Gunter Rossler photographed nude women. He photographed other subjects, including clothed women for fashion magazines, but his legacy is the nudes. What makes him so unusual, besides the quality of his images, is that he worked for most of his life in the German Democratic Republic. While communists thought of themselves as radicals, they were also quite prudish. One of their common propaganda talking points against the West was the depravity of capitalism as seen in the commercialization of sex. Unfortunately, this very interesting aspect of his life and work is not explored in this 2012 film, released just before the photographer’s death in 2013 at the age of 86. His story is told through interviews with his models, as well as Gunter himself, but the reminiscing is more about the relationship between the artist and his subjects. Those interviewed speak of his honest, genuine, and friendly character, which they feel was necessary in order for them to disrobe. One of the models feels that this type of modeling and image making was a means of revealing not the body, but personality, an interesting statement given the somewhat repressive nature of the GDR.
The film itself is slow and follows a conventional format: the subject flips through copies of his printed images and tells stories about how they were taken, where they were published, how they were received. An art critic or two talks about the significance of the photographer’s work. Scenes of the photographer preparing for an exhibit. Scenes of the photographer walking through some of the places associated with his work. Interviews with family members or friends on his personal life. Nude photography appears overly concerned with aesthetic and not at all with content. There is little to consider, just a pretty body and some pleasing shapes. Nothing at all wrong with this, but it is the equivalent to a diet of cake or pastries. The sugar and carbohydrates make you sleepy.
Trailer in German
English subs available on DVD
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