Whenever I profile the work of msbimages Michal Boothe I get reactions. People relate and connect with Michal's work for many reasons. Firstly, I think the minimalist aesthetic is refreshing to many. There are so many artists today whose work relies more on deflection and camouflage as it does actually capturing what is in front of them. Between editing and penis morphing, it is hard to know if what your looking at is actually a man and model, or just a digital manipulation of what someone thinks we want to see.
Secondly, Michal's stated goal is to document that fleeting ephemera of youth and innocence, bloom and promise while at the same time mourns their inevitable passing. The models Michal photographs are men without a doubt, but ones just entering this phase of their lives and his images cause us all to reflect back to those moments in our lives when all things seemed possible and the burden's and sadness of life had yet to make their way into their consciousness. This way of being, this way of thinking is some spend years trying to return and tap into.
Finally, Michal instinctively knows how to photograph the male form. It is always easy to spot a image where the only thing on the mind of the image taker is a specific body part or a specific look. Michal's images beautifully celebrate more than just the shallow and stereotypical parts we are supposed to salivate over, but everything we actually love and lust about the male body. Distinctive facial features, the penetrating gaze and color of an eye, slightly too large, yet wildly sexy ears, the texture and smoothness of a head of hair, lips, and the jaw line, the smoothness and tone of skin, nipples, freckles and every other line, bump, muscle and nuance which makes up not just a body, but the person within.
After my September piece on Michal's work with Phil (Delft Blue)I received several e-mails requesting I post more from the series. Unfortunately I posted all the images there were of Phil, but Michal sent on another set, this time of Steven and the images hold a special place for the Dallas photographer. For starters, the images of Steven were the only ones Michal was able to salvage from a 2010 burglary that took his hard-drive and a whole year of his work. Secondly... the images came about because of a dare.
'I had the honor and pleasure to meet one of the photographers on MM whose work makes me tremble. I make images and he makes art. His name is Manuel and I got the opportunity to spend several hours with him on a trip I made to San Francisco and we talked about nothing but photography. It was an amazing afternoon for me. He dared me to see if I could make images of a clothed model that had the same minimalism and spareness as my nudes. I accepted his dare on the condition that I could find the right model. And when I posted the images of Steven, I got a nice message from Manuel congratulating me.'
'Lastly, I found Steven on MM and knew he was the right guy. I grew up in a very small ranching/farming town and went to high school with both working and rodeo cowboys. They were the models of manhood I tried to but knew I never could emulate. Steven epitomized that period of my life and the crushes I had during that time. He is a rodeo cowboy. One doesn't have a belt buckle like that unless one has won it.'
1 comment:
Beautiful shots of a very beautiful man. The simplicity of the composition is what draws me to look at the photos over and over. No hiding genitals behind some fake plant or awkward posing which avoids exposure. The photo presents a man in all his glory with nothing hidden and celebrates the male form. Excellent post.
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