156 THREE-DIMENSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHYmost rabid in anti-sex crusades are those whose minds are pre-
occupied by the subject.
Sex next to life itself is our most vital driving force. It is the
most precious gift we possess. It alone gives us a touch of divinity
and makes of every one a creator. It is not only pure and whole-
some, it is the most sacred thing known to man. If man cares to
deliberately defile it, that is his misfortune, but it does not affect
the status of sex itself.
The wholly innocent person is unaware of sex, and the nude is
the very mirror of innocence. But, and this is important, when a
bathing suit is donned, does it add to modesty? Again our psychol-
ogists tell us that the brief covering only serves to make conspicu-
ous the areas covered, where before they were but components
of the whole without emphasis. More practically it is known
that pictures made with base intent always make use of a
certain drapery to enhance the suggestive effect. In short the pro-
ducer of objectionable pictures and the anti-sex crusaders favor
the same degree of obscurity. We should hardly care to point out
that similar minds think along similar lines, but there it is.
On the other hand, there is no new situation which loses its
novelty quite as quickly as being in the presence of the nude. For
example, I recall one picture which was fairly elaborate. There
were some six or eight nude models in the composition, and work
had been proceeding for several hours. Finally the chief was satis-
fied and signalled for lights and the exposure. Nothing happened.
The cameraman and the electrician had become bored and had
started a sharp argument. As I was near I had heard the whole
thing. The subject of the argument was, you will be surprised to
learn, the abilities of two rival baseball pitchers of the season.
The presence of a half-dozen very beautiful nude models meant
no more to these men than the painted background. Later I
asked the electrician about it. His reply tells the whole story.
“Awl You get fed up with naked dames in ten minutes. If they’d
put some tights and ruffles on ’em and let ’em dance, you’d have
something!”
To sum up the situation, there is nothing more inherently ob-
jectionable in the nude than there is in a new automobile of
which you might wish to make a picture.
It is true, of course, that highly objectionable photographs are