Naomi Harris, America Swings
The secret life of America's Bible Belt
Swinging sex lives of everyday Americans
Naomi Harris's subjects are not the usual perfected androids who populate contemporary erotica, but ordinary people with extraordinary sex lives; this book explores a rarely-seen side of sex in America. This edition is limited to 1,000 numbered copies, signed by both Naomi Harris and Richard Prince. The cover features a four-color, silk screened, 3-dimensional stamped metal reproduction of a classic American motel sign, specially conceived and created for this edition.
Richard Prince discovered Naomi Harris in TASCHEN's The New Erotic Photography and was so intrigued by her photos of American swingers that he tracked down the 34-year-old New Yorker, determined to make her his protégé.
When he discovered TASCHEN had signed her to do America Swings he asked to do an interview with her, where he reveals part of what makes her work so unique: "When I look at one of your swinger photos what I'm looking at is mostly you ‘outside' the picture looking at what you're photographing … half-naked, all naked, taking these photos of next-door neighbors having sex …”
He refers to Harris's secret for winning the confidence of her subjects: To penetrate the world of middle class mate-swapping she had to join them, often working in just shoes and a tool belt to hold her camera gear. Her extreme technique worked so well that in 48 months she was able to photograph 38 parties, crisscrossing the country from Mahwah, New Jersey, to Pleasanton, California; from Big Lake, Minnesota, to Washington, Texas. Her subjects are not the usual perfected androids who populate contemporary erotica, but ordinary people with extraordinary sex lives, including multi-orgasmic schoolteachers, polyamorous nurses, bi-sexual senior citizens and the Mandingos, a group of African-American men who service white wives.
Stunningly photographed and surprisingly sexy, Richard Prince describes Harris's America Swings as "something that's gloriously alternative, that isn't rentable, that can't be downloaded, that's uninhibited and filled with a sense of strange joy. Almost like a J.G. Ballard theme park for sex.”
Also available as an Art Edition, limited to a total of 100 copies and accompanied with one of two original prints.
"These people are definitely having better sex than the rest of us."
- NAOMI HARRIS
About the editor:
Dian Hanson was born in Seattle in 1951. She has been TASCHEN's sexy book editor since 2001. Prior to that she worked for 25 years producing various men's magazines. Her many books for TASCHEN include The Complete Kake Comics, The Big Book of Breasts, and The Big Penis Book. She lives in Los Angeles.
About the photographer:
Naomi Harris was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1973. She received her photographic training at New York’s International Center of Photography. She has been published in Fortune, Flaunt, Life, and Heeb magazines, and likes to knit, sing karaoke, and frequent nude beaches. She lives in New York City.
About the contributing author:
Richard Prince, painter, photographer and collagist was born in 1949 in the Panama Canal Zone. He is known as a critic of and commentator on American consumer culture and as a master of appropriated art. He currently lives and works in upstate New York.
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Naomi Harris, America Swings
Hanson, Dian (ED)
Prince, Richard / Harris, Naomi Hardcover, slipcase, 37 x 29 cm (14.6 x 11.4 in.), 256 pages $ 500.00 |
- Videos (1 items)
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America Swings The secret life of America's Bible Belt: Swinging sex lives of everyday Americans. October 2008 |
- Reviews (32 items)
"If there is an eye for human flesh that one should trust, it should be Hanson's."
Art Review, London, United Kingdom
Art Review, London, United Kingdom
- Clippings (41 items)
america swings
Heeb, United States, November 01, 2008
Heeb, United States, November 01, 2008
- Related (2 items)
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- See also (9 items)
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Vanessa del Rio - Art Edition Fifty years of slightly slutty behavior. Limited to 200 numbered copies, each signed by Vanessa del Rio, accompanied by a signed and numbered Robert Crumb lithography. |
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Naomi Harris, America Swings, Art Edition Viking The secret life of America's Bible Belt. Swinging sex lives of everyday Americans. Limited to 100 numbered copies, signed by both Naomi Harris and Richard Prince. The books #1-50 will be accompanied by the chromogenic print "Viking and his Girlfriend". |