July 20, 2012

Naked in the sculpture garden

“Okay, we’ll meet at the car in twelve minutes,” I said into my cell phone. “I’ll get Free Woman, you round up the others.”

We had to get to the train station to meet a friend who was arriving after a horrendous night of traveling that included sleeping on a cot in an airport next to a violently snoring man. We wanted to be on time. 

But we were also walking through the most amazing sculpture garden, where art and nature seemed woven together, and I knew it might take some time to pry ourselves away. Despite our hurry, I took out my camera as we strolled through the gardens. Well, I say strolling, but it was more like running at top speed to keep up with Free Woman, who was determined to see every piece of art in the garden, despite our short deadline. Two gardeners, piling stuff into a wheelbarrow, looked up at us in surprise as we hurried past, with me snapping photos at the coolest sculptures.

Free Woman found a sculpture that looked oddly urban to me: blocks of cement piled the way that a child would create a city skyline. “Take my picture,” she said, turning to smile at the camera. She always looks urban and sophisticated, even in a sundress, which was of course, black. The sculpture she chose to pose in front of seemed appropriate. I snapped a photo and joked, “Oh, but you have clothes on.”

She gave a quick glance around and pulled the black dress over her head, kicking her sandals off at the same time. I glanced at my watch while she stripped off her underwear. We had just about three minutes left.

“Turn around!” I called. “The photo can’t show your face. It’s supposed to be anonymous.” She complied. She danced in place, her graceful body contrasting with the blocky angles of the sculpture.

I thought briefly about the gardeners we'd just passed. I wonder how often they came across women posing nude in the garden. But there was no time for speculation. I snapped a photo, she yanked her clothes back on, and we ran on through the gardens to get to the car just in time. It’s possibly the fastest naked photo I’ve ever taken.

Sculpture

(Readers who want the history of the naked photo tradition can check it out here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and  here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here.)

10 comments:

YourFireAnt said...

Well in my MIND you once took a quick one of me in February out at WordPlay County Park.

;-)

Nice work, this one!

Speaking of WordPlay County Park.....

Jeff said...

Sometimes brevity is our friend. Nice contrast of female form with the hard, gray sculpture lines.

jo(e) said...

FA: In FEBRUARY? Outisde? That definitely would have been the fastest naked photo on record.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

YAY Naked photo tradition, how fun--this is a cool one.

Lawncare Man said...

Another beautiful picture. Another great read too keep them coming.

Anonymous said...

You do have the most beautiful friends! If I looked like that, I wouldn't mind posing at all.

H.

Magpie said...

I think this needs to be a book. The series, that is. It's so friggin' awesome.

Lorianne said...

Great picture, as always.

To show you how much of a nerd I am, though, I'm wondering whether that sculpture was made by the same guy who made this. Apart from the naked woman, they look remarkably similar, don't they?

jo(e) said...

Lorianne: Interesting! The actual piece we were standing near is here.



Sarah Sometimes said...

This is a funny story. And lovely picture.