One item at a recent auction drew a lot of looks and peeks, and embarassed faces. The item of interest was a small album of photos of a nude couple. I only glanced at them for a quick second, but they were black and whites of a naked man and woman posing for the camera.
You wonder: Were the two of them the only ones in the room and set the camera to take their photographs? Or were these photos “professionally” done? They looked like regular old photos taken with a Brownie camera. They were not contemporary; most likely, they were taken during the 1940s or 1950s.
And here they were on a table ready to be auctioned off with the rest of the knicknacks of the couple’s and other people’s lives. Would they ever have guessed that these most private of photos would be here, publicly glared at by strangers? Did the family members who gave them away ever look inside the album and decide – even if they didn’t want the photos – to destroy them?
As the album sat on the table among glassware and other items, it was approached by curious – and sometimes unsuspecting – bidders. As buyers, we handle the merchandise to see what’s in a box or among a group of papers or hidden in an old wallet. So this album was opened and closed more often than a toilet.
A friend who is a fellow bidder told me about it. I took one look and grimaced. At first glance, the photos bordered on pornography, but then I remembered that these were probably not supposed to be seen by anyone other than the couple. Unfortunately, they ended up here. (I’ve come across nude slides of blonde women before from the 1940s and 1950s. One batch was obviously supposed to be artistic photos, based on the style of the photos and the poses of the women. Included among there were slides of famous artwork of nude bathers.)
I watched as one man took another over, warning him, however, not to look. “Will it turn my stomach?” the second man asked. He opened the album and closed it quickly. It was a very embarrassing sight for most of us, seeing this unidentified couple so easily exposed. The humanity in each of us compelled us to look away. Or joke uneasily.
I’m not sure who bought the album. Most likely, it was sold with the glassware and anything else sitting next to it as part of a $5 lot. That is sad but also the reality of auctions.
Reminder: Destroy all nude photos of yourself.
I only recently came aware of Mr Van Der Zeer’s work and can’t wait to see more. As an serious amateur photographer I was only aware of Gordon parks work.