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Boundaries and art are terms that appear to repel each other in many regards with a culture within art wanting to "break" boundaries. When the efforts to do such are urinals in exhibitions the effects are harmless; it is only when the efforts walk the line of illegality that a debate needs to take place. The majority of photographers and artists are against the stifling of expression, but when leniency enables the endangering and exploitation of children, creative freedom must be sacrificed. The enormous gray area that engulfs Hamilton, Mann, and Sturges speaks volumes to the need for constructive discussion. If an amateur photographer were to take similar photographs to these three artists, would the images ever reach print, let alone sell millions of copies? The question is admittedly loaded by the terms "amateur" and "similar" but the point stands insofar as how important the context of the images and the artists appear to be. A narrative has been applied to these collections of nude images of adolescents which categorizes them as important and expressions of purity, but it seems that any justification leaves a foul taste in the mouths of many. a b Boxer, Sarah (March 4, 1998). "Critic's Notebook; Arresting Images of Innocence (or Perhaps Guilt)". The New York Times . Retrieved February 17, 2013.
Photographer Jock Sturges pleads guilty to sexual misconduct
Of course I agree that it's important to protect children from abuse like that alleged by Flavie Flament. But do we need a general ban on photos of nude children and adolescents? To me, that seems nonsensical. We're all born naked, and images of nude people of all ages have been part of culture since ancient times. The “Without embarrassment” project was launched in early September 2016. It consisted of photographs of the families of the nudists of France, Northern California and Ireland, with whom Sturges was friends and communicated. The author photographed them throughout his long creative career. Starting work in series in the 1970s, Sturges captured 3 generations of models. The shots revealed their beauty, the girls voluntarily and without embarrassment posed for the photographer. When questioned regarding the prosecution, Sturges stated it would waste taxpayers' money, as the photographs "are not done flirtatiously" and have been displayed in major museums. [6] Sturges responded to the indictment labelling the books as "obscene material containing visual reproduction of persons under 17 years of age involved in obscene acts" by stating "This is pretty chilling language because, in fact, the people in my pictures are not engaged in any acts at all. They are living in contexts that are naturist, which is to say that when it's warm and people feel like it, they don't wear clothes", [7] also stating "To find the work obscene, you'd have to find homo sapiens between 1 and 17 inherently obscene, and I find that obscene." [5] Sturges was born in 1947 in New York. From 1966 to 1970, he served in the United States Navy as a Russian linguist. He graduated with a BFA in Perceptual psychology and Photography from Marlboro College and received an MFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute. [1] Career [ edit ] Carvajal, Doreen (February 1, 1995). "THE NATION; Pornography Meets Paranoia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved September 8, 2019.
Sturges was 28 and a photography instructor at the school when he met the girl in 1975, prosecutors said. Indeed, his photographs are devoid of exploitive or negative characteristics. There is beauty there; there is also truth – but no filth. His models never undress for the photographer – they were nude before he arrived and will be again as he departs. The photographer captures his models – girls and young women from nudist communities – in the surroundings that are organic to them. “Nudity means nothing to anybody here…People are naked…because they are naturists and spend their summers in a resort dedicated to the absence of shame.”
Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges The Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges
Whatever else he was, David Hamilton was an artist, in the sense that he developed techniques to produce images which many people appreciate. A. D. Coleman gave a favourable review of the book in The New York Observer, stating: "Sturges sustains a delicate balance on a very precarious wire ... His struggle is to observe and render his subjects in all of their complexities, trembling on the cusp of change. The result of this long-term, communal effort is one of the most clear-eyed, responsible investigations of puberty and the emergence of sexuality in the medium's history, making a metaphor of the metamorphosis from child to adult." [2] Attempted censorship [ edit ]
There are women, as well as men, who appreciate his work — e.g. the writer and photographer July Stars (Jaja Hargreaves) has written at length in the magazine I.T.Post about what Hamilton's photos meant to her, ever since she first encountered them as a teenage girl... Beem, Edgar Allen (January 3, 2008). "Catching Up with; The Way of All Flesh". Photo District News. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015 . Retrieved February 23, 2013. This defense continued with Hamilton asserting that he will begin legal proceedings against the accusers, but on November 25, 2016, he was found dead. His death's cause, while unclear, is suspected to be suicide. Flament issued a statement soon after Hamilton's death reached the media and pulled no punches:
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