This is the first modern study on Japanese erotic print art (so called "shunga"), illustrating a large selection of the best works mainly from private collections in Europe and the USA. The publication shows highlights from the oeuvre of Kitagawa Utamaro, Katsushika Hokusai, Suzuki Harunobu, Utagawa Kunisada, Utagawa Kuniyoshi and many others. It outlines the artistic developments from the early period to the end of the 19th century when Western themes began to appear in Japanese erotic art. Various essays written by international experts describe this fascinating genre in its social, historical and artistic context, discussing themes like homosexuality, voyeurism, life in Edo's brothels, techniques of composition etc.

Pop culture phenomena from the '80s and '90s, homages to Alberto Vargas and other classic pinup illustrations, and contemporary fashions and fetishes combine to form an exciting collection of modern pinups. Tributes to Baywatch, Rambo, Star Wars, Jessica Rabbit, and more late-20th century cultural references are included. This collection of over-the-top Americana also features standouts from Alvarado's Redneck Pinup series; provocatively posed pirates; beautiful calaveras makeup; leather jacket-wearing blondes; classy big-haired chicks with antique cars; a dynamite-wielding cowgirl; polo-playing preppies; sword-swallowing freaks; laser- and gun-toting steampunks; sultry nurses; elegant ballroom dancers; and more. Alvarado's belief is that it's all about the model; her image and pose are the most important elements in a composition, and he draws the viewer's attention to the models by employing a plain white background in many images.

Tattoo photography pioneer Justice Howard documents the American tattoo community with her highly iconic images. Howard effortlessly captures the essence of her subjects' triumphs, as well as their frailties. Her images enhance both the male and female physical forms, highlighting their strengths and prowess, and expose hidden elements of the human condition in all its kaleidoscopic beauty. Gracing the pages of this graphic dossier are fifty-two models, including Malice, Xanthia Pink, Dejah Garcia, Christine Fury, Mia Tyler, and Amelia Nightmare. Tattoo artist luminaries, such as Mark Mahoney, Freddy Negrete, Rick Walters, Kari Barba, and Robert Atkinson also make appearances, as well as rock gods Evan Seinfeld and Dave Navarro, Sons of Anarchy actor Rusty Coones, Black Veil Brides, Diego Verduzco, and UFC champion Kimo Leopoldo. In front of Justice's lens, these figures appear quite capable of escaping from the pages and conquering the world by storm.

Text in English & German. About Stefan Gesell: "With a background and training in illustration and graffiti art, I think it would be fair to say that Stefan considers himself more as an illustrator than a photographer, although he obviously can make really stunning photographs. He creates his photographs digitally and then manipulates them to taste, composing other elements into them as needed to achieve the look hes after. Stefans work is flat-out sexy, hard-edged, high tech and very contemporary. Much of his work has a sci-fi flavour to it. I was immediately drawn to Stefans use of colour and his composition. The colour is sumptuously rich -- Rembrandt colour. The design and composition -- immaculate. Meticulous visual design.

Many loved The Big Book of Legs but some found it just too darn big, weighing in at nearly seven pounds. True, it was packed with shapely legs spanning six decades, from the first shy emergence of the ankle in the 1910s, through the rolled stockings and rouged knees of the 1920s, to the Betty Grable '40s, the stockinged and stilettoed '50s, on into the sexually liberated '60s and '70s, but it could still put a dent in your own thighs if you sat reading for too long. Fortunately here at TASCHEN we listen to your groans of agony as well as your moans of ecstasy; thus, this light and portable new edition, packing over 100 of the choicest photos from the original volume, as well as 38 new photos, into a compact (and frankly adorable) package. From Betty Grable to Bettie Page, the greatest legs of the 20th Century can be found within, shot by Irving Klaw, Bunny Yeager, and the incomparable Elmer Batters, father of leg art. There are silk and nylon stockings, high heels in abundance, curvy calves, taut thighs, playful toes and towering arches-with no bothersome text to get in the way. Could leg love get any sweeter?

Text in English, French & German. Uwe Dupke, born 1952, lives in Andalusia, Spain and just outside Cologne Germany; he has been a professional photographer since 1970, and specialises in people and erotic nudes. He believes that honest and passionate images can only be created if the models are fully integrated into the design process. In addition to the selection of area and location, this also includes the choice of outfits and make-up. A new trend has emerged, as fifty percent of models want to be in fetish and bondage shots. Together with the models, various fetish clubs, bondage apartments, special hotels and swinger clubs are then selected together as locations. The job of the photographer is to capture the erotic fantasies of the models, as well as any developments that happen spontaneously during the session itself. This procedure means that at the beginning of a session, it is often unclear which technology is going to be used. As a rule, the 60 megapixel Hasselblad is used for medium format shots, and for a rapid series of exposures, Canons professional cameras. For pronounced lighting effects, Uwe Dupke always uses a gallows. Fetishism: is this fantasy or reality? Wow! This is exciting, sweaty, sexy photography!

This book is the follow-up to the groundbreaking Chocolate Cheesecake, and is a new collection of modern black pin-up photography. Modern black pin-ups are becoming more popular as more photographers and models seek to expand the genre of pin-up photography beyond its historical limitations. This second book showcases over a dozen of today's best pin-up photographers and their work with over fifty of the most beautiful black pin-up models. With images that embody black glamour and feminine empowerment, Chocolate Cheesecake 2 displays the range of flavors found in contemporary black pin-up culture. Redefining modern notions of beauty through the styles of the past, Chocolate Cheesecake 2 continues the celebration of modern black pin-up beauty.

Blending the style of the past with the women of the present, this book is a first-of-its-kind celebration of modern black pin-up beauty. Black pin-ups existed during the "Golden Age of Pin-ups," but like other black artists of the time, they often did not receive the same attention as their white contemporaries. Although still rare, modern black pin-up models are getting more attention thanks to models and photographers who understand that pin-up has evolved to include all backgrounds and ethnicities. This new book shines the spotlight on ten of today's best pin-up photographers and their work with over 50 of today's most beautiful black pin-up models. With images ranging from classic pin-up glamour to retro-inspired fetish photography, this collection of works shows the diversity of flavors found in contemporary black pin-up culture.

This alluring, enlightening assemblage of tattoo art demystifies the personalities of today's top tattoo models and offers a fresh take on the modern pin-up. The impressive body art shown here is just the beginning of a fascinating look into the minds and hearts of gorgeous, intelligent, and confident women hailing from around the world. In candid interviews these inked beauties open up to the author about their upbringings, first tattoos, favorite and most challenging modeling experiences, and more. Enjoy a colorful variety of photos that include hypnotic portraits, provocative poses, and interesting themes, creatively and tastefully showcasing mesmerizing body art. Also read about how each model was discovered, who their most trusted tattoo artists are, and how they launched their careers. This includes work by professional photographers with experience shooting for Skin & Ink, Playboy, and other publications.

Text in English, German & French. In the garden of Heaven, there already was a snake. As for the little juicy fruit Eve gave to humanity, it probably was, already, the carefully shaven genitals, pulpy and plump, that the girls display in this book with a smile. They offer themselves to be seen, self-confident, without hiding anything of their slit genitalia, like a tempting fruit. When they spread their thighs, they may unveil the little hill of their vulva but their cheeky looks and postures are always playful. Here we are in the realm of pretense, a world of fantasy where Eves daughters become elusive fairies.

This body of work is a contemplation of human beings' passage on earth and their intimate interrelation with the environment. This book attempts to bring humour to the things we are getting attached to. It points at the invisible within the visible, the immaterial within the material or the vertical nature of being (and its mirror-like quality) within our horizontal way of living (where our mind, time, and space condition our experiences). The naked body is seen as our primary indivisible unit of perception which is usually pushed and pulled by our thinking mind's desire to either get less or more. In other words, our lives are coloured by our minds and since body-mind is a single entity, most of the colours painted on the body are an allusion to the range of our changing desires from being invisible or transparent to wanting to be singular and the centre of attention. The book's Interviews (the interviewers are from Russia, Colombia, Korea, Germany, and the US) stanzas, and photographs are not seen as being subservient to one another but can be seen as an assemblage of three independent directions that may or may not intersect following each reader.