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''Sex'' is a coffee table book written by American singer Madonna, with photographs taken by Steven Meisel Studio and film frames shot by Fabien Baron. The book was edited by Glenn O'Brien and was released on October 21, 1992, by Warner Books, Maverick and Callaway Books. Approached with an idea for a book on erotic photographs, Madonna expanded on the idea and conceived the book and its content. Shot in early 1992 in New York City and Miami, the locations ranged from hotels and burlesque theaters, to the streets of Miami. The photographs were even stolen before publishing, but were quickly recovered. The book had a range of influences – from punk rock to earlier fashion iconoclasts such as Guy Bourdin and his surrealism, and Helmut Newton, in its stylized, sado-masochistic look. ''Sex'' has photographs that feature adult content and softcore pornographic as well as simulations of sexual acts, including sadomasochism and analingus. Madonna wrote the book as a character named "Mistress Dita", inspired by 1930s film actress Dita Parlo. It also includes cameos by actress Isabella Rossellini, rappers Big Daddy Kane and Vanilla Ice, model Naomi Campbell, gay porn star Joey Stefano, actor Udo Kier, socialite Tatiana von Fürstenberg, and nightclub owner Ingrid Casares. The packaging for the book is made of aluminium, which was Madonna's idea, and is spiral bound and enclosed in a Mylar sheet. Due to the scandalous nature of the photographs and the media mayhem surrounding it from the initial preview of the book, Madonna did not have to promote ''Sex'', except for a pre-release party and some television specials. Her publishers were extremely apprehensive about the release as well as its commercial potential. ''Sex'' was released alongside her fifth studio album ''Erotica'', which was released a day earlier. The book was an instant commercial success, managing to sell over 150,000 copies on its first day of release and topping the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. It was received negatively by both critics and fans of the singer, who felt she had "gone too far." Through the years, however, critical reception towards ''Sex'' has become more positive, with academics deeming it a defining phase in Madonna's career. ''Sex'' is noted for its impact on society and culture as well as on Madonna herself, and is considered a bold, post-feminist work of art. The book has since become one of the most sought-after out-of-print books ever released and still remains the best and fastest-selling coffee table book of all time. == Background and development == According to Giselle Benatar of ''Entertainment Weekly'', there are two versions of how Madonna came up with the idea for the book. One was that she conceived the idea of an erotic photography book during the shooting of the film ''A League of Their Own'' in the summer of 1991.〔 The second one is that Judith Regan, vice-president and editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, flew to Los Angeles in March 1991 to meet with Madonna and her manager Freddy DeMann, armed with a proposal for a similar collection of photo-erotica.〔 The singer had initially verified whether Regan had approached any other celebrities with this concept, as Madonna would be interested to be a part of it only if it was a unique idea. By the end of the meeting Madonna had agreed "in principle" to do a book called ''Madonna's Book of Erotica and Sexual Fantasies''. She told Regan that DeMann would call her and work out the details regarding the book.〔 However, Madonna never got back in touch with Regan, who assumed that the singer did not want to proceed with the idea.〔 Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg never confirmed nor denied Regan's claim, but according to Benatar, Madonna started working on ''Sex'' before wrapping up ''A League of Their Own''.〔 At first Warner Bros. Records and the executive directors at Time Warner were reluctant to allow Madonna to publish such a book, but finally gave in to the idea. Madonna, however, was forced to sign a contract that forbade her from showing child pornography, bestiality and religious imagery.〔 Not long after signing this agreement Madonna founded Maverick, a multi-media entertainment company. Since by contract she had total artistic control over any of the work released by Maverick, the agreement she signed with Time Warner concerning what not to do in ''Sex'' became obsolete.〔 Originally to be titled ''X'', Madonna changed her mind when Spike Lee's film ''Malcolm X'' began to be promoted. (The film was released three weeks after the book.) She would go on to tell ''Vogue'' magazine: "This is a really good symbol, and I thought of it first." Warner Bros. commented that ''Sex'' was very difficult to produce, requiring contributions from many different printing and publishing companies.〔 They also stated that in order to generate any profit, the book would have to sell at least 350,000 copies.〔〔 Madonna hired top-notch talent for the development of the book; she counted on the help of friends from the music, film and fashion industry.〔 The singer hired Fabien Baron as the art director, fashion photographer Steven Meisel, editor Glenn O'Brien, make-up artist Francois Nars and hairstylist Paul Cavaco.〔〔〔 The ''Sex'' book had a range of influences – from punk rock to earlier fashion iconoclasts like Guy Bourdin and his surrealism, and Helmut Newton, in its stylized, sado-masochistic look. Madonna originally wanted the book to be of an oval shape in order to simulate a condom but the printing and manufacturing of such a book would have been too expensive. Meisel would later comment: "Madonna and I can keep up with each other" and that "I'm doing things to make people think too. It's not really to antagonize or to push people's buttons. It's really to present another way of seeing things."〔 The pictures were taken almost entirely in Super 8 format, and most of the photo shoots took place in New York City and Miami. Locations in New York City included the Hotel Chelsea and Times Square's all-male burlesque Gaiety Theatre (dancers from theatre participated in one of the book's photo sessions), whereas in Miami the majority of the sessions were shot at a house Madonna had purchased just before starting the project, and in several beaches and streets.〔〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=You Can Tell This Book By Its Cover )〕 One morning during the four-day Florida shoot Madonna was prancing around her 14-bedroom house in Miami completely naked, when someone jokingly suggested she go out on the street, then, according to Baron "the next thing we're in the street" where allegedly "cars screeched to a halt, motorists whistled, and one entranced cyclist fell off his bike."〔 This was just one of the many crazy episodes that took place during the shooting of the book. According to Baron, during the photo shoots "()'d do something crazy and then we'd come up with something even crazier". One of the most shocking photographs made for the book, which featured two women in post-punk attire flanking Madonna with one of them holding a knife to Madonna's crotch, was dismissed as it was considered too violent. At some point, while the book was being produced, some of the photographs were stolen, but were quickly recovered by the FBI.〔 According to ''New York'' magazine, there were approximately 80,000 photographs taken for the book,〔 but only a handful made the final cut.〔 The printing of the book was extended for 15 days〔 making the total production process last about eight months.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sex (book)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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