Between the worlds of porn and art lies a middle-ground of high-quality erotic content which is thoughtful enough to hang in galleries and direct enough to masturbate over. Dave Naz’s new(ish) book ‘Fresh: Girls of Seduction‘ is the latest addition to this intellismut cannon.
Naz’s previous books Lust Circus (2002), Panties (2003) and Legs (2004) established the themes he continues to explore in Fresh. Where less skilled stylists wallow is the authenticity of seediness, Naz has always managed to make viewers feel as if they’re looking at pictures from a road-trip taken with girlfriends they’ve not yet met. His style, young models, shot in natural light, looking wanton, has managed to balance the evidence of youth - spontaneity, broad smiles and freshly scrubbed skin - with adult bodies, situations and humor. You always know his models are playing with their youth, not trying to sell it to you, and the lack of artifice in his photographs feels natural given their intimacy.
Fresh pushes harder. From Mat Gleason’s ‘Lolita’ themed introduction on, readers are left without the comforting visual props which provide clues to the models adulthood. The poses they take up are often clumsy, their lingerie would be best described as underwear, and their bodies are either shaved pre-pubescently bare or left natural enough to suggest they’re not yet confident with a razor.
Despite recognizing a great number of the models, and knowing then as adult women, Naz’s unaffected presentation can be shocking. By shooting young women as they are, Naz doesn’t allow us to see them as the knowing, insatiable vixens most porn tries to convince us to believe in. They look like our sisters, daughters and friends, and while some images arouse lust others stir parental instincts and challenge us enjoy their sexuality while forced to look at young people, not sex icons.
It’s a clever trick. Naz forces us to think about the difference between age and innocence and to recognize the two don’t always march in step. He knows the easiest way to heighten the senses is to spice them with adrenaline and has produced a book it’s hard to browse without feeling the occasional wave of discomfort. It’s all the better for it.
I enjoyed your review of “Fresh” - will try to get the book and “read” about porn…. this is a novel concept, “reading” about porn. this Naz author, sounds like my college roomate though. an art- major, engaging with an area everyone is familiar with a different way.