"The Bathers" by Jennette Williams is visual comfort food. A lovely collection of black and white images taken by Williams of women in the communal baths of Budapest and Istanbul, "The Bathers" was selected by Mary Ellen Mark as the 2009 winner of the Center for Documentary Studies/Honickman First Book Prize in Photography and she provides a generous introduction. Mark rightfully points out the painterly aspects of these photographs: "As in Ingres' 'The Turkish Bath,’ Jennette's lounging women not only revel in intimate feminine moments but in the camaraderie of women as well."



The images are a mix of classical, abstract torso nudes, portraits and documentary images. What works particularly well is the consistency of the light - you can feel the sweat and heat - and appreciate the technical difficulties inherent in making these images. Much can be made of the "realness" of these women - zaftig, matronly, relaxed. Indeed, Williams raises the question in the Photographer's Note, "What makes for beauty in women?" These photographs provide one answer of course, but what resonates more deeply perhaps could be the question, "What makes for beauty in ritual?"




There is an elegance and timelessness in these old European style baths that is as equally soothing as Williams' take that aging and fleshiness represents beauty. Williams also mentions that she used a platinum printing process for a broad tonal range. The reproductions in the book don't have a particularly broad tonal range (a true black is hard to find although details in the highlights are lovely), but the range actually doesn't detract from the photographs, reinforcing the languid feeling in the images. —Renée Jacobs