Contemporary Portraiture Final
The class I took this quarter was Contemporary Portraiture. It was a very challenging class and pushed me down paths I never would have ventured on otherwise. A recurring theme was gender and sexuality, which is not something I was opposed to diving into but I was not sure what it would look like either. I had never done any photo shoot within this genre, and I have never been very open on the subject. But, it was intriguing and is a genre that potentially produces some of the most beautiful work, in my opinion. I wanted to really challenge myself and felt this would be the ideal area to for me to explore.
The idea behind the project was to explore the atmosphere between spirituality and lust. Even if you do not believe in Christ or spirituality, we all have personal ideals and standards that we strive to live up to, although, inevitably, we will all fall short of them. Imperfection and failure are woven into humanity. The irony is that this brokenness may be the most beautiful strand in our existence. It is in these moments that walls are torn down and we are most vulnerable in our nakedness. It is in this state that we are fully expressing ourselves; there is great transparency. This, in itself, is beautiful to me. This is us.
So, what does this moment look like in terms of sexuality? On the surface, it may be obvious, but there are countless subtleties and emotions that happen as we dig deeper. I am hoping you are all able to notice these details within the photographs.
If you have any questions, I will answer them as best and respectfully (especially to my model) as I can. This is a very deep topic for me and I would rather speak about it in private or, preferably, in person. I do not want anything to get lost in translation on here, so I am stopping myself for now.
I encourage you to listen to Hozier's song, Take Me To Church, as you view the photos. I had no idea how well the song resonates with my series at first, but I believe it definitely adds to the atmosphere we (my model and I) depicted. I will share a link to that below. I also included a quote from Marilyn Monroe, in which she sums up what it means to accept and embrace yourself for who you are, no matter the imperfections.
Enjoy the project!
P.S. These photographs are printed 13x19" because I want the viewers to feel like they are in this space with her. Obviously, you are not able to see the prints online, but I want to let you all know the full extent of my presentation.
“I am good, but not an angel.
I do sin, but I am not the devil.
I am just a small girl in a big world,
Trying to find someone to love.”