Walter Pfeiffer’s 1970-1980 is a strong collection of social documentary black and white photographs. Pfeiffer is considered, alongside the likes of Larry Clark, a forerunner of the contemporary erotic/diaristic aesthetic, which currently features in just about every magazine.

This book is a JRP/Ringier 2004 reprint of the original 1980 Elke Betzel Verlag edition. A massive change in the way photography is received has taken place in this 24 year gap, and Pfeiffer’s images are necessarily viewed differently now; the current saturation of the erotic image casts a new light on its counterparts of the past. Which is why 1970-1980 makes for fascinating veiwing, coursing brilliantly between close-up candid portraits, contrived staged scenes and expansive outdoor landscapes.

Pfeiffer’s recent work has moved away from the more overt sexuality on show in 1970-1980. In a brilliant quote, he notes the ideological rift between pornography and erotic photography that has decreased over time, working to trivialise the art of erocticism - “[…] these days pornography is everywhere. It has become rather common, and after all, X-rated stuff is ultimately about its use value. And I never liked functional aesthetics to begin with.”

1970-1980 is 96 pages, soft cover, with all images full bleed with no captions. More pages after the link…