Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Censor This II, Kickin' it Old School


After much debate and wondering how I am going to pull off an exhibition that was as talked about as Censor This, I have decided to go back to my roots.

All the exhibition prints in this show will be shot on film and I will hand print them myself. Novel concept as I have a medium formant camera and full, yet dusty, darkroom in my basement.

The challenge, I feel is to remember what it was like shooting only 10 images and then reloading as opposed to shooting over a hundred images without stopping. Without making the images look stiff and posed. it shouldn't be hard right? It was only 6 years ago that I was shooting this way so why should I be leery?

The curator of the Art House Lounge is advertising this show as "Censor This II…More erotic than the 1st". What it took to get the images for the first was in part letting my wonderful models do their thing. I set the stage, the lighting and the action I want to shoot and then photograph them moving performing. With film, it is a much slower and thoughtful process and I need to get the images I want and not look stiff or forced.

So that is my thought for today, as I try not to think too much of Friday and my wife's surgery, I am instead trying to focus on my art and the exhibition. Although as the day progresses and we get closer it is hard not to think about it.

I am sure my next post or two will be about my wife and my thoughts on her cancer but for now I am trying to recruit new models for the exhibition and come up with my game plan for the show.

If you read my blog and are interested in modeling and being a part of Censor This ii, please drop me a line.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Censor This II


Just when you thought it was safe to go to an art gallery comes Censor This II.
Yes that's right, the curator of the Art House Lounge in Harrisburg Pa has offered me another solo exhibition on the anniversary of my previous exhibit, Censor This!

The only caveat being to kick it up a notch. Now, those of you who know me know it is NOT a good thing to ask me to ratchet up my work for an exhibition. Not that I am complaining, Jason at the gallery has been a wonderful supporter of my erotic work and the feeling was that the last exhibit, well received as it was, didn't quite get to that place I wanted it to go. Meaning that I self censored and I knew I did. So this time the gloves are off, sort to speak.

I am searching for sexy, erotic people with very little inhibitions to model for this show. The images will more provocative, sensual and will definitely leave the gallery patrons with images they will never forget.

The only stumbling block in this whole grand scheme is that last year I had an issue finding a quality printer to print my images and with the show being even more explicit this year I am hoping I can figure out how to get this printed by July!

Any suggestions?

The exhibition is slated to open on August 14th and run through September 11th.

More information will be posted as the details come in.

Harrisburg has no idea what they are in for this year!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Censorship in the snow


I came across this story yesterday and I just had to blog about it.
Censorship and the prudishness of America keeps getting worse and worse.

It seems that a family in Rahway, NJ sculpted a wonderful nude bust reminiscent of a Venus de Milo out of snow on their front lawn. The sculpture was very artistic and well done. It seems this family has done other snow sculptures in the past including a bust of President Obama last winter. But of course the police received an anonymous call about a pornographic snowman in their neighborhood.

Now really, pornographic?

So Sgt. Dominick Sforza of the Rahway police was sent out to the Conneran household and after admiring the snow sculpture and telling them how well it was done, asked them to cover it up. Not to cause any trouble they covered up their work with a sarong and a bikini top stating, "I thought she looked more objectified and sexualized after you put the bikini on,".

William Torres, visiting from North Carolina, said "They’re censoring art, to me that’s no different from what you see in a museum ... and its lifespan was short anyway."

But of course all it takes is one conservative and narrow-minded neighbor for the police to be called in and someone's fun and creativity be label pornography and "banned".

This act of censorship is just silly and idiotic, but this is the country where Attorney General John Ashcroft moved to drape a semi-nude statue of the Spirit of Justice at the U.S. Justice Department.

As many of you know, I am no stranger to censorship. In fact recently a printing company refused to print a poster of my image "Litha" becasue it showed a butt crack or as a friend of mind refers to it as a glutial cleft. And the Springhill Suites, after signing a contract with me, refused to house my workshop on Sensual Photography for Couples stating that they didn't want "that kind of thing" done in their hotel.

Being America and being private companies they have the right to censor me and my work, but after reading about the Conneran family and their snow sculpture I am wondering how far is this going to go. When is someone going to stand up and say enough is enough.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


Remember that short quote? That is the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

It seems a lot of so called "Americans" have forgotten it.

For the full store you can read the article by Eliot Caroom for the Star-Ledger at
http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/03/nude_snow_sculpture_in_rahway.html


Photos courtesy Conneran family