Nyotaimori seems unlikely

September 9, 2011 2:05 PM

What's the story behind this odd photo? It appears to be from about the early 1960s. Men and women are gathered at the end of a table with various interesting expressions on their faces. A bare pair of mans legs lies on the table, but the remainder of the body (if any) is out of frame.
posted by exogenous to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

[Deleted some jokey speculation - y'all know the drill, people. ]
posted by restless_nomad at 2:17 PM on September 9, 2011

FWIW — A TinEye search uncovers a bigger version :)

Most importantly, the tan gentleman's expression is pictured more clearly.
posted by krilli at 2:22 PM on September 9, 2011

As salacious as the picture appears at first (and I LOVE the expression on the blonde in the flowered dress!), the female on the right edge of the photo looks like she's maybe 14-15 years old, so I sincerely doubt it IS something kinky. I can't quite decide of its a home or something more public like a restaurant?; that might narrow it down though.
posted by easily confused at 2:27 PM on September 9, 2011

It's a photo by Klaus Pichler.
posted by nowonmai at 2:32 PM on September 9, 2011

My suggestion of random party shenanigans actually wasn't jokey. I think you'll have a very hard time narrowing it down more than that. It looks like it takes place at a restaurant. (Tuxedoed waiter in the background, and ketchup and oil/vinegar bottle on the shelf.) Probably late 1960s/early 1970s based on the clothes and hair. Some event that was momentous enough that photographer guy on the right would bring his camera with him.
posted by MsMolly at 2:33 PM on September 9, 2011

On lack of preview, I take it back. Nice find nowonmai!
posted by MsMolly at 2:34 PM on September 9, 2011

Or rather, it's a photomanipulation from a series in which the artists inserts himself, naked, into 1960s vintage photos.
posted by nowonmai at 2:39 PM on September 9, 2011

If you look at the others in the series, e.g. this and this, they feature a nude male (or nude males) in an apparently "normal" photo where the others are ignoring the nude male(s), giving credence to nowonmai 's theory of photoshopping.
posted by TheRaven at 2:52 PM on September 9, 2011

Wow.... How did you figure out the photo belonged to the artist?
posted by xammerboy at 3:01 PM on September 9, 2011

Sorry; I should have left my working. Somebody on reddit (where the photo is also being discussed) deserves credit for the id, and here is the artist's blurb on the series: A box full of slides which I stumbled upon at a house clearance … I was equally fascinated and disgusted by the sheer amount of uptightness, which caused me to search for an element which would contradict the moral values of this era and therefore reinterpret scenes of homely bliss. Then I found [it]: Myself! Naked!
posted by nowonmai at 4:10 PM on September 9, 2011

So it's a photo of people looking at Pichler naked on a table?
posted by obiwanwasabi at 5:25 PM on September 9, 2011

A found photo of people looking at who knows what on a table (or possibly just posing awkwardly around a table) into which Pichler has photoshopped himself.
posted by nowonmai at 2:30 AM on September 10, 2011