Femmes Fatales -- Artist Books by Maureen Cummins (page 2)

Femmes Fatales (Art book by Maureen Cummins)

Femmes Fatales (2002) Femmes Fatales explores the modern confla-tion of sex and violence, and the demonization of female sexuality in the popular imagination. The book draws the reader in with a series of seductive photos of "femmes fatales"--women of mystery, drama and dangerous beauty. As one progresses through the pages, however, it becomes apparent that the titles accompanying the images (e.g., The Virgin, The Scottish Maiden, The Widow, The Duke of Exeter’s Daughter, Red Hannah, Yellow Mama, The Bride of Nuremburg, Dame Guillotine, etc.) only appear to describe the women depicted; in fact, they are a catalog of nicknames for torture and execution devices employed from Roman times to the present. Femmes Fatales replicates the style and appearance of a nineteenth-century photo album: bound in black leather with the word “Album” stamped in gold ...