Naked as a Jaybird and loving it
A true milestone in fine art publishing. Excerpt from the book by Dian Hanson
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The year was 1965, the place was southern California. Public nudity was illegal and, in the eyes of the government, nude photography was pornography (unless practiced in the conservative confines of a nudist camp or tastefully displayed on the pages of a nudist magazine). A new brand of nudism, however, was on the rise among hippies and other freespirited individuals who loved nothing more than to peel off their clothes and lounge around in their birthday suits. Jaybird magazine, a celebration of groovy nudism, was born out of this tumultuous climate, hovering in a gray area somewhere between the decent nudist magazines and porn. Over its eight-year life span, Jaybird (appearing under many titles, such as Jaybird Happening and Women's Home Jaybird) grew from a standard family nudist journal to a farout, psychedelic happening of naked hippies frolicking in wacky settings-preferably showing as much pubic hair as possible. Though the tone of the magazine evolved, the philosophy stayed the same: nudity is natural and fun for all. These days, issues of Jaybird are impossible-to-find collectors' items, Technicolor testaments to a bygone era of free love and pubic pride. But not to worry-TASCHEN has resurrected Jaybird with this highly amusing, lavishly illustrated, sweeping retrospective of the magazine that let it all hang out.
Modern nudism began in Germany with the Wandervögel, or wandering birds, young men and women who took to the countryside, hiking, singing and shedding their clothes in protest against Europe's dehumanizing industrialization. The year was 1900. Modern nudism nearly ended in California with the Jaybirds, young men and women who took to the beaches, spreading peace, love and limbs in protest against Puritanical prohibition of doing their own thing. The year was 1965. Both Wandervögel and Jaybirds failed in the end to change the world, but unlike the Wandervögel, Jaybirds left a paper trail, the pseudo- nudist magazines full of hippy-speak and the happy, healthy, hairy bodies you find in this book.
Examining the Jaybird magazines it's hard to imagine that they started with a serious social mission, but then the Wandervögel also probably looked like a bunch of crazy kids to their elders. The Jaybird philosophy was formed by a Mensa member and fine-tuned by a psychologist, and in the beginning it wasn't so different from that of Heinrich Pudor, the German sociologist who turned Wandervogel idealism into the Nacktkultur still practiced all over Germany and the world.
For example: Pudor wanted to break down class divisions in industrial Germany. The Jaybirds wanted to spread good vibes to all mankind. Pudor considered clothing class slavery.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
The year was 1965, the place was southern California. Public nudity was illegal and, in the eyes of the government, nude photography was pornography (unless practiced in the conservative confines of a nudist camp or tastefully displayed on the pages of a nudist magazine). A new brand of nudism, however, was on the rise among hippies and other freespirited individuals who loved nothing more than to peel off their clothes and lounge around in their birthday suits. Jaybird magazine, a celebration of groovy nudism, was born out of this tumultuous climate, hovering in a gray area somewhere between the decent nudist magazines and porn. Over its eight-year life span, Jaybird (appearing under many titles, such as Jaybird Happening and Women's Home Jaybird) grew from a standard family nudist journal to a farout, psychedelic happening of naked hippies frolicking in wacky settings-preferably showing as much pubic hair as possible. Though the tone of the magazine evolved, the philosophy stayed the same: nudity is natural and fun for all. These days, issues of Jaybird are impossible-to-find collectors' items, Technicolor testaments to a bygone era of free love and pubic pride. But not to worry-TASCHEN has resurrected Jaybird with this highly amusing, lavishly illustrated, sweeping retrospective of the magazine that let it all hang out.
Modern nudism began in Germany with the Wandervögel, or wandering birds, young men and women who took to the countryside, hiking, singing and shedding their clothes in protest against Europe's dehumanizing industrialization. The year was 1900. Modern nudism nearly ended in California with the Jaybirds, young men and women who took to the beaches, spreading peace, love and limbs in protest against Puritanical prohibition of doing their own thing. The year was 1965. Both Wandervögel and Jaybirds failed in the end to change the world, but unlike the Wandervögel, Jaybirds left a paper trail, the pseudo- nudist magazines full of hippy-speak and the happy, healthy, hairy bodies you find in this book.
Examining the Jaybird magazines it's hard to imagine that they started with a serious social mission, but then the Wandervögel also probably looked like a bunch of crazy kids to their elders. The Jaybird philosophy was formed by a Mensa member and fine-tuned by a psychologist, and in the beginning it wasn't so different from that of Heinrich Pudor, the German sociologist who turned Wandervogel idealism into the Nacktkultur still practiced all over Germany and the world.
For example: Pudor wanted to break down class divisions in industrial Germany. The Jaybirds wanted to spread good vibes to all mankind. Pudor considered clothing class slavery.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Naked as a Jaybird
Hardcover, 20.5 x 25 cm (8.1 x 9.8 in.), 264 pages
$ 39.99
$ 39.99
Technicolor testaments to a bygone era of free love and pubic pride
