In the early 1960s, it was not easy to include nudity in mainstream films, so people looked for ways to put nude actresses in a legitimate context (medical, informational, artistic…). In the case of 1,000 Shapes of a Female, director Barry Mahon exploits the artistic concern specifically, telling of an art dealer who gathers around him a number of artists who paint nude models.
In the seventh minute a painter is immortalizing Darlene Bennett nude and talking to her to give directions. Five minutes later Marty Devine nude enters a painter’s studio and kneels on a rug. Twelve minutes later a painter’s wife (Audrey Campbell) removes her robe and poses for him. Soon after, an artist covers Gigi Darlene with paint and then has her rub against a canvas. In the next scene Davee Decker (under the pseudonym Doris Dane) is bored in a bar and meets a painter. Of course, minutes later she is posing nude for him. Three minutes later Faith Gilbert is painting on a canvas with her boobs.
