Jimmy DeSana | 101 Nudes

“101 Nudes” comprises 56 half-tone black-and-white photographs of nude and partially nude figures posing inside or just outside domestic homes. The artist was 20 years old and attending college in Atlanta when he first printed the series in 1972. The figures include the artist, his friends, and acquaintances, and are photographed from a variety of viewpoints. Although the series shows the influence of “grainy” pornography from the 1950s, the postures of the figures do not seem to suggest or invite sexual engagement; the artist noted that they are “without eroticism.” Sometimes the photographs feature only a fragment of the body, such as the pelvic area or buttocks.