Crazy
Babe by Bob Coulter.
Published by Goliath Books. ISBN-10: 3936709041
Bob
Coulter started out as a record producer and it should therefore come
as no surprise to find that many of the motifs associated with the rock
and roll business feature in his photographs - be it the use of the infamous
Chelsea Hotel as a backdrop, the obvious sexual overtones and finally
the paraphernalia of drug use - the iconography of sex, drugs and rock
and roll inhabit his imagery with abandon.
Coulter
is fond of saying "I'm not even a photographer" and
he first started making images simply to create original content for his
'members only' websites. Indeed many of the photographs in 'Crazy
Babe' have been featured on the website crazybabe.com, which
Coulter says he set up in 1999 to "earn a few 
bucks" in what he calls a "get rich scheme." Though he first
picked up the basics of photography at high school Coulter didn't take
up photography seriously until the advent of the digital camera and associated
software such as Photoshop. Initially he turned for technical assistance
to professional photographers such as Nancy Davenport, Peter Gorman and
Leland Ray whom he is lucky enough to be friends with.
The
girls featured are all professional models, with some also being actresses,
and the book is split into sections that are devoted to each model in
turn. Published by Goliath in the same 7.6 x 5.8 x 1.5 inch, 368 page
format as Naked Happy Girls and Bad Girls Hotel - 'Crazy Babe' shares the same strengths and
weaknesses as these titles with the chief weakness being a need for a
judicious edit, as there are, at 340+, far too many images of a similar
nature for one volume, but this is countered by the print quality which
is very good.
'Crazy
Babe' is a light-hearted, colourful and sexy monograph that exhibits
a lot of energy that some will find electrifying whilst others may find
the experience a little underwhelming.
Review by
Christopher John Ball
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