To the roots of female photographers of artistic nudes 2: Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976): from Pictorialist soft-focus to f/64 sharp modernism. Pioneer of artistic nude photography who photographed the human body — male and female — as form, light, and truth rather than desire. Botanical studies, industrial landscapes, street photography, and portraits spanning 70 years of American West Coast photography.
Transitional Authors 8: Erwin Blumenfeld
From failed leather merchant to acclaimed fashion photographer, Erwin Blumenfeld's life embodied the artist's dilemma: commercial success versus creative freedom. His darkroom experiments with the nude—wet silk, mirrors, multiple exposures—pursued classical beauty through surrealist techniques, 'smuggling art' into a world that demanded only glamour.
Transitional Authors 7: ANDRÉ KERTÉSZ
Description (within 400 characters): Explore the life and work of André Kertész, the "little soldier" of photography who struggled for recognition but left a powerful legacy. Focus on his groundbreaking 1933 Distortions series and its striking relevance to today's social media era, body dysmorphia, and self-perception struggles.
To the roots of female photographers of artistic nudes: Anne Brigman
Anne Brigman (1869-1950) created iconic images of nude figures among ancient trees in the High Sierra, transforming photography into spiritual art. As the only Photo-Secession Fellow west of the Mississippi, she rejected Stieglitz's sexual interpretation for nature mysticism. Her work connects Pre-Raphaelite romanticism to modern fantasy literature—and to my own artistic calling.
Transitional Authors 6: Ruth Bernhard
Discover Ruth Bernhard, one of the 20th century's greatest nude photographers. From her accidental start in photography to her transformative encounter with Edward Weston, explore how this Berlin-born artist developed her empathetic, light-focused approach that influenced feminist photography for decades.
Transitional Authors 5: Emmet Gowin
Transitional Authors 5: Emmet Gowin
Presenting today Harry Callahan student and Princeton’s long time teacher Gowin. A Nature lover that found in the day to day life with his wife Edith the exceptional and the trascendent, even giving to the observer more intimate, carnal, images from their relationship. A tale of a loving life made in pictures.
Transitional Authors 3: Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander captured everything from jazz musicians to street scenes, but his nude photography reveals the same complexity of reality he brought to all subjects. His work challenged conventions, showing the human form without idealization—intimate, layered, and enigmatic. A pioneer who proved photographers needn't limit themselves to one genre.
Transitional Authors 1: Edward Weston
In this fourth installment of our Artistic Nude History series, we explore Edward Weston—a pivotal transitional figure who moved from soft-focus Pictorialism to sharp modernist photography. Through relationships with Margrethe Mather, Tina Modotti, and Charis Wilson, Weston pioneered en plein air nude photography while treating the human body with the same formal rigor he brought to peppers and shells.
Post Surrealism and the start of Portrait Photography’s Golden Era
Post-war photography saw Art Nudes move from Clergue's natural poetics to Avedon & Ritts' high-fashion glamour. Facing the AI threat, the future of photography must return to Clergue's emotional depth.
The Actuality of Surrealism and Man Ray’s L’étoile de mer
An Art History deep dive into Man Ray's film The Sea-Star, revealing the stark truth: The Surrealist movement's chaotic dreams have become the nightmare of our modern, precarious economy and relationships.