Nudes...?

[Tin Can]

Maybe this is the right place and time to reveal a bit more. Maybe not, Mod's call.

I present this as pertinent to Vaughn's Male Gaze addition to this discussion.

The below link loads very slowly. NSFW.

A "Photograph of Marcel Duchamp and Eve Babitz posing for the photographer Julian Wasser during the Duchamp retrospective at the Pasadena Museum of Art, 1963
© 2000 Succession Marcel Duchamp, ARS, N.Y./ADAGP, Paris." Got me thinking, 20 years ago that Marcel got it wrong. So I decided to make it right...

I enacted a Live Reversal of Role presentation of Duchamp's 1963 performance.

Set in Jane Byrne Room, Barat College, Lake Forest IL. Jane Byrne was the only female mayor, so far, of Chicago. I became the nude and a good friend played along. I set up art books with the original Duchamp image. 120 art students filled in and out, brought to this event by their instructors. The whole thing was well received, except by the Nuns. I set my Nikon F70 up and shot 24 slides of our performance before guests arrived.

This is a tiny file, to spare delicate readers. It is allowed on Facebook.

[jp]

Nothing magical happens by being nude.

A hundred years ago the nudes in pictorialist photos abstracted the subject from time and place. (thus imagination == magic) They lack of victorian clothing gave photos a timeless aspect which reinforced the art themes they sought such as mythology. The choice of woods and rocks and landscape for surroundings for those nudes, and perhaps the printing craftsmanship choices, created a primeval world which was quite intentional. The sort of stuff we'd associate with Anne Brigman, Clarence H white, F Holland Day.... I don't mind mixing elements of contemporary and timeless so I differ from that.

I am inspired by their styles but not to the extent that I must copy them and require nudes, nor do I care about mythology subjects at the moment. I'm pretty sure it would just be misunderstood anyways, which is not entirely avoidable, but I do make an effort to communicate somewhat effectively with photography when there is actual subject matter. Seems like knowing the photographer is key to understanding the photos which contain their nudes. We most often don't know the photographer well enough to do that.... E.g. Sally Mann's are different than Frank P's which are different from Ben Rains which are different from Mortensen, etc...

As for your original question, it's not too critical. Perhaps it's being critical of insufficiently practiced creativity rather than nude subject matter. I wouldn't criticize anyone's nudes even if I did speak from experience in that style. I think of the image sharing here are a pinboard/corkboard for works in progress or trying new things and inspiring rather than full on portfolio review. Nothing has to be perfect or highly refined or above being critiquable.

[Drew Bedo]

every time I try to do some nude photography, I either catch a cold or get sunburned.

[Tin Can]

Got a PM!

Seems DuChamp is au currant.

My prior link is not downloading. The image I used for reference is in the below link.

http://www.robertbermangallery.com/e...view=slider#28

I know a few other recreations were made of DuChamp's performance, but nobody reversed it. To my knowledge.

[Tim Meisburger]

To state the obvious, people share nudes because men like to look at naked women. That is normal and natural. We appreciate a naked woman whether or not the photograph is particularly good. So, a nude is not art because the person is nude, and the percentage of good nudes is probably the same as the percentage of good landscapes, but we are more likely to share a poor nude of a beautiful woman than we are a poorly photographed landscape.

That's my theory anyway.

[mike rosenlof]

I have shot nudes a handful of times. Taken two workshops about 20 years apart. From two session my favorite photo from each was the model while fully clothed. Most nudes of attractive young women don't have much more to say (to me at least) other than "nude young women are nice to look at".

I must be getting old or something...

[Lachlan 717]

http://www.robertbermangallery.com/e...view=slider#28

From this link:

"In 1963 a long overdue retrospective for Marcel Duchamp, arguably the most significant and influential artist of the 20th century".

It is arguable. Very arguable that he was NOT the most significant, nor influential, artist of the 20th century...

[RSalles]

From this link:

"In 1963 a long overdue retrospective for Marcel Duchamp, arguably the most significant and influential artist of the 20th century".

It is arguable. Very arguable that he was NOT the most significant, nor influential, artist of the 20th century...

Agree. If not the most, one of them.

Cheers,

[jnantz]

Got a PM!

Seems DuChamp is au currant.

My prior link is not downloading. The image I used for reference is in the below link.

http://www.robertbermangallery.com/e...view=slider#28

I know a few other recreations were made of DuChamp's performance, but nobody reversed it. To my knowledge.

great work randy, and thanks for the link
i wish i could have seen that exhibit.

when i was involved with the ignobel awards years ago
we sort of paid an homage to the chess game

it wasn't a chess game but it was narilyn vos savant
eating soup on-stage the whole ceremony.
not sure if it was mark's intent or he even knew of the chess match
but after seeing your photograph and the duchamp, im seeing
the similarities.

====
randy

no you are not being too critical.

most of the nudes i have seen are kind of lowest common denominator ( you can interpret that any way you want )
.. and if you read some of the comments ( or "view count" ) they seem to resonate with a lot of people ( you can interpret that any way you want too )

that said, some are great, and stand out as being quite beautiful, others less so.

like with everyting YMMV

[DrTang]

I mostly take portraits of people...who happen not to have clothing on

http://www.drtang.portfoliobox.net/gallery

and

http://thedrtang.portfoliobox.net/bigcamerabigfilm


and really don't care who or who does not like them