but more arresting are the differences in how the body is imagined. Genevieve Field, editor of Nerve: The New Nude, explains: “The old masters of photography largely avoided the sexuality of their subjects by applying the rules of still-life photography to their nudes … one could surmise that they had little desire to get under their subjects’ skin.” In radical opposition, this collection of contemporary nude photography is almost all about exploring individual sexuality. It makes perfect sense that the book is derived from the erotica Web site Nerve.com; the popularity of the Internet is firmly rooted in sex and imagination, with pornography proliferating and online chat the public forum for fantasy.

The 145 color and black-and-white photographs here are combinations of advertising, art, and pornography: naked bodies splayed on the cracked mud of the desert, pictures that pay homage to Helmut Newton, political statements, and an orgy in Venice. Some images are throwbacks to the past, with printing processes that recall the sepia tones of early photography, while others use special effects from the world of video. If you’re at all interested in the contemporary human body and sexuality, you’ll be riveted by this collection of images. –J.P. Cohen

The Web site Nerve.com pitches itself as “literate smut,” and this serious-looking book seems to be a logical step in its dot-diversification. In fact, there is nothing new about “The New Nude,” a languid flirt with art that has all the impact of a decaf coffee-table book. Seemingly turning down every opportunity to make a statement or take risks without fear of offending advertisers, the book fails to be conventionally sexy in the cheesecake sense, or to provoke the reader to think past its mostly familiar pix with occasional oddball selections. A-talent photographers check in with B-level work: Ralph Gibson, Nan Goldin, Richard Kern, Andres Serrano, Tony Ward are among the 44 photographers who contribute more than 140 shots. And despite a seemingly foolproof assumption thatDliterate or notDsex sells, image after image simply fails to interest. While Nerve says it tries to thoughtfully appeal to both genders and various inclinations, the book features a strikingly traditional imbalance of female nudes. Editor Field is editorial director and copublisher of the site, and former editorial director of MTV books (site founder Rufus Griscom also came from publishing). She explains the gender disparity by noting that “[t]he male form… has yet to captivate both artists and viewer with the same intensity as the female body.” Sex sells, but some sexes apparently sell more than others. (Nov.) Forecast: The Nerve brand will be enough to lift this book off 20- and 30-something-directed gift tables, but this is hardly the cultural intervention it claims to be. After a moderate showing for the holidays, it will sell slowly and steadily to denizens of the site, and to the curious who will find it a safe entr e (or alternative) to Internet porn.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.