The Art of Pregnancy Photography by Jennifer George

Hard to believe Amherst Media hasn’t published a pregnancy photography book before now, but Jennifer George made it worth the wait for it. I saw Jennifer speak in San Diego in 2004 and was inspired by her instantly. She’s a professional on the exterior, but her heart seeps from her images and into her art. In addition to the simple beauty in the cover photo, the images inside the book represent far more of the digital artistry that I remember from her program in SD, and she shares the how-to’s for their creation both during the session and in the post production. Any photographer who attends seminars and workshops should so appreciate the value and content of the knowledge in this book for the amazon price (and she’s taken all the notes for you!) Outstanding…

“… For one session, Kevin’s pregnant sub- 104 THE ART OF PREGNANCY PHOTOGRAPHY For this image, Kevin’s subject hiked down …”

The Forger’s Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick

Han Van Meegeren was a mediocre artist with an enormous ego. Convinced that his talents were being maliciously ignored by the Dutch artistic community, he used considerable patience and ingenuity to develop a way of forging paintings by some of the greatest artists of Holland’s Golden Age, especially those of Johannes Vermeer. His activities peaked during the Great Depression and the Nazi takeover of Holland during World War II, a time period when the Dutch were especially vulnerable as they looked for reminders of a more peaceful, prosperous, past.

When I first opened this book I looked at the illustrations first. Comparing the Van Meegeren “art” with the real Vermeers completely confused me. If someone like me with no art training could spot the differences between sublime works like “Girl With A Pearl Earring” and travesties like “Christ at Emmaus,” why on earth couldn’t experts and cognoscenti do the same? Edward Dolnick does a good job of explaining the role preconceptions and prejudices play in evaluating a suspect painting and the way the milieu of the period affects judgement. Therefore, in the 1930s the Van Meegeren forgeries could pass muster because they displayed generally accepted views on beauty. Ten years later they were very obviously fakes because by then they looked out of date, which a true masterpiece could never do.

I found Dolnick’s discussions of the methods forgers use and the ways forgeries are detected the most interesting parts of this book. I disliked Van Meegeren at first, but he grew on me despite myself for the sheer brazenness of his gall and his obvious delight in fooling so many experts for so long. And it certainly didn’t hurt that some of his most celebrated victims were among the nastiest and most horrible people of all time: Hitler and Goering and their ilk. I was very glad to know that while in prison Goering was told that he had been tricked into buying a Van Meejeren fake, and that that, at least, seemed to cause him real anguish in a way that his multitudinous crimes against humanity did not. Most importantly, this book causes its readers to ponder where the line between illusion and reality really lies at times.

The Art of Belly Painting: Everything You Need to Make Your Pregnancy a Masterpiece by Nancy J. Price

This “kit” was a complete waste of money. The book included is completely ridiculous, and really doesn’t offer *any* great ideas that a group of women couldn’t come up with on their own (for example, their list of themes includes “America,” “Baby’s Name,” “Curtains” (what?), and “Emoticons”). In addition, the four colors of paint (blue, green, yellow, red) do not allow for a great deal of creativity, not to mention the fact that the paint was so dry that it was essentially impossible to use. I’m glad I purchased additional body paint (white, black, and gold) from a costume shop; without it, we wouldn’t have been able to do this project. The stencils were also pretty pointless; they are made of hard plastic, which would be difficult to contour to a pregnant belly if you decided to use one. We came up with our own design (Tree of Life) and it turned out much more beautiful than any of their samples. Bottom line: Don’t waste your money!!! Go buy some body paint at a costume shop and come up with your own idea!

Pregnant Bodies, Fertile Minds: Gender, Race, and the Schooling of Pregnant Teens by Wendy Luttrell

Teenage sexuality and pregnancy is a complex issue with no easy answers. This book takes an in-depth look into the lives of 50 Southern, mostly African-American girls whose spirit and creativity manages to blossom despite many obstacles at school and in society

“… 14 PREGNANT BODIES, FERTILE MINDS Table 1.1 PPPT Girls in the Study* …”

Pregnant Pictures by Sandra Matthews

It’s an okay photo reference, with a lot of pictures that provide a whole variety of moods, poses, and expressions - some clashing in theme from one page to the next… I guess the best way to describe it is chaos in a photo-literary work.

I gave it 3 stars as it was not all-in-all bad, but it was not quite as I expected, and not quite useful if you purchased it for the same reason I did (drawing study reference). However, there is enough material in this book that you could use it as such - I would just recommend you purchase the Paperback Edition, as the Library Binding one is Overkill (as I found out)…

“… -Susan Sontag The photo of the pregnant belly comes close to being repulsive. -Roi Partridge to Imogen …”

Beautiful! Images of Health, Joy and Vitality in Pregnancy and Birth. by Jennie Joseph

Here’s a book that takes the pain out of pregnancy. It’s not advice. It is affirmation, positive re-enforcement, to believe in our body and its ability. This, I believe, should be how we all progress through pregnancy, with the positive encouragement of a dedicated practitioner, using a practical and applicable method, which brings the results that we all want to see. Bravo, Brilliant and Beautiful!

Tags: Pregnant Art, pregnant art nude