About David Hamilton

"A distinction must be made between eroticism and pornography; the media have blurred the disparity to an unforgivable degree. For those intelligent enough to recognize the difference, erotica will continue to hold a unique fascination. Social evils should not be confused with the pursuit of true beauty."  —David Hamilton

I've been an admirer of his work for, gee, decades (since the early 80's). Hamilton, a world-renowned photographer, is a controversial figure in that the subject of his work is, more often than not, nude studies of young girls. It is precisely the anger and fear and, well, discomfort that Hamilton's work inspires that made me think of his work for this specific essay, which largely concerns the sexual repression of women, and the rage and fear a woman's sexuality can provoke; a power never more potent (or unknowingly unleashed) as in the flower of youth.

It's certainly not my intent to outrage or offend anyone, and I admit I'm more than a little concerned about the possibility of unfair inferences being taken, particularly by my Christian friends and associates, who may be unable to appreciate Hamilton's genius in an artistic light.

Moreover, I'm probably being unfair to Hamilton and his work by nervously cropping the above image to minimize the shock and discomfort it may evoke, even though the visceral power of that reaction speaks directly to the integrity of the work and its value as art. Modifying Hamilton's artistic statement is, I feel, a violation of his artistry and my integrity as a journalist. However, both are at odds with my convictions as a minister. This subject and essay and artistic choice to support and expose the artistry of David Hamilton is one of the many challenges artists and journalists in ministry face.

I apologize to any who find Hamilton's work offensive, and apologize to
Mr. Hamilton himself for re-interpreting his wondrous artistry.

Reader Comments:

"In the Beauty of young human beings, lies the hope of the world. Those photographs are like classical music. Some people are afraid of the power glowing from the portraits, and start a witch hunt. Don't do it. Never lose an opportunity to seen anything that is beautiful: For beauty is God's handwriting. (R W Emerson)

"As complex as its subjects, this is possibly the most beautiful set of photo portraits I've ever seen. Like the subjects, though, the beauty has a scary side to it."

"An astonishing number of his photos are awkwardly cropped for legal, rather than aesthetic reasons, so what was clearly shot as an integral figure study gets published as an amputated torso. "

All images (except the photo of Surgeon General Elders) © 2003 David Hamilton. All Rights Reserved. This site in no way challenges the authorship of this work, and these images will be removed or modified by the request of The David Hamilton Gallery.