Tag: black and white

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photography Social history

Book Review: Nudism in a Cold Climate by AnneBella Pollen

Book cover Nudism in a Cold Climate. Image shows a woman with bare shoulders.

The Visual Culture of Naturists in mid-20th century Britain

Researching and collecting old photographs takes you to some strange and unexpected places. In this case I was interested in the photographs by Bertram Parks and Yvonne Cooper in annual volumes of “Photograms of the Year”. I knew that they were well-known photographers who managed to span taking society photographs and nudes (though not at the same time!) without causing any apparent controversies. It was also easy to discover that not only were they published in “respectable” books and magazines but they also contributed to many nudist magazines such as Health and Efficiency. When I read that they were supporters of British Nudism it seemed inevitable that I would get a copy of AnneBella Pollen’s book on the subject.

It is indeed the case that Bertram Parks and Yvonne Cooper not only took photographs of Naturists but they actively promoted the practice through their work. But it was also the case that they most often used professional models rather than real naturists and it was these photographs that were most often used in nudist publications. This is at the heart of many of the questions that can be raised about the nudist movement in mid-20th century Britain. The naturists themselves were trying to promote a healthy lifestyle suitable for families and claiming that going without clothes was a way of entirely obviating sexual connotations and indeed that participants would not fall prey to pornographic thoughts as regular exposure to naked bodies would make nudity entirely natural. Of course there is a massive contradiction here as “Health and Efficiency”, “The Naturist” etc., purported to support these core ideas and yet their pages were full of naked female models. The number of naturists was much, much lower than the circulation of these magazines so how were the magazines really being seen? The magazines were also full of adverts for not only healthy lifestyle products but also doubtful self-improvement courses and books. Want a bigger bust (and this was long before Polanski) or want to grow muscles to stop bullies kicking sand in your face? Then there was something there for you. As the magazines grew they also began to advertise services, books and films clearly meant to titillate.

Annebella Pollen lays out these developments with admiral clarity and with copious photographs which strike one as charming and old-fashioned rather than pornographic. She traces the evolution of nudism as a philosophy through gymnosophy through nudism and naturism between the 1920s and the early 1970s. The terms used seem to mean the same thing but there are subtle differences and changing definitions to be explored along the way. You can see Pollen’s academic background in her writing yet she always manages to keep her narrative interesting and readable with only the odd reference to “othering” and gender identities.

Nudism in a Cold Climate is one of those books that has quotable entries on every page and I could easily fill this review with them. Take her opening paragraph for instance: “There’s an old joke about pornographic magazines; I only read them for the articles! It regularly popped into my mind while researching 50 years of nudist publications packed full of photographs of naked people. In my case the defence was true: nudist articles have complex and interesting things to say about the movement’s principles and its public identity. Nudist authors were earnest in the face of ridicule. They are worth taking seriously for what they reveal about bodily ideals and realities in a period of rapid social and cultural change in 20th century Britain.”

Despite what you might expect this book has a lengthy and interesting text as well as the interspersed images. Even if you come to be titillated you will learn much about social attitudes and social history. It’s worth saying too that the book has excellent notes, a comprehensive index and properly referenced image credits, all things that matter not only to scholars but to people like me wanting to clarify the history of photography and identify new sources of information. Of course there’s a lot that could be said about modern day pornography, the internet and so on but they are not the focus of this book which generally ends discussion in the early 1970s. From my perspective it is not only a riveting read but it also sheds light on vintage photography in general and shows how trying to separate “art” photography

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photography

Photograms of the Year 1934-5: Pictures you many not Understand

Flock of Geese throw up cloud of dust.

The preface to this year’s volume tells us that readers will find “a large number of pictures they will like, and some they may not understand.”

To my mind this volume has an unusually large number of dull and uninteresting photographs including still lifes so pedestrian that it strains credulity that they were accepted for publication. Elsewhere we find the usual icky child photographs, the icky pet photographs and the ever-popular oldies with wrinkled faces. “Geese,” shown above, is one of the more dynamic entries.

“Study in Stone” is an interesting exercise in symmetry and contrast and represents a style still popular today.

This study of the dancers Lalla Cassel and John Carlberg would also not be out of place in a collection of modern photographs though it could be seen as too posed and not showing any movement.

“Death of Cleopatra” harks back to Victorian paintings of classical themes, a sort of black and white homage to the colourful paintings of Alma-Tadema.

There’s an unusual number of nudes in this volume – eight in total. I’ve picked out “Echo” for a couple of reasons. Firstly it references Greek mythology this time, where Echo is a mountain Nymph cursed by Hera to only repeat the last words she hears until she fades away leaving only her voice. Secondly the photographer is Betram Parks, who together with his photographer wife Yvonne Gregory, were some of the most interesting artists of their day. Famed for society portraits and producing publicity images for theatrical performances they were also well-known for their female nudes. They published several books including the 1935 “The Beauty of the Female Form.” (About £60 from Abebooks if you’re interested). They also published photographs in naturist publications such as “Health and Efficiency.”

Bertram Parks and Yvonne Gregory are worthy of a future blog post as there are many other fascinating facts about their lives and works.

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photography Social history

Photograms of the Year 1936 – How to Judge the Standard?

It’s always tempting to judge these old photographs by modern standards. Take this photo of William Rothenstein and son. By modern standards I would judge this to be a very successful portrait and the low angle and framing adds to the effect. However, the 1936 annual opines that it “goes considerably farther from the accepted standard, for not only are the figures seen from a viewpoint appreciably lower than usual, but they are also shown at an angle that is a departure from the normal vertical. Whether the end has justified the means or not must be left to the reader to determine.”

In contrast this pair of photographs seem quite pedestrian by modern standards and I feel sure they would receive low marks if seen in a modern camera club competition. (Not that would necessarily be a gold standard by which to judge photographs).

The photograph of this pair of boxers appears more modern in tone though obviously posed. Today you’d expect to see an action photograph of a real bout.

Arthur Kales was a relatively well known photographer and this nude would, I suggest, be very acceptable in a modern context.

“Duet” owes rather more to Victorian ideas of classicism and I doubt it would be acceptable in mainstream photography today but I could well be wrong as the line between art nude and soft porn is hard to define.

As usual I have just picked out a few favourites to fit my narrative but the 1936 edition of Photograms of the Year had its full complement of still lives, portraits, landscapes, abstract compositions and often sickly cute shots of children and animals. For some reason there was a larger than usual representation of nudes this time around and I’ve only picked out a couple to discuss here.

As with literature it is a foolish endeavour to judge by modern standards but nevertheless it is interesting to see how standards have changed.

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photography Social history war

Photograms of the Year 1946 and a Stalingrad Mystery

This stylish Art Deco inspired photograph has strong visual appeal.

War is over but is this reflected in Photograms of the Year for 1946? Given the introduction to this volume you would think so:

Despite this stirring introduction I can find very little photographically that reflects the war nor its cessation.

Intriguingly this photograph is difficult to interpret and there is no explanation although other entries have descriptions to help contextualise them. In 1941 there was still a non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia. The outbreak of hostilities between the two countries and the siege of Leningrad began in 1942. So was this photograph an ironic comment on the calm before the storm or just a portrait taken in Leningrad in 1941? Given that the photographer operated out of Bridlington after the war and was known for taking snaps of holidaymakers I suspect the latter to be true.

The Way of An Eagle is another stylish photograph portrayed in an impressionistic manner.

Artistry or cheesecake disguised as art?

Classical allusions are often invoked in nude studies as seen here. Note that it’s a female photographer once again.

To my eye there is little in 1946’s Photograms to distinguish it from previous years. Elsewhere we have the usual pictorialist landscapes, odd still-lifes and closeups of faces with little acknowledgement of the war, certainly in visual terms, and no hint of the documentary traditions of such importance taking place away from the rarefied world of art photography.

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Edwardian photography

Another Mystery Woman

Three photographs that are a bit of a mystery. They are large prints 8″ by 10″. The woman is elaborately dressed and the backdrop sumptuously rendered. A series of letters and numbers in the corner of each shot gives no clue. They are all backed by black rice paper to which they have been glued, so from an album without any information on the back that can be recovered. I’ve only seen photos stuck to this kind of paper when they are of some age. My guess is that these were taken in the Edwardian era but I could be completely wrong.

Of course this is typical of many old photographs. Working out when they were taken is often a matter of guesswork. These three are silver gelatin prints which again points to early twentieth century but silver gelatin prints are still produced today although much less frequently.

Mystery Solved

Thanks to Dra90n R163r on Flickr the photographs were of Diana Wynyard as Lady Gertrude Chiltern in ‘An Ideal Husband.’ The photographer was no less than Cecil Beaton and they are dated 1947.

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photography Social history

Photograms of the Year 1929 – the Interwar Years

What’s going on in the World in 1929? Interesting though Photograms of the Year is, you won’t find many answers therein. Each year a paragraph or two is devoted to photography in various countries. In Germany it was now the time of the Weimar Republic, a term coined by Hitler, characterised by hyperinflation, competing paramilitaries and general unrest. None of this is mentioned in the short essay on Germany which, instead, presents a word salad of little meaning such as “no longer the photography we have been calling artistic until a couple of years ago; not the photography based on the traditional principles of pictorial effect.”

“The Secret” shown above could be straight out of Teutonic mythology but is by a Manchester photographer. In some ways this reminds me of the paintings of Evelyn De Morgan as well as referencing back to the Pre-Raphaelites.

“Portrait”, at least gives a contemporary view of a flapper with its Art Deco overtones.

Wildlife photography is not well represented and I can’t help wondering whether this is a live stoat caught in action or a stuffed specimen posed for effect.

“The Terror of the Desert” is one of my favourites from this collection with it’s almost surreal depiction of desert and cloudscape.

In Pseud’s corner we are offered “A Thrush Sings” and “All Nature is But Art.” There are others but these two will suffice.

It’s quite kitsch but I find “Three Ducks” rather charming.

I’ll finish with this photograph of “Ulla Poulson,” a kind of portraiture that Photograms of the Year does so well.

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Dance Music Hall photography Social history

Vintage Dancing Girls of Preston

A series of four photographs all from the studio of Arthur Winter of Preston. This one has a date of 1935 on the reverse and handwritten “The Maid of the Mountains.” It turns out that “The Maid of the Mountains” was a successful light operetta performed often in the first half of the twentieth century by various different companies and troupes. A search of the British Newspaper Archive reveals the following advertisement:

So, although I can’t be certain, it seems likely from the date that the photograph is of the chorus from the Preston and District Amateur Operatic Society.

Three further photographs from the same studio and date are probably of dancers from the same Society.

Not sure how I feel about “AI” generated videos from old photographs but the results are always interesting. The software seems to have invented some extra dancing girls for “The Maid of the Mountains.”

A second video generation seems altogether unlikely and too modern in style.

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photography Social history war

Photograms of the Year 1941: but Don’t Mention the War

It’s the middle of the war and this photograph is the only one in “Photograms of the Year 1941” related to wartime. Everywhere else it’s business as usual. An introduction was added after the volume was assembled and includes the following: “The fact that it includes practically no photographs of warlike subjects is an indication of the place that real picture-making holds in the hearts of the people who practice it. Camera records of various phases of the war at home and abroad may be left to the Press photographers whose business it is, through the illustrated papers and the newsreels, to show the world realistic details of what is being done to the world under arms.”

I take this to mean that only the kind of photos included in the volume are to be considered “real picture-making” whereas war photography is not. This seems not only wrong to me but ignores the artistry of war photographers and the documentary tradition. A corrective for today might be to look up World War II photographers using wikipedia though I note the omission of Lee Miller from both World War II photographers and holocaust photographers. (Her individual entry gets it right though).

Landscape in pictorialist style is well represented as usual as are still lifes:

There are the usual nudes and figure studies. For instance this example of using a classical reference to present a nude:

Personally I find “Idol” to be a much more appealing image and I note that, once again, the female nude is just as likely to be taken by a female photographer as a male one at this time.

“Cherry Time” is another example of the use of classical reference and a pictorialist style.

You won’t be able read the above but it is an example of 21 pages listing camera clubs in the UK which perhaps gives an indication of how popular photography was as a hobby, even in the midst of war. I note that the camera club to which I belong today was listed as being operational in 1941.

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photography Social history

Photograms of the Year 1952: The Wonderful and Weird

The 1952 edition of Photograms of the Year contained the usual, sometimes odd, mixture of themes and styles. Pets continued to be popular subjects proving that cats and dogs ruled long before the advent of the internet. We forget that at this time getting a photograph published was only for the professional photographer or gifted amateur whereas today anyone can post on facebook, instagram and many other platforms no matter how good or bad their work is.

The photo of the black cat is entitled “Actor?” and is by Felipe Maiaru.

As usual, pictorialism is well represented as seen in Copmere by John D Jones and Dawn Departure by H S Newcombe.

I’m always complaining about weird photos of children and old men or ethnic types with lots of wrinkles in these older publications so it’s only right I’ve included examples to show what I mean. Ethnic wrinklies are still popular today whereas it’s difficult to imagine anyone publishing photos of crying infants. (I think I can say wrinklies because I am one myself.) You’re seeing Breaking Point by Ann-Marie Gripman and The Painter by Holt Madson.

Fireside Beauty by Karel Jan Hora is more aesthetically pleasing perhaps. And if you’re here for the nudes:

You’re looking at Juno by Joan Craven and Low Key by W.A.J. Paul. The notes that go with Juno say “Nude photography is one of the most difficult branches of photography with many pitfalls, but when it is successful it is usually more than justified. It must be idealised in some way or it merely becomes portraiture without clothes, which would not be regarded, to say the least, as in good taste.”

Finally you could expect to find several pages of advertisements at the end of each edition of Photograms of the Year. Often the adverts were surprisingly wordy though this one let a striking image do the talking.

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photography Social history

Photograms of the Year 1950

For me this photograph by Chin San Long is the outstanding image from this volume. Wikipedia has this to say about him:

Lang Jingshan  (4 August 1892 – 13 April 1995), also romanized as Long Chin-san and Lang Ching-shan, was a pioneering photographer and one of the first Chinese photojournalists. He has been called “indisputably the most prominent figure in the history of Chinese art photography”,and the “Father of Asian Photography”. He joined the Roral Photographic Society in 1937 and gained his Associateship in 1940 and Fellowship in 1942. In 1980, the Photographic Society of America named him one of the world’s top ten master photographers. He was the first Chinese photographer to take artistic nude shots, and was also known for the unique “composite photography” technique he created.”

It’s well worth seeking out his other work but forget about buying an original print – you couldn’t afford it!

Elsewhere you can find more impressionistic images in keeping with the original aims of the annual.

Portraits are not neglected as you can see from these two examples.

And of course there is more than one obligatory nude.

Photograms of the Year always include long interpretive essays and I was struck by what Bertram Sinkinson has to say: “The tendency to produce bizarre effects in an attempt to be original is receding and in its place we have abundant evidence that the pictorialist is more conscious of his responsibilities in the creative sense.”

I was tempted to do a good, bad and ugly section but some of the ugly work is naff to say the least. One of the weird things that seems to feature in this publication and other photographic books and magazines from the early part of the twentieth century is shots of very young children crying. Why this was popular I have no idea!