Photography is present in all of the pubic and private areas of our lives. It is also found in seclusion--where it is "dark," where we shut ourselves off from society or where an act necessarily excludes society. Sexuality--as eroticism, desire, fantasy and fetish--is one of the central drives behind all of man's thoughts, actions and feelings. Frequently though, sexuality is deliberately minimized, relegated to the lowly precinct of simple, lustful entertainment or dismal deviation.

Photography stylizes lust, passion, power, violence and voyeurism. Wish and desire enter into a pact wherein fantasies push to be presented, seek exposure. Photography, with its own voyeuristic pull, uses the power of (photo) eroticism for its own purposes. Featuring 150 magnificently printed color plates and 100 choice duotone images by Nobuyoshi Araki, Richard Avedon, Hans Bellmer, Guy Bourdin, Nan Goldin, Philippe Halsman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ryan McGinley, Ana Mendieta, Daido Moriyama, Helmut Newton, Catherine Opie, Jack Pierson, Man Ray, Terry Richardson, Collier Schorr, Laurie Simmons, Jurgen Teller, Miroslav Tichy, Wolfgang Tillmans, Inez van Lamsweerde, Andy Warhol, Bruce Weber, Joel Peter Witkin, Francesca Woodman and many others, this highly intelligent new collection proves photography to be one of the most important mediums for the presentation of the full range of human sexuality. This is the first in a series of books from the world-renowned Photomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland. Volume 2 takes on the photography of violence and disease--the other central powers that so influence the human body and soul.

"Urs Stahel, born in 1953, is the director of the Winterthur Fotomuseum and the editor of a number of publications on photography. He lives in Zurich."