ROBIN SCHWARTZ

ARTIST BIO

During the 70’s my nudes appeared in two, one-woman shows in Manhattan. It was at my show, "Naughty Bits," that I sold my first print. Group shows followed in NJ, NY, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and London. I was acknowledged for groundbreaking work in the field of heterosexual nude and erotic photography of men, from a female perspective.

I received the first Best in Show Fine Art Print Award from The American Society of Media Photographers and two Certificates of Distinction from Art Direction for an album cover. Photo magazine (French Edition) published my B&W portfolio of erotic photos.

Work had me traveling internationally photographing famous musicians. I had studios in NYC, London and NJ combining my career with motherhood. When our first son was born, Gibson Greeting Card assigned me to shoot the first Hunks Calendar. I created a children's book after our second was born. An art piece: “My Daughter, My Love” was produced monthly for a year.

With our children grown, I published a coffee-table book, “Lake Mohawk Through the Seasons” containing over 500 color photographs. Now I have time to delve into my archives, digitizing decades of film to create a website (www.robinschwartzphotography.com) featuring work from the 60’s through the 80’s, and an Instagram account, (robinschwartzthephotographer).

I attended Alfred University and Corcoran School of Art, ultimately graduating from NYU’s School of the Arts with a BFA in Film/Television. I worked in the film industry in NYC for several years before being hired to shoot stills on a feature length movie.

At 76, my path combined marriage, motherhood, career and artistic work. I remain passionate about my work. Since the age of 20 I’ve endured 13 major operations and a brain blood clot, all while continuing to keep my life and work spinning.


ARTIST STATEMENT

I came of age in the late 1960’s, the time of Woodstock and social upheaval. I began high school during the time I jokingly called ‘The Age of Industrial Underwear,’ tight girdles, stockings, heavy duty brassieres - and when I went to college it transitioned to a time of bralessness and bikini panties. In the 1950’s and well into the 1960’s we were taught that a “good girl” was to guard her virginity at all costs and ‘save’ herself for her future husband. During my freshman year at university the birth control pill became readily available and so... All bets were off!

I started photographing female nudes almost as a rebellion against the strict way in which I was brought up. Photographing male nudes came a few years later and was as much a political statement as an artistic one. As far as I know, at the age of 23, I was the first female photographer (maybe the first photographer, period!) to shoot erections in an artistic way and have them published in a national mainstream magazine. I shot predominantly black & white film and printed the negatives on Ilford high contrast paper.

After moving to London in 1977 and traveling and working throughout Europe, I was exposed to a much freer sensibility towards nudity and eroticism. I loved the work of Helmut Newton and Jeanloup Sieff, featuring dramatic black and white images.

Most of my photographs represent an artistic and political time capsule. It was a unique moment in history - the confluence of the sexual revolution and the women’s movement.