One of the most gorgeous, eerie and haunting pieces in my every-growing collection of photography books is Suffering The Ideal. It's a collection of photographs from F. Holland Day, an artist who boldly experimented with subject matters over one hundred years ago that might still provoke controversy in certain circles today.
This book is oversized, printed on amazingly thick uncoated paper that adds to the dream-like haziness of the photos, and sports a cover image by Aubrey Beardsley, another fantastic artist and free-thinker of the time. If ever there was a book that could never be appreciated in electronic format, this is it.
Here's the description of the book from the publisher, Twin Palms:
"The short-lived career of nineteenth-century photographer F. Holland Day is the basis for this important historical monograph. Though he is perhaps best known for his controversial "sacred subjects" in which he posed himself as Jesus Christ, Day quickly moved to the forefront of American photography with his portraiture and his later mythological series. Day was probably the first great photographer of the male nude. A friend of Oscar Wilde and an early proponent of gay rights, women's rights, and racial equality, scandal surrounded him and caused his marginalization."
F. Holland Day sounds like the kind of guy I would have wanted to know. Sadly, that isn't in the cards. But I do have this book. And I suggest you consider getting it too.
Available at www.twinpalms.com and amazon
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