to the beautiful nudes created by top commercial photographers
such as the German Peter Lindbergh (1944–), the Frenchman
Patrick Demarchelier (1943–), and others.
BeyoNd Nudity
In today’s digital era, images are invisibly stored in a computer
system. While traditional photography was once the most
important way of providing pictures for the media, it is nowadays
more often the computer which produces and modifies images,
using digital codes; a representation of the human body can be
constructed entirely from a mathematical plan or be modified from
an existing image.
This revolution obviously also influences the approach
photographers take to the naked body; perfection is no
longer required at the moment the shutter is released, and the
photograph now serves as the basis for a painter’s work on the
digital canvas. skin can be airbrushed, eyes, breasts, and lips
enlarged, waists and chins reduced, necks and legs made longer;
nude perfection can now be entirely artificial, in a completely
credible way. Photography no longer needs to capture the
“decisive moment,” to use Henri Cartier-Bresson’s term, and can
instead enter the world of the virtual painter. As today’s technology
opens up endless possibilities, working with the naked body
through photography now has no limits other than those of the
human imagination.
However, the need to express aesthetics, sensuality, and
eroticism is fundamentally human, and this emotional authenticity
may often be overlooked when using advanced technical tricks
or while trying to grab the attention of the viewer. Pushing the
boundaries for the sake of it often results in a mere focus on
spectacular effects. But while some artists may have decided to
go that route, there are clear signs of a reaction to the prevailing
trend. In spite of the digital age, the beginning of the 21st century
shows signs of bringing about a return of the natural, the sensual,
and the sensitive, and of revealing more than ever the inner
inspiration of the artist.
BEyOND NuDITy 29 Steven Meisel
Meisel’s image for yves saint Laurent’s perfume
“Opium,” featuring the model sophie Dahl, appeared
as a magazine advertisement in 2000. It was banned,
however, after it went up on billboards.