A new exhibit displaying five photographers' approaches to human nudity will open tonight at MAINSITE Contemporary Art Gallery, 122 E. Main St.



"Visions in the Flesh," features photography from Greg Gorman, Jerry Ueslsmann, Bill Perry, John Seward and Melanie Seward.



The exhibit will provide viewers the opportunity to see and compare figurative works. While observing, one would notice the amount of variance each photographer has when displaying the subject manner of the nude figure and its psychological overtones.



"Flesh is a fascinating subject in art and in life," John Seward, artist and exhibition curator said. "The nude figure, both male and female, should not only convey a sense of beauty but also a sense of wonder on both an intuitive and philosophical level of thinking."



One of the other photographers stated some of the importances of photography as an artistic medium.



"A great photograph asks as many questions as it answers. The photograph is perceived as the representation of a moment in time that existed or is real...after all, it must be real," Greg Gorman said.



Gorman also said that he sees his young male nude subjects as figures of transition, not entirely as boys and not fully matured either. The nudes in his photos hope to bridge a misconception of nudes in art where the female form is a thing of beauty and the male, because of its external sexuality, is considered taboo.



"The problem lies in interpretation. A nude should be accepted for its face value -- an exploration of the human form in all its natural glory," Gorman said.



One student found the exhibit novel in a community like Norman.



"Artists exhibiting such a thought-provoking work should be cherished and appreciated, especially in Norman. I would not think that an exhibit such as that [Visions in the Flesh] comes around very often," Ki Coulson, photography graduate student, said.



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