In 2020, photographer J. Konrad Schmidt’s first erotic photo book, HÔTEL NOIR, won gold at the German Photo Awards. It’s now sold out, never to be reprinted – but you’re in luck, because the sequel, a print-only time capsule of fleeting intimate moments, is available to buy (but not download) now.
Shot exclusively on black-and-white Kodak film over the course of almost 25 years and bound in a violet velvet, HÔTEL NOIR II includes 133 photos of Schmidt’s muses – all women – posed in lace, latex and sometimes nothing at all. The women are diplomats, psychologists, artists, office clerks and models, photographed in hotels around the world. “They want to be shown and seen like this, but in an environment that they can control,” says Schmidt, implying that the book is intended to honour female sexual empowerment.
“I don’t post the work online, and I don’t encourage the press to post anything online either. It’s like the opposite of this social media speedway we’re on: to do stuff but not post it.” No digital versions of any of the images from the book are publicised; the photos can only be admired in the flesh – that is, in Schmidt’s book, which was limited to a 1,000-copy print run and can only be ordered through the artist’s website.
They want to be shown and seen like this, but in an environment that they can control.
With NOIR II, Schmidt wanted to include a more diverse array of women, including those with injuries, handicaps and physical disabilities. The subject matter is personal, as the photographer himself has a rare arteriovenous malformation, which only 300 people in Germany experience, Schmidt says. “Stories like this [are] pretty close to my heart because I have the same destiny. I’ve had 42 surgeries since I was 10.” Two-time Olympic champion Kristina Vogel, who was paralysed after an accident in 2018, and singer-songwriter Viktoria Modesta, who had a leg amputation to fix a congenital medical problem, are among the featured women.
Throughout his career, Schmidt’s work has been featured in Variety, Interview Magazine and Vogue Business, but the HÔTEL NOIR series is his passion project – and that is reflected in the price: the limited edition will run you €99, and the special edition, hand-numbered and packaged in a custom red casing, retails for €279. But it’s the finite availability that gives this book its real value. If you’re looking to turn your living room into a darkroom (or at least noir), this is the coffee table-topper for you.
