by Peter Gorman (Goliath)
In his latest book, Peter Gorman's camera is a voyeur figuratively hidden inside a mirror. He has an extraordinary eye for capturing the day-to-day life of real New York women who aren't huffed and puffed and all airbrushed up. Their surroundings are real, not phony sets with lighting and make-up and an attending entourage of distracting assistants. As you can guess, this is not your Girl Next Door coffee table anthology. These are gritty, sassy, attitude-forward women expressing themselves -- sometimes seductively -- in front of mirrors, in bathrooms, in bathtubs, on beds, basically in their private sanctuaries behind the curtains of their New York City apartments. Sporting tattoos, piercings, birthmarks, blemishes, skin discolorations, etc., these are uncompromising portraits that capture a moment in time that are far richer than ordinary nude photographs. Each expressive image exposes the miniature of the women and their surroundings. Who are they and what do they do? What the observer leaves with is the visceral pulse of young women in touch with their bodies and expressing themselves with straightforward honesty. If you've often wondered what women do by themselves in the privacy of their own domiciles, then look no further. These brave women have allowed Mr. Gorman to capture their very private and very vulnerable moments.