Jock Sturges

Developing a strong connection and deep bonds of confidence with his subjects, Jock Struge’s photographs represents a unique story about family and maturing through the lens of Perceptual Psychologist. His photographs emit the outstanding sensitivity for composition and light which makes him one of the most important fine art photographers of our time. His open nature and quest for truth and serenity made him a convenient target for American conservatives. Focusing primarily on young girls and their families, capturing the moments of their leisure in naturist resorts in California and France, his oeuvre became a subject of numerous controversies. This highly acclaimed photographer, that collaborates with 25 galleries in 9 countries all around the world, have had his house raided in 1990, by no one else but the FBI. On many occasions, American photographer Jock Sturges was accused of misusing the children in his works, especially girls. However, he was never officially accused of anything and has continued to create his images of nude adolescents and their families.

Mastering the Perceptual Psychology and the Art of Photography

Jock Sturges was born in 1947, in New York City. He received a BFA in Perceptual Psychology and photography from the Marlboro College in Vermont and attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where he obtained his MFA in photography. After graduating in 1985, he stayed and worked in San Francisco for many years. In the artistic world, Jock has been known for his intimate images depicting nude adolescent girls, often posing in nature or with their families. Beaches and naturist resorts of Northern California and France are favorite locations for this artist.

As the subject of his images was usually a young girl at the very beginning of her sexuality, Jock felt obligated to help in developing an adult identity and self-awareness, by creating a bond of trust and friendship between himself, the subject, and the subject’s family. As the artist said himself, New York-born artist has photographed so many of these subjects anthropologically, from their childhood to adulthood that the history simply bears out the art. He is working for a long time with the same families, and his favorite shots are exactly with the people he knows well. All the art in his works retains in the subjects.

Misty Dawn grew up in front of Jock's lens

Beauty of Misty Dawn: Portrait of a Muse

Jock even followed and immortalized a growing up of his favorite Muse, Misty Dawn whom he shot since she was just a child until she reached her twenties. On his luminous photographs, Sturges left a trace of her growth into the adult, depicting her life in a period of 25 years. In 2008, Jock published a book of photographs titled Misty Dawn: Portrait of a Muse where the 100 photographs are arranged in a chronological order – the first one dates from when Misty was only 4 years old. The majority of photos was taken in Northern California or Montalivet in France, and all of them range from completely clothed to the ones where she wears absolutely nothing! Some of Misty's photos were published in Jock's Radiant Identities photo book.

The majority of the photos by the NY-born artist was taken in Northern California or France

Personal and Professional attack: The FBI Raid in 1990

Even though Sturge’s photographs radiate a certain erotic quality, raising more than few controversies, his oeuvre could be interpreted as a detailed exploration of the human body and its female form. It was his detail exploration that brought on a significant amount of controversy that surrounded his oeuvre during the time. The right-wing Christian political factions were furious over the nudity in his images - they claimed that he certainly crossed the boundary in using children in the erotic context. In 1990, Jock Sturges was visited by the FBI who raided his house, seizing his entire equipment! However, no indictment was made against him and Jock received a great amount of support, by the public and his colleagues. A few more attempts of sabotaging his work were made, like the case when his opponents demanded that his books are classed as a child pornography in the Alabama and Tennessee.

A significant amount of controversy surrounded his art during the time

Sturge's Photo Books

Despite their endeavor, Sturges continued to work and publish several books on his works like The Last Day of Summer (1991, Aperture, NY), Radiant Identities (1994, Aperture, NY), Evolution of Grace (1994, Gakken, Tokyo), Jock Sturges (1996, Scalo, Zürich), Jock Sturges: New Work, 1996-2000(2000, Scalo, Zürich), Jock Sturges: Notes (2004, Aperture, NY), Misty Dawn: Portrait of a Muse (2008, Aperture, NY) and Jock Sturges Life Time (2008 Steidl). Some of Jock's images can be found in many public and private collections, such as Philadelphia Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Museum Ludwig in Berlin, and the Musée de la Louvière in Brussels, among others. His rich body of work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows throughout the world. One of the peculiarities of this artist is his consistency in using a large 8x10-inch-format view camera, even though he has taken some digital photographs Jock still prefers to work with prints.

Jock Sturges currently lives and works in Seattle, Washington.

Featured image: portrait of the artist, via vimeo.com
All images copyright of the artist