Anatomy
1993
“I don’t propose to interpret my work in this book, but I do feel compelled to write. To reconcile my visual journey to date. To make a declaration. To fix my orbit before determining a new trajectory. Perhaps to draw the reader along in the slipstream of my thoughts.”
With this introduction Michael Torosian begins a literary and visual exploration that takes the measure of the history of the nude in photography that reflects upon his twenty-year evolution as an artist, and finds its resolution in the photographic suite Anatomy, the female nude as art history, theatre, sense memory and celebration of the individual.
The Globe and Mail called it, “ravishing, though unnerving, provocative and alluring by turns” and declared that the subject had been imbued with “a forbidding power, an expression of the feminine as almost geologic force.” Presented at the Sable-Castelli Gallery in Toronto, it was proclaimed an exhibition not to be missed and the accompanying limited edition book noted for its “sensitive and sophisticated writing.” The culmination of nearly a decade’s work, Anatomy is a challenging redefinition of the photographic nude.
Michael Torosian’s photographs and writing have been widely published. His photographs are represented in a number of public collections including: The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography; New York Public Library; Art Gallery of Hamilton; National Archives of Canada; and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Specifications
Composed in Linotype Optima and hand printed on mould-made Molino paper. Each book contains an original gelatin-silver print as the frontispiece and a portfolio of twelve duotone reproductions printed on Warrens Lustro Dull Cream paper, varnished and tipped in. Quarter bound in natural linen with French marbled paper over boards; enclosed in a slipcase wrapped in Fabriano paper. Sixty pages; 6 x 9 inches. Edition 150. December 1993. Signed by the artist.
Variant Edition
Eleven copies from the edition (numbers 140 to 150) have been quarter bound in leather and are accompanied by a gelatin-silver photograph printed by the artist from the original negative. The print, presented in its own folio, has been blind stamped with the title and signed on the back. The leather volume and folio are enclosed in a slipcase.
Awards
First Prize, Alcuin Society, Limited Edition Book Design.
Status
Out of print.