Hardcore Crafts

Levine, Nancy Bruning (1st Ed.). Hardcore Crafts. Ballantine Books, 1976 (1st Ed.). Softbound. Design by Marsha Gold. Photos by Paul Levin and Steven Mays. 'It seems so natural,' writes Levine in the intro to this innovative monograph, 'that the work of craftspeople who constantly deal with sensual materials should reflect our society's sexual freedom. So . . . it came as quite a shock that while crafts and sex may be a natural combination, the results remain unnaturally underground.' She goes on to describe the circuitous correspondence chains she engaged in and the often wild-goose expeditions she embarked on ('with the nuggets much harder to find than they were in gold-rush days') in her efforts to capture images of the pieces collected here. Covering a wide range of erogenous bits and bobs, and by turns bawdy, yearning, and rapturous, the monograph includes works in wood, metal, clay, and fiber by Helen Bitar, Fritz Driesbach, David Gilhooly, Yan Khur, Marvin Lipofsky, Richard Mafong, Norma Minkowitz, Margarita H. Popova, Paul Soldner, Norma Zotos, and many others.