NAKED STATES
Spencer Turnick photographs people nude, in very public places and then gets the hell out of there before the cops arrive! An artist on the cusp of celebrity, Turnick needs a suitable event to spark interest in his work. He could also do with a little cash to help out with a pending court case arising from his arrest in downtown New York City, at dawn, with a bunch of naked neighbours. His idea is to tour every State of the US in an ancient van, photographing everyday folk nude in front of landscapes, monuments and buildings that typify their region. Along the way he sets a Guinness World Record (most naked people photographed in one place when he assembles 1200 people on an airstrip runway during a rock festival); clashes with bikers and, surprisingly, nudists, transforms lives and propels himself to (semi) stardom. Besides the fact that Turnick takes photographs of often astounding beauty, this is a fantastic account of ambition and passion in the form of a comic road-trip.