158 THREE-DIMENSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
may be assumed that most adults are capable of guiding their own
lives, particularly as long as they happen to be so fortunate as to
possess that one characteristic whose absence seems to be typical
of the usual “sex” crusader, namely, good taste.
In time this will come. In time, and I expect to live to see the
day, all sex taboos will be things of the past, and then we can
work freely with the nude just as we do with a rose or any other
object of superlative beauty.
There has been a great deal written about the pose. One school
“idealizes” the model by obscuring shadows or by the use of some
absurd drapery which only accentuates the features which the
photographer thinks he obscures. He should learn the true nature
of the nude. Another school assures us that only those poses are
permissible which shriek to high heaven of artificiality. Their
argument is that the offense lies in naturalistic poses. They too
have been contaminated by the universal poison.
Consider this. Except for reasons of physical comfort, there is
no reason why you should not converse, play bridge or eat lunch
with one or more nude people. Of course, the average figure being
what it is, this might not contribute much to esthetics, but much
of our lives is subjected to unesthetic influence. Consider also
that clothing is merely a collection of rags hung upon the frame-
work of the body. The original purpose was protection. Today de-
signers of clothing are quite frank in saying they are guided by
the importance of making women more attractive to men and to
hide the deficiencies of the natural figure.
You think this extreme? If you ever use as a model a girl who
has a “fashionable” figure you will never again doubt it. The
emaciated, flat-breasted, masculine figure which is “fashionable”
is utterly hopeless for figure work. Rather select a model who is
somewhat “dumpy,” not extremely so, but too much so to be
fashionable. You may probably find a figure which approaches
perfection. Women do not like this statement and argue against
it, but their mirrors tell the true story. The feminine figure has
breasts, a waist of certain constriction and widened, oval hips.
But most of all, clothing hides deficiencies, in some instances
almost deformities, which are so common. It might be said in
passing that the most vigorous enemies of the nude are the un-
fortunate women who need such camouflage.