Jan Saudek

When browsing the Taschen books of his photographs, this Czech photographer born in 1935 took me in his universe. Very easy to identify, his universes repeat themselves to infinity and Jan Saudek multiplies the shoots on an often common base: nudity worked in not so varied settings with hand painted colored photographs giving it a special texture.


Saudek has an obsession with dressed/undressed models. He uses this principle to illustrate the playing cards he composed with two figures back to back with each other upside down (some examples here).


Sex has a huge importance in this photographer's work, especially with atypical profiles like overweighed ladies or people with a specific physical trait. Saudek took many pictures of contortionists. In this extent, this freak-show theme might shock or disturb with this weird and black beauty...Le sexe prend une importance immense dans le travail de ce photographe, notamment lorsqu'il s'agit de profils atypiques de personnes obèses ou ayant une particularité physique bien prononcée. Saudek a également photographié beaucoup de contortionnistes. Dans ce sens, son travail se rapproche beaucoup d'un esprit de Foire (ou Freak show) pouvant déranger ou choquer par sa beauté noire et étrange.


His website both in English and Czech introduces the entirety of his work, from the 1950s to today.