Intimate Nudes
Close compares viewing a daguerrotype to reading a book, something experienced privately, but requiring effort and engagement. This attitude is in keeping with his series of nudes which he describes as having an 'in-your-face intimacy.' They are very direct, confrontational images of the human body offering the viewer perhaps more than they want to see or know. By deliberately concealing the head and face, Close controls the private information given about the person. He asks that the uniqueness of each human body and the marks left by time and gravity, be intimately examined. As Close explains, "The body is a road map that shows the progress of a life as clearly as any human face; it is as individual as the face, although we do not think of it that way." There is a powerful sexuality to these bodies, all the more startling because of the variety of form. We are accustomed to seeing nudes that look thin and young or lush and alluring, but Close's work reveals a diverse range of shape, color and condition, in images of great formal precision. He jokes, "It probably has to do with my turning 60, but this is my celebration of the body and also a way to celebrate our common humanity. I think many people are comfortable with acknowledging they do not fit the conventional standards of beauty, and there is an urgency of coming to grips with what has happened to them, to be able to say, "This is who I am now.""