Time’s Up
April 7th, 2013
Sometimes I feel the need to wade out over my head in the deep end of the pool, get on my soapbox and spout off. So, here goes a rant that’s been building up for a while. We’ll get back to the irregularly scheduled nudity soon. I’m sticking a bunch of Wikipedia links in this post to get you started if you want to look into the things I’ll mention. Please don’t assume that Wikipedia has everything you need to know about any of these subjects or artists.
Dada is my favorite period of art. Dada was a reaction to the horrors of World War I. That’s one of my favorite pieces of Dada art up above, “Indestructible Object” by Man Ray. It’s a reproduction Man Ray made of his earlier piece, “Object To Be Destroyed” which was destroyed by a group of protesting art students, much to the delight of some of the original Dadaists.
This quote is in the linked Wikipedia entry for Dada:
“Dada is the groundwork to abstract art and sound poetry, a starting point for performance art, a prelude to postmodernism, an influence on pop art, a celebration of antiart to be later embraced for anarcho-political uses in the 1960s and the movement that lay the foundation for Surrealism.”
That’s a quote from Marc Lowenthal, translator’s introduction to Francis Picabia‘s I Am a Beautiful Monster: Poetry, Prose, And Provocation
I would go even further and say that everything that has happened in art since Dada has been a continuation of Dada, a commentary on Dada, or a reaction to Dada.
And the basic message of Dada is, “Screw the Academy.” Dada rejected everything in the world, including the world of art, that lead the world to the disaster that was the First World War.
Jackson Pollock’s paintings are certainly the obvious, inevitable result of the thinking begun by Dada. It presents the same message in more specific form: “Screw Painting.” Painting has yet to recover from Pollock.
No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock
As the quote above indicates, Andy Warhol is just restating Dada. Tilda sleeping in a box presents the same “Screw The Academy” artistic statement as Duchamp’s urinal.
“Fountaine” by Marcel Duchamp
Well, here’s the problem with this century of artists delivering the message, “Screw The Academy”: They have become The Academy. It seems all that can be said now in The Academy is “Screw The Academy.” Kinda funny, actually.
A friend said a few years ago, “Isn’t it time someone took Postmodernism out in a field and put a bullet in its head?” Well, Post-postmodernism hasn’t really caught on. I don’t think the art world can really figure out what’s next because The Academy is all caught up in saying, “Screw The Academy.”
I love Dada. But, really folks, it was a century ago. Really, it’s been done. It’s over. Let’s get on with making some art.
So, what next? I don’t know. I actually don’t really care. Well, it would be nice if we went back to something like Romanticism with a 21st Century perspective, since I think my work tends to fall within that tradition. Maybe, heaven forbid, artists could be allowed to make art that is beautiful again. That’s what I like to do, but The Academy hates beauty. Well, you know what I say to that:
Screw The Academy.
Kinsey
April 5th, 2013
I received notice today that this photo of Kat taken at South Coyote Buttes has been accepted for the annual juried show at the Kinsey Institute.
I’m very pleased to be in the show this year. I love the Kinsey Institute and think their work is very important. And it’s hard to get in this show. I enter it every year, but this is only the second time I’ve had a photo accepted.
And, of course, I’m also quite pleased that my lovely friend Kat is the subject of the photo. Thank you Kat!
The show will open May 17 and run through July 13 at the Grunwald Gallery of Art on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. I plan to attend the opening.
2257 Lawsuit Update
April 2nd, 2013
As many of you may already know, I am one of the named plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to have the laws commonly known as 2257 and 2257A declared to be unconstitutional. The suit was filed against the Attorney General of the United States in 2009.
Well, we finally have a trial date. That will be June 3 in Federal Court in Philadelphia.
As part of the preparation for the trial, I recently gave a deposition to a government lawyer in Cleveland. That was a 6-hour ordeal, but it is over now. Next will be the trip to Philadelphia where I’ll be able to testify about why this law violates my (and possibly your) First and Fourth Amendment rights and makes it impossible for me to create completely legal photographs which are protected free speech under our constitution.
I’m Still Here
March 15th, 2013
Yes, it’s been far too long since I last updated this blog. There are a lot of reasons. I spent most of February and the beginning of March traveling. I went to the Dirty Show and Nude Nite Orlando, did a little shooting and visiting with old friends and models in Florida, and did some family vacation in South Carolina, also getting in a visit with friends and some shooting in Savannah. Life has been busy and good.
There’s more coming that may keep me away from here again. Next week I’ll be having eye surgery. It’s just for cataracts. Everyone tells me it is quick and simple and things will be much better after…but I’m still anxious about it. And, there’s lots happening with the 2257/2257A lawsuit that I’m involved in. More about that in a future post.
But for now I’m going to finally finish up posting the photos from last summer’s trip to Maine. Yes, that’s really how far behind I am with editing and posting the things I’ve been shooting.
These photos are from the last day of shooting on that trip. We drove on “down east” to the easternmost port in the United States, Eastport, Maine. There we met up with Dyaphayne who was living there for the summer. You may recall that I met Dyaphayne earlier in the year on last year’s visit to Savannah, where she was living at that time. Dyaphayne took us to this lovely location on the coast. The weather was perfect and the light was beautiful.
That’s Dane St Clair in the photo above, and Dyaphayne in the one below in this great location.
With four beautiful nude models and a lovely spot, well, I just couldn’t resist putting on the fisheye lens for a few shots to let me take it all in at once. The other models are Erica Jay and, of course, Brooke Lynne.
My good friend, Dave Rudin, was with us that day and, of course, he was also shooting. Here he is at work with all the models.
And, Dave and I weren’t the only photographers there that day. Brooke has become quite a fine photographer herself. Here she is working with Erica.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back after the doctor gets done cutting the lens out of my left eye.
Dirty Show
February 8th, 2013
The Dirty Show starts tonight. I’ll be there tomorrow night. I have three photos in the show this time. If you are there tomorrow see if you can find me and say hello.
More From Bar Harbor
January 26th, 2013
Brooke and Kelsey were still with us when we went to this location near Bar Harbor. But I let Ted Preuss and Dave Rudin work with them most of the time since they were going to have less opportunity to work with these wonderful models.
But I couldn’t resist doing a few photos with each of these beautiful ladies.
And there are more to come. I just need to find more time to work on the blog. Lots going on right now.
Here’s Ted hard at work photographing Kelsey. And, yes, it’s true, Ted sometimes uses a digital camera.
And here’s Dave Rudin working with a big group of the models.
With all this going on I couldn’t resist getting out my fisheye lens so I could get the whole scene in one rounded view.
Yes, there were lots of curves on the rocks that day…and they weren’t all because of my fisheye lens. Of course the other two models here are Dane and Erica.
French PHOTO
January 10th, 2013
Getting the new year off to a great start, I’ve learned that one of my photos is published in the January/February issue of French PHOTO magazine. This is the contest issue where they publish the winners of their annual contest. They say this is the largest photo contest in the world. I always enter the maximum allowed 12 photos. This year 8 of my 12 entries were finalists in the contest. Their rules say they will only publish one photo from any photographer (though one year they did print two of mine). I consider it a great honor to be included in the magazine as a winner in this contest. This year my photo is printed as a half page, which is much larger than most photos in the issue.
That’s a photo of the actual magazine sent to me by my friend Gary Mitchell who also has a photo in this issue. I’m not sure how Gary got a copy of the magazine. It won’t make its way through distribution channels to the newsstands in the US for a few months…usually sometime in March or April.
Here’s the photo. The model is Kat. The photo was taken in 2011 during our adventure at South Coyote Buttes in the red rock desert on the Utah/Arizona border. This was taken on the day when we didn’t get lost, but were bewildered for a while.
Where Do Models Come From, Part 6
December 31st, 2012
Why, models come from New York City. Everybody knows that.
After the great day of shooting that I’ve been sharing with you, three of those models went on their way to their homes in Maine. And the next day my friend from New York City, Dave Rudin, arrived in Maine with two New York models, Erica and Dane. I had worked with both Erica and Dane earlier on a trip to NYC, so I knew we were going to have a great shoot because they are both very fine models.
For this day of shooting we headed down east to a secluded coastal area near Bar Harbor. We met another photographer friend, Ted Preuss, there and he guided us to this fine location. I’ll post more about what we all did that day in future posts, but here you can enjoy the modeling work or Erica and Dane for now.
And, I wish all of you all the best in 2013. Happy New Year!
So Many Models…
December 21st, 2012
With the wonderful wealth of great models I had with me in Maine, I certainly couldn’t resist the temptation to include more than one model in some of my photos. So I think I’ll just share some of those results with you, and wish you all a Merry Christmas and/or happy holidays in whatever manner you celebrate the season.
And this seemed like a good time to put the ultra-wide angle lens on for a few shots…
And why not play with the fisheye lens while we’re at it…
But maybe the normal focal lengths are all that are needed when this many beautiful ladies are the subject matter…
When one of your best models is also a wonderful photographer…well, sometimes true nude photography is the result:
Thank you to the wonderful models, Brooke Lynne, Kelsey Dylan, Rachel, Chloe Ann and my anonymous friend. You made this one of the most amazing days of photography that I’ve ever experienced.
Where Do Models Come From, Part 5
December 16th, 2012
Where do models come from? Sometimes you find them where you are. That’s the case with Rachel. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I first photographed her more than 10 years ago when I went to Maine to shoot nudes on the coast. She lived near the spot where I was planning to shoot and knew the other model I was working with. I met her the day of the shoot. And, of course, that was the shoot that launched me on the direction that my work has followed for the past decade. I photographed Rachel again the next summer. And we stayed in touch over the years, though we never managed to get together again for photos. Rachel is a remarkable beauty and a very nice person. I know I say that about most of my models, and it is true of them all. I simply don’t work with models who aren’t nice people. Life is too short to deal with divas and attitudes.
Rachel is pretty much the opposite of a diva and the only attitude is one of working hard to make art. She is sweet and quiet, but she has a wonderful presence. Her beauty is striking. She is comfortable in her skin and natural and relaxed. And did I mention how beautiful she is?
Of course, the other wonderful thing about Rachel is that she is an artist and a model. As an artist she understands what I’m trying to do with my work. And as a model she is experienced and practiced at doing what it takes to make a great photo. All that makes working with her a real pleasure. And I found her right there…just a few miles from where I was shooting.
Rachel doesn’t have an on-line modeling portfolio, but if you are interested in working with her you can contact her through her facebook page. She also has an on-line store where you can view and buy her artwork.
