Closed Eyes, Closed Minds, Closed Legs
Originally published in Spring/Summer 2017 of ROCKET Magazine.
In late February, renowned Chinese artist and photographer Ren Hang was found dead at 29 years old. While many articles spoke of Hang’s beautiful, unique photography, I also noted that many articles associated Hang with a variety of contrasting adjectives. The British Journal of Photography includes “controversial” in their homage to Hang, while The New York Times deemed him “provocative”... but why is that so?
When one looks at Hang’s artwork on his official webpage, there are countless images of men and women in their natural element - literally. Hang was infamous for his photographs featuring nude men and women in different settings and positions. A shocking number of people have expressed concern about these pictures and what they mean for the future of society, particularly conservative Chinese society. But the question I ask again is: why? A model stated in an interview with The British Journal of Photography that the purpose of Hang’s work was to “break through the social taboo of nudity – for the sake of natural beauty.” I would have to say he succeeded in doing so, as Hang’s artwork has been showcased in numerous venues on a global scale - including the notable Foam Photography Museum in Amsterdam.
Hang’s artwork should raise several questions within not only Chinese culture, but also largely-Western popular culture around the world. In the United States, as in many other countries, public nudity is illegal. While I’m not personally particularly fond of seeing people walking around naked constantly, I do not understand the ridiculous obsession the general population seems to have with the taboo surrounding genitals. Genitals have a function and a purpose, just like hands or feet or knees or elbows, yet for whatever reason, no one is shamed when conducting photo shoots revolving around those extremities.
Genitalia perform sexual actions biologically meant for human reproduction, and because of a longstanding conservatism regarding the topic of sex, society as a whole has a weird relationship with sexual organs, to put it lightly. The penis and the vagina are organs like any others, and yet we don’t treat them that way because we aren’t taught as such. The taboo nature that surrounds genitalia starts when we are children and conditions us to squeal, gasp, turn our heads and shut our eyes when we see “vulgar” scenes in movies or when people reveal “too much” in music videos. Children giggle at penises and breasts on sculptures and in paintings, and while it may seem harmless enough, when does that fascination really stop?
This rather bizarre relationship with our bodies’ natural parts creates a society full of adults consumed with the idea that you should only be fully comfortable being naked with people that you are incredibly close with, ideally someone with whom you are monogamously involved. Thus, when Hang showcased his photographs in exhibits or online, people were - and still are - shocked at how “graphic” they appear. In actuality, the photographs are an evocative form of self-expression. Hang’s photographs, while stunningly beautiful, would not be considered anything out of the ordinary if society valued and accepted nudity as a form of beauty.
The simultaneous delicacy and starkness of Hang’s work should be valued instead. The angles of the models; the symmetry of the photos; the elegant settings the models are in: these are the features of Hang’s photography that should be producing a strong reaction in people. While censorship has become less of a problem in U.S. entertainment, it’s still very much utilized by the Chinese government, and I feel there’s still much improvement to be made in general with regard to the topic of nudity. The beauty in Hang’s explicit portrayal of bodies is exactly what is needed to prompt further discussion about the beauty and mystery of the human body, and hopefully eliminate the stigma of flesh in its natural form.