Naked Eloquence

Working on a skeletal budget, the filmmaker did thorough research, interviewing Weston scholars as well as family members. He had one problem: There was no film footage of Weston and Wilson together, working and traveling. And even though he had an enormous amount of still photographs, including a number of unpublished archival images, he made a risky decision to include reenactments using “actors” (mostly friends and acquaintances). He shot these scenes in High Definition digital and using a Super-8 camera, which he brought along on a lark. The result was a success, giving the illusion that these scenes were some discovered old film footage, aiding the narrative to propel.

“Reenactments are risky,” says McCluskey. “We took them as an excuse to go camping, to sit around a campfire, sipping whiskey from tin cups. Being young and artistic, money was tight for us, and luckily, we loved to camp, just like Edward and Ansel [Adams] and their friends in the 1930s. When Charis saw the reenactments, she said, ‘That’s not acting, that’s living.’ And she, as usual, was perceptive and dead on.”

Weston caught criticism for shooting photographs of eloquent beauty, both personal and natural, during the height of the Great Depression, but looking back we see he was reacquainting us with the power of such beauty. Eloquent Nude is a documentary that reminds us, especially during these times, what truly is most important to life — living, love and beauty.

A special screening of Eloquent Nude will take place on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 F St., Eureka. There will be a reception at 6:30 p.m., with a screening and discussion with the filmmaker, McCluskey, to follow. Due to sponsorship by Pierson Building Center, admission is free. As an added bonus, a number of original Weston prints of Charis Wilson from the Humboldt Group collection will be on display that evening.

1 2 SHARE