This is the only time I have been photographed naked. So why did I opt to do this? Maybe because no one had ever asked before. Maybe to look at what six decades of use and abuse looks like in my case. Definitely to join in on this great, joyous fleshy statement about being alive.” Credit: Ponch Hawkes Participants could opt to remain anonymous, using a range of props to cover their faces, from fans and books to fruit, footies and saucepans, animal masks and seaweed; one even brought a chandelier. Despite the restrictive laws, she claimed to have enjoyed her time on-set and later described Melbourne as one of the world’s “greatest cities”. This included some nude scenes being fully removed and others cut short, in addition to “some suggestive dialogue” not making the film release too. If you have failed to escape after the last day... well, probably you can figure out what happens then.

Set in the broader Flesh After Fifty program, the idea for Hawkes’ exhibition, 500 Strong, was to take nude portraits of 500 women. The final count ended up at about 420 after the project took longer than expected and the budget ran out. One woman photographed said she googled ‘old women’ and ‘old men’ and found a thousand, mostly negative words, to describe older women, and only eight to describe men. The composition of A husband and wife in the woods at a nudist camp, N.J. 1963 establishes tension between the everyday pose and habituated relationship of the man and woman, and their nudity. The clarity of the image and studio portrait style contrasts with their appearance and the forest setting. This tension belies the ethical question at the centre of Arbus’s photographic practice. For instance, in an article entitled ‘Notes on the Nudist Camp’, written for (but not published by) Esquire in 1966 after a visit to the Sunrise Haven Nudist Camp, Arbus noted that, ‘for many of [the nudists], their presence [at nudist camps] is the darkest secret of their lives, unsuspected by relatives, friends, and employers in the outside world, the disclosure of which might bring disgrace. Everyone is known by their first name’ (Arbus 1966, p.69). Despite this concern, the couple in the photograph appear without attempting to conceal their identities, with the man offering a smile. In her photographic practice Arbus often sought out subjects who might be considered ‘outsiders’, and got to know them before she photographed them. Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you. So in a quest to learn more about your grandparents' nudist lifestyle, you started to spend time at the Van Tan Club, Canada's oldest naturist club — conveniently located in Vancouver, where you live. What was your first visit to the Van Tan club like?When photographer Ponch Hawkes went looking for images of naked older women on the internet, she found acres of blank space, then a rich vein of what’s termed “granny porn”. Hawkes hit on this surprising corner of the internet when she was commissioned to take 500 portraits of women over the age of 50 – an act she didn’t recognise as radical until she realised how few such images existed. For a society preoccupied with the female body, interest drops off precipitously after 50. “For every woman, it’s on your mind, the question of body image and body hatred, and there isn’t any material about that for older women.” Being physically vulnerable on camera is one thing, but being emotionally vulnerable was something entirely different. So, as a filmmaker, I now have a newfound respect for every person I've ever put in the hot seat. It's not easy. Thomas W. Southall, ‘The Magazine Years, 1960–1971’, in Thomas W. Southall (ed.), Diane Arbus: Magazine Work, New York 2004, pp.156–60. Getting your gear off in front of a stranger is not something you do every day. But a new exhibition of women aged over 50 photographed naked demanded exactly that.

Lead curator Jane Scott says Flesh After Fifty is about promoting change in attitudes about what constitutes a healthy body image. “Older women are in need of the opportunity to celebrate their bodies and young women are in desperate need of positive images of mature women to alleviate the fear and misgivings they have about ageing.” Carol Armstrong, ‘Biology, Design, Photography: Difference According to Diane Arbus’, October, vol.66, Autumn 1993, pp.28–54. Kim Kardashian has been posing naked for the entirety of her career — in many ways, she’s invented and advanced the art form. Her most recent nude magazine cover was in July 2022, when she posed naked for the cover of Allure at age 42 wearing nothing but a giant braid. In September 2022, she also bared her famous derrière for the cover of Interview magazine. My grandmother was a spirited, independent bon vivant and I think the free-thinking, radical naturist movement is where my grandparents felt right at home. They were the original hipsters.

Naked as Nature Intended (1961)

You can protect yourself from Granny using one of the two different types of weapons you can find in the house. But it only stops her for a while. But it's worth it. You also need to watch out for her bear traps and other things lurking in the dark, like her pets, for example. I grew up with a sense of shame about my physical appearance. Now I am honouring it, appreciating it, taking care of it. Immersion in a dance and movement practice has finally enabled me to land in my skin.” Credit: Ponch Hawkes News reporters Tony and Sally Adams visit a nudist centre at a country hotel in South Devon. The beach at Slapton Sands Nature Reserve and nearby Pilchard Cove have been frequented by nudist bathers for decades. Naturists advocate acceptance of social nudity and enjoy embracing the great outdoors through walking in the woods, relaxing on the beach, swimming in the pool and nude sea bathing. Locals turn a blindish eye and maintain that there is nothing wrong with nudism.

I thought of the great documentarians of our time, immersing themselves into remote cultures to capture a story. Like Jane Goodall — we were going to have to commit. You can hide in wardrobes and coffins but be careful that she does not see you where you are hiding. I didn’t realise that when I started doing this. It’s a really daring experience and a really trusting experience, that they would come to me,” she says. “Basically what this is doing is honouring women.” While Hawkes says “most couldn’t give a hoot” about stripping off, others were slightly anxious, but all agreed it was an important thing to do. “It’s embracing the body whatever shape and size you are really.”And to my surprise, it was during a tape-recorded phone call that I discovered she had, in fact, been engaged [to someone else] and then met my grandfather at a nudist club. You can't make that up! As I was taking off my clothes in the studio I felt uncomfortable, but I wanted to stand strong and proud with the other women. With the launch of the exhibition, we will explore our diversity, share ideas about identity and sense of ageing self, and how and why we now value our bodies.” Credit: Ponch Hawkes Women were invited to bring a prop to pose with, and each was given the option of having her face obscured. There is only one way to describe making a documentary with your closest working collaborators in the nude: ultimate team bonding.” Danny Berish (L) and Ryan Mah filming Nude to Me. (CBC/Nude to Me)

Sharing my own personal connection to the naturism movement and reassuring them we were there to tell an authentic story was the first step toward building trust. I have three grandchildren, 8, 10, and 16 and they think nanna's hot,” she admitted. “I feel healthy, I feel beautiful.” There is only one way to describe making a documentary with your closest working collaborators in the nude: ultimate team bonding. There is only one way to describe making a documentary with your closest working collaborators in the nude: ultimate team bonding. - Danny Berish, Director, Nude to Me The behind-the-scenes pics alone were worth the experience. It was awkward at first, but after the first five minutes, it was business as usual.She races off into the night pursued by her suitor, who moments before tries to reassure her “it’s not true” before he also darts across the sand and the trailer ends. Her leading man was said to be an artist who left his “conventions behind in London” and propositioned the young star to model for him. Our collection Artists Artworks Art by theme Explore Videos Podcasts Short articles In depth Art Terms Tate Research Student resources Make art Create like an artist Kids art activities Tate Draw game In 1963 Arbus shot a series of photographs of nudists which included images such as A y oung waitress at a nudist camp, N.J. 1963 1963, printed after 1971 (Tate AR00526) and Retired man and his wife in a nudist camp one morning, N.J. 1963 1963 (Tate AR00510). In these images, and throughout her work, the contrast between normality and abnormality is a critical theme. With her direct, unapologetic approach to her portraits she explores varieties of human physicality and identity that do not conform to traditional societal expectations. By removing the theatrical veneer of convention and portraying the couple in a manner true to their identity, Arbus challenges the viewer’s expectations of what constitutes a portrait. She met Danny's grandfather at her very first visit. He greeted her, gave her two towels and showed her to her bunk. "I just liked him," she said.