Author Description

In Master Breasts, darkly witty and often political images of the 1990s jostle for space with Edward Weston's classic nudes, Nan Goldin's friends share pages with Robert Mapplethorpe's gorgeously sculptured models. From Alfred Stieglitz's classic studies of Georgia O'Keeffe and of Rebecca Strand to Mary Ellen Mark's vivid documentary portraits, the artists, work, and juxtapositions in Master Breasts questions the very term of "master" in its tradition and application. A clever and reflective introduction by Francine Prose draws connections between the images and relates her own coming of age, while "The Detective," a monologue from Karen Finley's recent performance piece reveals a young girl's anguish over breast-inspired catcalls and jokes and then sardonically calls for similar cultural treatment of the male anatomy. In Nobel prize-winner Dario Fo's radically funny play The Story of the Tiger, the benefits of breast-feeding are celebrated as never before. Finally, Charles Simic's ode to breasts describes the pleasures to be derived from these "moons of the earth."