Viewers verbalize their experience of paintings in order to interactively manufacture meaning. This sense-making process is consequential not merely for the viewers’ understanding of the artwork but for their conception of the world, and of themselves and others in it.
When people I know talk about my photography, frequently focus on the perceived sexuality in my images. They say things like, “I don’t know how you can manage being around all those hot naked women all the time.” or “Is your wife really okay with this?” It’s as though my photography sessions are actually playboy parties in disguise.
That bothers me because although I do shoot nudes often, it’s not my intention to sexualize the images. Not that there’s anything wrong with sex and eroticism. It’s just not what I’m looking to convey in my images.
As an artist you want to elicit a particular feeling, mood, or emotion, or perhaps a concept or idea.
For me nudes represent a state of being open, vulnerable, authentic, and honest. Clothes are symbols that we wear to present a particular image of ourselves that we want to convey to people around us. Being nude strips away the artifice and reveals the real core of the person.
At other times, I revel in the shape and form of the body. As a former dancer and massage therapist, I love the human body. It’s endlessly fascinating. I love both male and female bodies, but for my personal aesthetic I prefer the female form. It is soft, round, and sensuous, with wonderful curves and sweeping lines. Men’s bodies are beautiful too, but they are hard, linear, and functional.