Anne Geddes
Encyclopedia
Anne Geddes, MNZM
, (b. 13 September 1956) is an Australia
n-born photographer, clothing designer
and businesswoman who now lives and works in New Zealand
. She is known for her stylized depictions of babies and motherhood. Typical images show babies or young children dressed as fairies and fairytale creatures, flowers, or small animals. She has described herself as "a baby freak."
Geddes' books have been published in 83 countries. According to Amazon.com
she has sold more than 18 million books and 13 million calendars. In 1997, Cedco Publishing sold more than 1.8 million calendars and date books bearing Geddes' photography. Her debut book, Down in the Garden, made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been translated into 23 different languages.
Geddes believes that "emotional content is an image's most important element" and that people are drawn to her work because of its simplicity and personality. She prefers black-and-white photography to color photography. She prefers the black-and-white scheme because she feels that colour distracts from the image and the natural beauty of life.
A typical sitting takes place in the morning when the babies are well-rested, and lasts about half an hour, otherwise the babies get too bored or fussy. "You have to be really fast," Geddes says about getting good shots. She sets up her studio in advance—props, lighting, cameras and equipment—so that all the baby or babies have to do is sit. Many of her props are custom made, such as over-sized shoes and flowerpots. She keeps the babies' parents nearby for extra assistance with expressions.
, Geddes (played by Felicity Ward
) helps a Chinese family hide their additional children from One-child policy
inspectors, by camouflaging them in conspicuous places, which the inspectors are unable to notice.
McSweeney's Internet Tendency, the humor site of McSweeney's
, published a Short Imagined Monologue called "An Anne Geddes Baby Grows Up."
Humor website The Onion
spoofed Geddes' style with "Anne Geddes Starting to Lose It."
In an episode of Friends, Joey Tribbiani
complains to his roommate Janine about an Anne Geddes photograph she hung on the wall of his apartment. The photograph depicted a baby dressed as a sunflower. After being told that Anne Geddes is a famous artist, he assumes that the baby is Anne Geddes.
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
, (b. 13 September 1956) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born photographer, clothing designer
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
and businesswoman who now lives and works in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. She is known for her stylized depictions of babies and motherhood. Typical images show babies or young children dressed as fairies and fairytale creatures, flowers, or small animals. She has described herself as "a baby freak."
Geddes' books have been published in 83 countries. According to Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
she has sold more than 18 million books and 13 million calendars. In 1997, Cedco Publishing sold more than 1.8 million calendars and date books bearing Geddes' photography. Her debut book, Down in the Garden, made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been translated into 23 different languages.
Career
Geddes became a photographer at age 25. She had always had an interest in babies in general, but the schools she attended did not offer photography classes. She chose babies as her subject because of her love of them. "I had seen the way children and babies were generally being photographed. It just didn't seem realistic to me that people took their children along to photographic studios all dressed in their Sunday best, photographs that didn't really show the personality of the child."Geddes believes that "emotional content is an image's most important element" and that people are drawn to her work because of its simplicity and personality. She prefers black-and-white photography to color photography. She prefers the black-and-white scheme because she feels that colour distracts from the image and the natural beauty of life.
Process
Geddes does not audition babies for use as models because they are "too unpredictable". Instead, she keeps in touch with multiple birth and twin clubs, and has thousands of photographs on file that parents have sent her. Geddes travels to the United States every year in search of black infants to photograph, as New Zealand has a very small black population.A typical sitting takes place in the morning when the babies are well-rested, and lasts about half an hour, otherwise the babies get too bored or fussy. "You have to be really fast," Geddes says about getting good shots. She sets up her studio in advance—props, lighting, cameras and equipment—so that all the baby or babies have to do is sit. Many of her props are custom made, such as over-sized shoes and flowerpots. She keeps the babies' parents nearby for extra assistance with expressions.
Works
- Down in the Garden (1996), ISBN 0-7407-3540-3
- The Twelve Days of Christmas (1997)
- Until Now (1998), ISBN 0-7407-3541-1
- Pure (2002), ISBN 0-7407-2641-2
- Miracle (2004) ISBN 0-7407-469
- Beginnings (2010)
Popular culture
In a skit on The Ronnie Johns Half HourThe Ronnie Johns Half Hour
The Ronnie Johns Half Hour is an Australian sketch comedy show produced by Jigsaw Entertainment and the Ten Network, which premiered in October 2005...
, Geddes (played by Felicity Ward
Felicity Ward
Felicity Ward is an Australian comedian, best known for her TV appearances on Spicks and Specks, Thank God You're Here, Good News Week and as a writer/performer in the Channel 10 Network television programme The Ronnie Johns Half Hour...
) helps a Chinese family hide their additional children from One-child policy
One-child policy
The one-child policy refers to the one-child limitation applying to a minority of families in the population control policy of the People's Republic of China . The Chinese government refers to it under the official translation of family planning policy...
inspectors, by camouflaging them in conspicuous places, which the inspectors are unable to notice.
McSweeney's Internet Tendency, the humor site of McSweeney's
McSweeney's
McSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers.Apart from its book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal,...
, published a Short Imagined Monologue called "An Anne Geddes Baby Grows Up."
Humor website The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
spoofed Geddes' style with "Anne Geddes Starting to Lose It."
In an episode of Friends, Joey Tribbiani
Joey Tribbiani
Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani, Jr. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends and the title character in the spin-off, Joey , portrayed by Matt LeBlanc....
complains to his roommate Janine about an Anne Geddes photograph she hung on the wall of his apartment. The photograph depicted a baby dressed as a sunflower. After being told that Anne Geddes is a famous artist, he assumes that the baby is Anne Geddes.