Irina Ionesco
Encyclopedia
Irina Ionesco is a French photographer born in Paris
, France
. She was the daughter of Romanian immigrants. She spent her childhood years in Constanţa
, Romania
before she moved to Paris
. She traveled and painted for several years before discovering photography
. Her work is described as erotic
.
In 1974 she exhibited some of her work at the Nikon Gallery in Paris and attracted lots of attention. She was soon published in numerous magazines, books, and featured at galleries across the globe.
Irina Ionesco is perhaps most famous for her photographs showcasing her young daughter, Eva
. The nudes she created with Eva stirred major controversy, as many were shot showcasing the young girl in artsy, erotic situations similar to the work she did with her other, much older subjects. In 1977 she lost custody of her daughter, because of the pictures she had taken of her and exhibited. Later, as an adult, Eva tried three times to sue her mother for emotional distress, and the trial is still going on through various courts in France. In 1998 the French police confiscated from her mother's appartment hundreds of photographs in which she appears at the age of five in suggestive poses and in complete nudity.
A major part of Irina's work features lavishly dressed women, decked out in jewels, gloves, and other finery, but also adorning themselves with symbolic pieces such as chokers and other fetishistic props, posing provocatively, offering themselves partially disrobed as objects of sexual possession.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. She was the daughter of Romanian immigrants. She spent her childhood years in Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
before she moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. She traveled and painted for several years before discovering photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. Her work is described as erotic
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
.
In 1974 she exhibited some of her work at the Nikon Gallery in Paris and attracted lots of attention. She was soon published in numerous magazines, books, and featured at galleries across the globe.
Irina Ionesco is perhaps most famous for her photographs showcasing her young daughter, Eva
Eva Ionesco
Eva Ionesco is a French actress and film director, born in Paris. She is the daughter of Romanian-French photographer Irina Ionesco....
. The nudes she created with Eva stirred major controversy, as many were shot showcasing the young girl in artsy, erotic situations similar to the work she did with her other, much older subjects. In 1977 she lost custody of her daughter, because of the pictures she had taken of her and exhibited. Later, as an adult, Eva tried three times to sue her mother for emotional distress, and the trial is still going on through various courts in France. In 1998 the French police confiscated from her mother's appartment hundreds of photographs in which she appears at the age of five in suggestive poses and in complete nudity.
A major part of Irina's work features lavishly dressed women, decked out in jewels, gloves, and other finery, but also adorning themselves with symbolic pieces such as chokers and other fetishistic props, posing provocatively, offering themselves partially disrobed as objects of sexual possession.
Books by Irina Ionesco
- Liliacées langoureuses aux parfums d’Arabie (1974)
- Femmes sans tain (1975)
- Nocturnes (1976)
- Litanies pour une amante funèbre (1976)
- Le temple aux miroirs (1977) ISBN 0-686-54740-3
- Cent onze photographies érotiques (1980)
- Le divan (1981)
- Les Passions (1984) ISBN 2-903901-05-8
- The eros of Baroque (1988)
- Les immortelles (1991) ISBN 2-85949-128-7
- Egypte chambre noire (1991)
- Méditerranéennes (1991, with Elisabeth Foch) ISBN 2-85949-124-4
- Kafka ou le passant de Prague (1992) ISBN 2-7107-0483-8
- TransEurope (1994)
- Metamorphose de la Medusa (1995; model Hiromi Koide)
- Nudes (1996) ISBN 3-908162-52-1
- Eva: Eloge De Ma Fille (2004) ISBN 0-9727073-1-X
- L'œil de la poupée (2004; with Marie Desjardins) ISBN 2-7210-0485-9
- R (2004) ISBN 4-309-90604-4
- Le Japon Interdit (2004) ISBN 2-9523045-0-5