Jimmy DeSana: Free the Spirit
Clamp Gallery in New York City presents photographer Jimmy DeSana’s series “101 Nudes”, shot in the 1970s to 90s as a rebellion against conservative American culture.
In Jimmy de Sana’s photographs, unidealized female and male bodies alike are protagonists of playful, deadpan shots in domestic settings. While the series’ title ironically references one of the most famous Disney animated films, its aesthetic winks at the blown-out photographs of softcore pornographic magazines of the time.
© Jimmy DeSana. "Untitled (Female Nude Draped in Cloth),” 1972/1991
© Jimmy DeSana. "Untitled (Nude Figure with Figurine),” 1972/1991
© Jimmy DeSana. "Untitled (Figure in Grass),” 1972/1991
© Jimmy DeSana. "Untitled (Male Nude with Cigarette at Piano),” 1972/1991
Drag performer Diamond Lil and other queer friends of the artist become his muses, at the center of humorous scenes subverting the mainstream views of beauty through role play and genderfuck. Likely strengthened by his own work and gay activism spreading in society, Jimmy DeSana came out to his mother shortly before finishing the series.
© Jimmy DeSana. "Untitled (Nude Figure Behind Beaded Curtain),” 1972/1991
© Jimmy DeSana. "Untitled (Nude Figure with Phone Cord),” 1972/1991
© Jimmy DeSana. “Andy Warhol and Victor Hugo,” 1977
