Greg Friedler

Naked New York

In this unique and startling collection of photographic diptychs, we see average New Yorkers first clothed, then completely naked. Only their ages and professions are given as captions.

Here we see all types of people, men and women of all shapes, ages, colors, and classes: investment banker, junkie, bookseller, closet queen, unemployed pregnant woman, actor, cashier, Harvard grad student, retired salesman, nanny, and security guard, among them. As diverse and unique as these individuals are, one can't help but be struck by the realization that the banker and the junkie are not all that different after all. On a basic level, we're all the same, human and vulnerable.

Unlike traditional nude photography, these lack any overtly erotic or sexual quality; they are simply real people who reveal both their public (clothed) selves and their private (naked) selves. Friedler's approach is akin to the anthropologist. His work as a documentary photographer is an investigation into humanity, a survey and study of people. If clothing is a voluntary choice, unclothed we see people in an involuntary state—we see their bodies as we see their faces, unmasked. At once deeply intimate and surprisingly matter of fact, these images reveal more of our commonality than our differences.

Greg Friedler is a freelance photographer living in New York City.