'Nudes in Limbo' and the naked aesthetic
A meditation on the human form in motion and the nuances of representation
Directed by Bruce Seth Green, Nudes in Limbo has no story, setting, or dialogue to speak of. The entire thing is 53 minutes of models, athletes, and dancers, nude or nearly nude, tastefully posing, exercising, dancing, or performing other physical feats, often in slow motion. It’s beautifully shot, lit, and edited in an artistic fashion: shots often feature light moving across the planes of the body, occasionally resembling abstract landscapes.
The movie opens with a montage of these shots; then, after the title, we’re shown a nude woman using a rowing machine, her hair being gently blown by an offscreen fan. There are lots of cuts, emphasizing movement and how her arms and knees flex with each push or pull. There’s no sense of place here: the performers are all shot against black or white backgrounds, ensuring that all of our attention is on them. Often, they are shot upside down or from unusual angles, appearing as if they truly are in limbo.
What’s more, the entire film has a frankly incredible synth score by Jesse Frederick and Jeff Koz, the kind of sound the more recent synth-wave movement aspires toward.
Aesthetically, this thing is off the charts. You’re not meant to pay close attention to it, it’s more of something you’d put on in the background, unless like me you’re just fascinated by the human body in motion, watching how muscles engage when moving, exercising, or lifting weights. Otherwise, I imagine it’s probably pretty boring.
In a way, the film reminds me of the Canadian dance short Ballet Adagio, where two dancers are shot in slow motion to show off all of the muscular effort their performance involves. It also calls to mind my reading and research into German body culture in the early 20th century, when the nudist movement began to take hold alongside the development of modern dance and new forms of exercise like calisthenics. This is basically a dream come true for that movement, putting even Ways to Strength and Beauty’s own physical feats to shame.
I adore the film, I really do, but I can’t help but think about how, when it comes to presenting nudism or nude art to the public, there are only certain body types that are deemed acceptable: specifically those of young, physically fit, able-bodied cis men and women, and typically white, as most of the performers in this film are. It makes me think about how often models were used in nudist magazines and films, specifically how Doris Wishman peppered her films with those who worked for photographer Bunny Yeager. It’s really more of a symptom of a problem with our society in general, one with a long history that has only marginally improved over the years, but it still feels very pointed here, especially in a movement that today is supposed to be all about accepting our bodies for what they are and being ourselves.
I’ve been thinking about where those models come from, too. Bunny Yeager was a photographer for Playboy and a former pinup girl herself, so the models appearing in Wishman’s films probably appeared in the magazine as well. Gustav Klimt, Toulouse Latrec, and other famous painters often worked with prostitutes as their models. Some of the women in this film came from a background in porn, and there’s also B-movie scream queen Linnea Quigley, known for her own nude scenes in horror films of the era.
It makes sense: the models you need for this type of work have to be comfortable with being nude around others. Sex workers are often at the forefront of nude art and technology, and they are frequently at the forefront of other more liberal movements, including abortion rights and protests against censorship. I am not suggesting that they be excluded at all. It’s just something interesting that I’ve noticed. Those limitations I speak of are still present, but even porn seems to be getting more and more diverse as well—which is good!
I guess what I’m getting at here is that what I’d really like to see is a modern remake of this film, with greater diversity among its performers and not just limited to feats of physical prowess but finding beauty in ordinary bodies doing ordinary things, like gardening or cleaning or painting. I want to see larger people shot with the same care and attention that the performers in this movie were. Of course, the score would have to be just as phenomenal.
I wonder what it would take to actually make that kind of a remake happen; how one would cast such a thing and find the right bodies. It would still have to be curated and subjective to some extent because that’s just how decision-making on this level goes; that couldn’t be avoided.
In my experience with the figure drawing group I’ve run for years now, most of our models are not people I personally sought out but folks who approached us asking if they could join and pose. I’ve almost always said yes because models come and go all the time for any reason, and the more bodies we have to draw, the better.
While I think we have a good range of body types in our little group, it does still skew white, with most of the models being those whose gender was assigned female at birth, and lately, more and more members have been circus performers and dancers as well as artists in their own right due to those being my primary social circles at this point in my life. The few times I’ve asked someone to model for me, it was difficult and made me anxious, so the thought of trying to cast regular people for any kind of project involving nudity just sounds like too big of a task! How does Spencer Tunick do it?!
Nudes in Limbo seems to be a one-off project, something unique for all involved, seemingly only released on VHS by MCA Home Video. The director’s only other works seem to be made-for-TV shows and movies I’ve never heard of. All of these people came together, created something artful and beautiful in blank spaces, and then went back to their regular jobs. I wish there were more like this. 🪐
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I'm late to this article, but first of all, thank you for writing it and sharing about this movie.
With regard to diversity of images for nude art, the closest I see that gives me hope is women's intimate apparel brands, such as Knix and Knitty Knickers. (Hint: Google the brand names and then look at the images tab to see representation.) I think women have grown so tired of their bodies being objectified and, outside of nudity, intimate apparel shows usually the most of the body, so that's where stakes have been planted. And it needs to come from startups because we know that bigger organizations like VS are mostly run by men who will just tokenize issues for monetary reasons.
As for health: I'm on the side of health that reduces eating disorders, an issue that has one of the highest death rates associated with it. I'm on the side of health that supports mental health, which is entwined with self-image. I'm on the side of health that works to rid foods of microplastics and other foreign chemicals. I'm on the side of health that supports a fair economic situation for everyone so children and adults alike can afford to buy food that nurtures and supports them. I'm on the side of health that supports doctors and health care for all. That is where health starts. If you would like to equate health to body size, I invite you to go and tell that to your grandma's face and look forward to her clocking you on the side of the head with her big purse. 👜
Realistically, when could a more diverse movie be made? Now sounds like a good timeline to me.
You probably couldn't get many well known athletes or dancers to do this. Even if one were nude friendly themself, anyone in the public eye would worry about the PR effect. Even in 1983, your image had monetary value. OTOH, if you've already done nude work in the public realm or had no hopes of future celebrity, you'd have nothing to lose.
I don't mind the use of extremely fit models for this. It is like a study in physical anatomy. If you want to show how the muscles work, you gotta see the muscles. If you want grace in motion, you gotta have people athletic enough to give you grace in motion.