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robin friedman's Reviews > Bellocq: Photographs from Storyville, the Red-Light District of New Orleans
Bellocq: Photographs from Storyville, the Red-Light District of New Orleans
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Storyville Prostitutes
Storyville was a legalized red light district in New Orleans that functioned beginning in 1897 until it was closed in 1917 under pressure from the military. In 1912, an obscure commercial photographer, E.J. Bellocq (1873 -- 1949) made a series of photographs of prostitutes working in Storyville. The photos were little-known until they were shown at an exhibition of the Museum of Modern Art in 1970. MOMA published a book of the photographs in 1970 that went out-of-print and was subsequently expanded in 1996 into this book, "Bellocq: Photographs from Storyville, The Red-Light District of New Orleans" which also appears to be now out-of-print. The book includes 52 of Bellocq's photographs as compared with the 34 of the MOMA volume and includes as well an introduction by Susan Sontag and interviews about Bellocq and his photos.
Bellocq seems to have taken these photos simply for himself but their origin remains unknown. The highly evocative photographs have come to symbolize Storyville. Bellocq's carefully posed photos show some of the women in full dress while others are nude. The photos manage to be both revealing of the character of their subjects and also enigmatic. They also allow a glimpse at the interiors of Storyville brothels, which have long been destroyed.
I recently revisited this book of Storyville prostitutes after many years. There is something fascinating about this place and its women. Bellocq's photos get inside his subjects and allow viewers to reflect upon the women and their lives.
Bellocq's photographs have a distant echo in the famous photographer Susan Meiselas' book "Carnival Strippers" which documents the women working in girlie shows in small New England carnivals in the early 1970s. These carnivals, like the Storyville brothels, are no more. As did Bellocq, Meiselas was able to win the trust of her subjects and to provide insight through her photography into their lives. Meiselas' book has been re-issued in several editions, most recently in "Carnival Strippers-- Revisited" (2022) which I have reviewed here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Bellocq's and Meiselas' photographs capture something of the mysterious nature of human sexuality when it is commodified, but never lost.
Robin Friedman
Storyville was a legalized red light district in New Orleans that functioned beginning in 1897 until it was closed in 1917 under pressure from the military. In 1912, an obscure commercial photographer, E.J. Bellocq (1873 -- 1949) made a series of photographs of prostitutes working in Storyville. The photos were little-known until they were shown at an exhibition of the Museum of Modern Art in 1970. MOMA published a book of the photographs in 1970 that went out-of-print and was subsequently expanded in 1996 into this book, "Bellocq: Photographs from Storyville, The Red-Light District of New Orleans" which also appears to be now out-of-print. The book includes 52 of Bellocq's photographs as compared with the 34 of the MOMA volume and includes as well an introduction by Susan Sontag and interviews about Bellocq and his photos.
Bellocq seems to have taken these photos simply for himself but their origin remains unknown. The highly evocative photographs have come to symbolize Storyville. Bellocq's carefully posed photos show some of the women in full dress while others are nude. The photos manage to be both revealing of the character of their subjects and also enigmatic. They also allow a glimpse at the interiors of Storyville brothels, which have long been destroyed.
I recently revisited this book of Storyville prostitutes after many years. There is something fascinating about this place and its women. Bellocq's photos get inside his subjects and allow viewers to reflect upon the women and their lives.
Bellocq's photographs have a distant echo in the famous photographer Susan Meiselas' book "Carnival Strippers" which documents the women working in girlie shows in small New England carnivals in the early 1970s. These carnivals, like the Storyville brothels, are no more. As did Bellocq, Meiselas was able to win the trust of her subjects and to provide insight through her photography into their lives. Meiselas' book has been re-issued in several editions, most recently in "Carnival Strippers-- Revisited" (2022) which I have reviewed here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Bellocq's and Meiselas' photographs capture something of the mysterious nature of human sexuality when it is commodified, but never lost.
Robin Friedman
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November 16, 2022
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November 16, 2022
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Quo
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Nov 11, 2023 04:32PM
A comment from someone not involved in the New Orleans sex trade but with experience of that sort elsewhere: “I know porn stars are supposed to be the height of sexual immorality or some bullshit. The way I see it, we’re providing a service. We’re here for all the sexually confused men out there, all the women who want to explore their own sexuality more, couples who want to spice up their love life, and all the millions of men and women who are bored and horny. We’re practically fucking saints.� � Nora Phoenix
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Quo wrote: "A comment from someone not involved in the New Orleans sex trade but with experience of that sort elsewhere: “I know porn stars are supposed to be the height of sexual immorality or some bullshit. ..."Yes. Good comment. Thanks, Bill.
