Edmund Teske

Interpretation

Nude bodies are often viewed as objects of desire rather than as subjects of erotic power, but these works use layering to complicate that perspective. In Ruth Bernhard’s image, a shadow stretches across a woman’s bare torso. Robert Heinecken combines a pornographic image and a deodorant advertisement to critique the commodification of sex. Edmund Teske references Hindu mythology in his depiction of a man lying beside animal bones. Across these portraits, things—and the shadows of things—hold active roles. 

Acquisition note

Based in the San Francisco area, collectors Susan Ehrens, Leland Rice, and Jan Daniele know one other and have given photographs to the RISD Museum in concert with one another. A photo historian born in Rhode Island, longtime museum supporter Ehrens has given important photographs in part due to her affection for her home state. Rice, a photographer, has likewise donated work to the museum over the same two decades, whereas Daniele has connected with the RISD Museum more recently. Gifts like theirs have shaped the museum’s photography collection in important ways.

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