'Carnal Knowledge is a step back into Eden, away from Sodom
and Gomorrah, where love reigns over all, and a book which
will become a classic of contemporary photography.'
– Charlie Finch, artnet

'Intimacy can be bruising, but Marder's subjects seem determined to risk it, even if their only connection is to the woman with the camera. As for the photographer, she's happy for her work to remain enigmatic – "not an answer, but a clue".' – Vince Aletti, Photograph Magazine

Text contributions from Gregory Crewdson, James Ellroy,
A. M. Homes, James Frey, Bruce Wagner, Philip-Lorca diCorcia
and Charlotte Cotton

The first collection of Marder's works in print.

A seminal early experience for Malerie Marder was when a family friend invited her to photograph her with her lover, naked and in the anonymous setting of a motel room. This set the tone for Marder's work for the next decade. Her photographs of nudes are composed simply, her subjects sitting plainly near the centre of the frame, often set against the bleak anonymity of motel rooms, their impassive gazes almost daring a viewer to interpret their bodies.

Beautifully illustrated with more than 70 works by Marder – described by Charlotte Cotton in her introduction as an ‘episodic drama of adjacencies’ – Carnal Knowledge also contains a preface by Gregory Crewdson, a text by novelist James Ellroy, short stories inspired by Marder's works by A. M. Homes, James Frey and Bruce Wagner, as well as a written and photographic correspondence between Marder and Philip-Lorca diCorcia.

An installation of previously unexhibited works from Carnal Knowledge was shown at Blain|Southern Gallery, 21 Dering Street, London W1S 1AL, from 6 to 21 April. (www.blainsouthern.com)

Malerie Marder lives and works in Los Angeles. Marder studied
at Bard College with Stephen Shore, and at Yale University with Gregory Crewdson, Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Nan Goldin, where she won the Schicke-Collingwood Prize and John Ferguson Weir Award. Her work is in several international collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
(New York).

Gregory Crewdson is Professor Adjunct in Graduate Photography at the Yale University School of Art. Crewdson's work has been included in many international public collections. His most recent book is Sanctuary (Abrams).

Philip-Lorca diCorcia lives in New York, and since 1985 has exhibited his influential work at museums and galleries around the world. His most recent book is Thousand (Steidl).

James Ellroy is an American crime writer and essayist known for
his hard-boiled, staccato style, author of novels including The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential.

Charlotte Cotton is Creative Director of the National Media Museum, UK. She was formerly head of programming at the Photographers' Gallery, London.