Untitled (photograph of "Nude in Braids") c. 1940

This is an untitled photograph of “Nude in Braids” by Paul Gittings. We don’t have a date for this photograph, but it presents a fascinating picture of how representations of the human body are framed and controlled. The image is a small, ghostly picture of a nude woman, a form that recurs throughout art history. But here, the emphasis is on the artificiality of the photographic process and the way it mediates our view. The text “Kodak Safety Film” is visible at the top of the frame, reminding us that this image came through the technology of a powerful corporation. And what does “safety” mean in this context? Whose safety? The photographer’s? The model’s? Or the safety of the social order, which is always threatened by representations of the nude? As art historians, we can investigate archives and photographic journals to understand the social norms that shaped such images and ask what they tell us about power, gender, and the gaze.