ABSTRACT
Upon first glance Fleckenstein's images seem to represent a mixture of portraiture and figure studies. Though the figure is in fact dressed there is a sensual quality to the work that is often eclipsed by the nude. The first image is charged with atmosphere and mood, both as a result of the romantic lighting and the expression of the model. Reading the body language suggests that she is protective of her chest; her right arm already covers her left breast and her hair. It is this protective gesture that draws attention to what is under the dress, which otherwise might not ever have become a consideration for the viewer. Somehow both the subject and the viewer have fallen down on the floor in what people now recognize to be a bathroom. The photographer and model seem to neither look for approval nor definition from anything other than themselves.
