Iterations

Raw and Wriggling . . . The Virtue of Selfishness . . . Beautiful Lies . . . “365” Day 1

Are you in love with the “pretty pretty,” the cracked out color and the school of “I’m superior because I’m a Photoshop hack”? Well, suburban youth must be served, and it’s all the rage with them. Didn’t you know? I’ve been on the periphery of this debate before, remembering the fawning of folks over oversaturated soft focus imagery. The addiction came and went. Now we have HDR crack, Lightroom and scads of new presets for the “compositionally” challenged. If this works for you and your vapid subjects, well good on you. I suppose everyone has to get their self-esteem boosts somehow. Still, don’t let your love for the newest hip thing lead you to denigrate the work of artists who get composition, the rule of thirds, focal points and whatnot. Such a position makes you like a child . . . wait . . . most of you are children. I err when I become enamored with your vision and forsake my own. The new mantra should be, “Don’t even think about using that brush, Boyd.” I cheapen my vision when I don’t hold true to it. My vision is at the edge of a focal point – show me what’s on the inside, raw and wriggling. I am enamored with the honesty of the work of photographers like Geoff Cordner, Richard Kern, Eric Kroll, James Graham and Melvin Moten Jr. There is something to be said about the honesty of simplicity.
But, let us return to the “pretty pretty.” I can put myself in the shoes of the model who wants “pretty” pictures that are about beauty. Contrast this with the vision I call my own. I’ve done “pretty.” I’m pretty much done with “pretty.” I’ve been doing this long enough to know what I want and unless you are paying my rent, what I want holds sway. I’ll shoot your vision, but mine has to be shot as well. The artist doesn’t shoot just for the sake of shooting. The artist shoots to bring their vision to life. Call it “the virtue of selfishness” if you would. My models don’t have to be models. They have to convey a depth though that communicates to me and my audience. I have been through the phases of shooting pretty portfolio work, portraits, art nudes, and editorial nudes. All of these phases have led me here, a zeitgeist in the here and now. The world is not a pretty place and humanity is not pretty. I will not tell “the beautiful lie.”
I diverge from Oscar Wilde’s path: “ . . . Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art.” Enough with artifice and dishonesty. I’m reminded of the girl who while she acknowledges her friend has been slurred by another beyond the pale, she can’t support him because the other has bought her friendship. She’s afraid she’ll lose something by doing the right thing. This is humanity in this day and age. More and more, my art needs to reflect this. There is only human frailty. I had two artists I respect completely tell me today that I need to take my camera to the streets to capture the truth. There is where the honesty is. Art should provoke, not lie.
Here’s a start. I jumped on the bandwagon of the “365 Project,” because the human face and eyes will always reflect the truth you need. Here are a few outtakes from day one. I'll even indulge with a few self-portraits several times a week.