Untitled photograph by Monte Kruse.

by Sally Deskins

May 24
Monte Kruse: EARTH
Garden of the Zodiac Gallery, 1042 Howard Street
Reception 7-9pm, exhibit thru July 7
517.8719

The nude has been a subject in art since the idealized figures of ancient Roman sculpture. Some contemporary artists have taken a more modest and personal approach, accentuating the beauty of the human form in all shapes and sizes. Omaha-based photographer Monte Kruse takes neither and even eliminates specific individualizations of his nude subjects, extending them into a storytelling genre capable of portraying social, psychological and sexual tensions. For his EARTH series inspired by the portrayals of southern life in the dark novels of William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy, Kruse translated his love for land and respect for agricultural labor into intense, raw images of nudes posed working in fields, barns and kitchens. Only ten black and white images are featured in this exhibit of photos taken throughout 2004-07 by the Little Rock, Iowa, native who is known for his dramatic nude imagery.

Sally Deskins

COMMENTS

(We're testing Facebook commenting (you can login using other services, too); please let us know if you have trouble.)