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Nudes

When I returned to the United States in 1979, after ten years as a political refugee in the U.K., I was laughed out of the local contemporary art / photography groups, because I was "still" shooting street photography, which was considered regressive, and not progressive. This was a time when photographers wanted nothing to do with reality, having lost a long unpopular war, and they were in an escapist mode, photographing little boxes in their studios, or they were exploring personal politics. I did not want to be considered out of touch, but I had been immersed in street photography for 10 years, and knew little else. My only option was to photograph something timeless: flowers or nudes, so I chose nudes. These are the result of that painful time, when I had to endure major artistic and cultural shock. It took about 2 years to feel at home in my own skin, again. About the same amount of time it took to adjust to British life.