Naked States

Meet Spencer Tunick – artist, so says the statement on the case of this documentary release. Spencer Tunick is renowned the world over as the man that takes photographs of people in public places, sometimes it is one person, sometimes it is 1000 people. The one difference between Tunick and other artists is that his subjects are all naked. These people are not models either, they are people from all walks of life that he has approached and asked to pose for him, and all they get in return is a print of the photo. You have to ask yourself, if someone came up to you on the street and asked you to pose naked for them would you? Incredibly, Tunick has very little trouble in recruiting people and they say it is the most liberating thing they have ever done. The majority of people he uses are definitely not exhibitionists either.

"Wanna pose nude?"

Beginning at a shoot in New York, where he has gathered together a flock of volunteers for his latest “snap�, he is arrested and charged with aiding and abetting disorderly conduct. With a court case pending, he heads off with his girlfriend and crew on the Naked States tour. This is a road trip with a difference - they must travel to each state in America to take a photograph, generally with a relevance to that state and of course with a naked model. They must try and recruit a local in each state as they go or better still, several locals. One photograph of note is a lady in New York lying on rocks with the twin towers as the backdrop. The aim of the whole exercise is to put together an exhibition at the end of the trip and to gain further recognition for this art form.

Artists can be temperamental at the best of times and Tunick is no exception. He is constantly frustrated by people not doing things how he wants them done and he is always facing the fear that none of his subjects will show up. There are interviews throughout with the subjects of his work and why they choose to do it, as well as interviews with those close to him. The road trip ends with the conclusion to his court case and the exhibition for Naked States opening. Perhaps one day he will make a road trip of a greater scale and cover the corners of the globe?

Thankfully there are no close ups of genitalia here, however nudity is constant, it is the subject matter after all. So if the naked human form and the variance of such offends you, then this is not for you. For those with an interest in photographic art or even current events, then this is a very informative documentary.

Considering the majority of the material used is from varying sources, the quality here is not too bad. Presented in full frame and therefore not 16x9 enhanced, the majority of vision is more than adequate. There are a couple of instances where the quality lacks, such as at 8:00 where the cameraman is filming directly into the sun, and there are also a couple of occasions during night vision where the effect is like a snow storm, but overall the quality is good. Colours are vibrant and true and detail is acceptable, considering the footage. Overall you get quite an “on the spot� feel from this documentary.

Audio supplied is Dolby Digital 2.0 and it does the job sufficiently. Dialogue is clear at all times and the surrounds and subwoofer get little to no use. There are no problems with dropout and sync is spot on. The audio overall is nothing spectacular, but it doesn’t need to be, therefore it is more than adequate.

A bit light on in the extras department, all that is on offer is a biography of Spencer Tunick and a collection of Theatrical Trailers. The one thing lacking on this release is a collection of stills of the artist’s work.

The biography is a series of text pages covering the work of the artist and the exhibitions he has held up to the date of release.

The trailers on offer are The Closet, Grass, Kandahar, Lumumba, Monsoon Wedding, Startup.com and Tackle Happy. All trailers supplied are in Dolby Digital 2.0 and are a good advertisement for other releases from Madman.

If you have never seen or heard of Spencer Tunick or his work then this documentary is a great introduction. Some would say this form of shock art is a little old, but it only seems to be growing in popularity. Running for 81:17, this is a good documentary with a subject matter not seen every day, a nice change.