Body Culture: Max Dupain, Photography and Australian Culture, 1919-1939

Max Dupain is regarded as one of Australia's most significant photographers. For the first time, this book charts his work in relation to the impact in Australia of 'body culture', a broad ranging movement in the interwar period that was concerned with the revitalisation of the individual and social body. In this engaging and dynamic book, Dr Crobie persuasively argues, through both text and illustrations, that our understanding of photography is enlivened when it is seen as part of this movement. In particular, she shows how Australia's most distinctive contrbution to 'body culture', was through the depiction of the lifesaver and the surfer and that the popularity of these iconic figures was largely assembled through photography.