Natacha Merritt
Natacha Merritt (born 1977) is an American photographer, artist and biologist. Her 2000 book Digital Diaries was published by Taschen and was the first digital photography book ever published. She has been profiled in Rolling Stone. Merritt has been called a cheap self-promoter, a ground-breaker, and the contemporary counterpart of Anaïs Nin. She cataloged her sexual history on the internet through explicit photographs and drew the attention of photographer Eric Kroll, leading to the release of her photos as Digital Diaries.
Merritt has been compared to Cindy Sherman and Claude Cahun in how she has broken photographic ground in self-portraiture by redefining the boundaries of artistic photography. Her work has been described as "a distinct female voice that takes candid self-revelation to new heights of wonderful indecency"
In Merritt's 2012 book Sexual Selection, she compares and contrasts the sexual intricacies of plants and insects with her own sexuality. She returned to higher education to study evolutionary biology, noting, "The leap makes sense when you are passionate about sex. All roads lead to evolutionary biology, speciation and genetics." Sexual Selection has been called a work of art that "offer insight into universal sexuality and broaden the viewer’s sense of beauty and understanding of sexual behavior".
Merritt has been compared to Cindy Sherman and Claude Cahun in how she has broken photographic ground in self-portraiture by redefining the boundaries of artistic photography. Her work has been described as "a distinct female voice that takes candid self-revelation to new heights of wonderful indecency"
In Merritt's 2012 book Sexual Selection, she compares and contrasts the sexual intricacies of plants and insects with her own sexuality. She returned to higher education to study evolutionary biology, noting, "The leap makes sense when you are passionate about sex. All roads lead to evolutionary biology, speciation and genetics." Sexual Selection has been called a work of art that "offer insight into universal sexuality and broaden the viewer’s sense of beauty and understanding of sexual behavior".
