ERIC KROLL
Eric Kroll is a photojournalist and photographer, known for his work as an erotica historian. Kroll's career has spanned multiple worlds including fashion, music, art, and film. He has taught at both the International Center for Photography and the School of Visual Arts before turning his focus to erotica.1
Throughout the 70s and 80s, Kroll's photography included scenes from his personal life, celebrities, fashion, and the New York social scene for publications such as Elle Magazine, Vogue, and the New York Times. Among the personalities he photographed were Madonna, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Nam June Paik. The photograph in this exhibition was staged by Nam June Paik and Shigeko Kubota for a publication.
Kroll's most recognized work is his 1994 book Fetish Girls, which has sold over 200,000 copies.2 It features models adorned with a variety of ornaments such as rubber corsets, fencing masks, cactus needles, cellophane, and ballet shoes.3 Kroll's photos are meant to reflect a multitude of sexual fantasies, obsessions, and tableaux. He has derived inspiration from several Surrealists, Man Ray being a specific source of influence.
Eric Kroll's other works include Fetish Days, Beauty Parade, and the 1976 photobook Sex Objects, which depicts the realities of American prostitution and is considered by many as “a milestone in the history of the photo book.”
SFGATE: Bound for Glory Kroll Knows his Work's Explicit
Les Inrockuptibles: The Faces of Downtown New York Revived in a Surprising Monograph by Eric Knoll