The Bruce Silverstein Gallery is pleased to present THE NUDES OF KARL STRUSS, a selection of original vintage photographs printed prior to the 1920’s, from his portfolio entitled The Female Figure. While these nudes seemingly represented a radical departure from the architectural landscapes that have defined the artist as one of the leading photo-secessionist photographers of the twentieth century, they were in fact innovative expressions of the human form, ultimately paving the way for future generations of nude figure photographers. In this project, Mr. Struss utilized the latest in optical technology and newly developed color photography, which enabled him to raise photography to the level of other substantial art forms of the time like painting, drawing and sculpture. He stated, “The constant creation of interpretations gives the pictorialist a more fluent mastery of the medium than any other form of space filling; with photography almost, anything is possible and results may be obtained limited only by the ingenuity or cleverness of the artist.
The reputation of Karl Struss (1886 – 1981) was established when Alfred Stieglitz selected his work for the 1910 International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography and subsequently published a portfolio in Camera Work in 1912. After studying with Clarence White, whose earlier nudes and collaborations with Stieglitz would certainly influence the young photographer, Mr. Struss moved into studio photography ultimately taking over White’s studio in 1914. Once situated in the studio, he specialized in portraiture, advertising, and magazine illustration. By 1919 Karl Struss moved to Hollywood and became Cecil B. DeMille's still-cameraman. Being trained as an artist-photographer enabled Struss to quickly stand out in the field. He would later become one of the first generation of artistic cinematographers filming such works as Ben Hur (1925) and Sunrise (1927), for which he received the first Academy Award for cinematography.
Within The Female Figure, Mr. Struss presented twenty-four nude studies; the majority of which were black and white, but a few which were produced using the experimental Hess-Ives color process: an early attempt to make color separations through the use of colored filters. The Hess-Ives process allowed for paper printing (unlike working on autochrome plates, which were glass). On exhibit at the gallery are a group of prints from this original portfolio including three such examples employing the Hess-Ives process.
Although Mr. Struss’ inspiration for The Female Figure is not clear, it is suspected that he was clearly influenced by the modern dance movement, which, proved to be enormously popular with pictorial photographers at the time. In 1916, Mr. Struss worked for the Metropolitan Opera Company and the Ballet Russe, photographing various performers. The artist was fascinated by the photographic technology, leading him to manufacture soft-focus pictorial lenses; master alternative printing processes (gum and platinum printing), and create his own method of multiple platinum printing to perfect the pictorial aesthetic. This same technological impulse would lead him to apply the pictorial aesthetic to motion photography--to master the complexities of making color motion pictures, and eventually pioneer in 3-D motion photography. The following year the artist would write: “I have always been interested in the technical as well as the pictorial side of photography (the two are actually inseparable).”
While The Female Figure contributed to setting the standard for nude photography, it came under legal scrutiny during that period. In fact, Mr. Struss’ publisher was threatened with a lawsuit for distributing pornography. The artist, in order to defend his work, went as far as to pose three artists nude to further substantiate the portfolio’s claim to art. His defensive stance was ultimately justified when the court granted him permission to sell his work. Soon after, the nudes of such great artists as Frantisek Drtikol, Edward Weston, and Man Ray would become mainstays of the history of the medium.
