May 29, 2016

Kiran Patil : the New Candid Nude Project




Member of Univers d'Artistes since 2010

I would like to thank everyone for their support during the shooting of the New Candid Nude project over the past years. It was a rewarding experience traveling the country, meeting new people, spending time in their homes and watching them live.


"Burn Party", Kiran needs your help :

Finally, I have decided to move forward with multiple shows that I call a "Burn Party". To ensure that limited edition prints are indeed truly limited - I am inviting guests to literally burn and destroy my precious negatives during the exhibition.

If you are interested in attending or wish to help, please visit newcandidnude and contact me through the online form.





The New Candid Nude Project :

Nudity, by itself, is not sexual to me. It is honest. That is the crux of why I continue to explore what I will call the "new candid nude".Candid nudes have been photographed since the invention of the camera. What I feel is 'new' in my work is the philosophy behind the approach of taking the photograph, not necessarily the visible properties of the picture itself. It much more than a simple snapshot aesthetic of yesteryear. Over 100 people participated in this photographic experiment.

I have found that there are three masks that most people wear when they are photographed : clothing, physical and emotional.














































May 18, 2016

Robert Triboli, the Bus Graveyard and Junkyard Cat series

Robert Triboli
and his active blog promiscuous ferret productions
Member of UdA since 2007


- Robert, I love your Bus Graveyard series !! What about an exibition on uda ? If yes, pelierc@yahoo.fr - Be well my friend.
- Ha Ha! That would certainly be a new path for UDA. The junkyard cats were actually some additional images for a series on a bus boneyard : promiscuous ferret productions. You always honor me so. Thanks my friend!
- I want this new path ! Thank you my dear dear Robert. I'm honored too and your so long friendship makes me so happy !


Yes, from today I open Univers d'Artistes to wonderful non nude photographs like those of Robert Triboli. 





Bus Graveyard and Junkyard Cat series

























May 15, 2016

Interview of Karl of Side B Photography






Candace Nirvana



Starting off with the usual intro, who you are, how you came into photo, how long you've been doing it, etc...etc.

My name is Karl and I am an artist. My primary creations are usually photography based. My dad ( a good landscape photographer and son of a great painter) got me a 110 camera when I was six. We would go out and explore Montana hiking and photographing. He taught me to create with intention. It’s forty-one years later and I still can’t stop tripping the shutter.


What gear you use and what's your favorite piece of equipment.



Kyrsta Kaos



I am an unusual gear geek. I embrace old and new… and mixing them as well. I love new tech that meets my needs and inspire me. Here are some of the better parts of the new kit.


New Stuff
The Pixelstick - easier for you to go the website to learn of it. Needless to say, it helps me put a nude anywhere I want. I am just starting to experiment with it.

Nikon D800 - My big digital paintbrush. Lots of pixels and full frame. Even though I have great 50 and 85mm prime lenses, I mainly use the trusty 28-120mm lens that I got with my D700. It is a great all-arounder.

Fujifilm X-T1 - My first mirrorless camera. I love this little powerhouse for many reasons. The size, features and fantastic outputs are just the best reasons. I also appreciate that I can use my iPhone to control it remotely (including changing aperture, shutter, and other settings) via the wifi.

LCD Projector - I used this with the nude model below to project paintings onto her. Many models have requested this for their shoots since.





Old stuff
I love medium format cameras and film. They teach me patience in creating a photo.

Hasselblad 501C - my big gun. I love that thing. I photographed my first nude model with it. The satisfyingly loud “kerplunk” of tripping both shutters communicates the seriousness of this camera.

Yashicamat 124g - My first medium format. I love this twin-lens reflex. I use it when I want to do street photography in this format.

Diana - This plastic low-tech camera teaches me to embrace rough photos and cheap lenses. This is the hipsters’ favorite as well.

Polaroid 420 Land Camera - This is my favorite camera, right now. I love using it for everything. I’ve photographed landscapes, architecture, and nudes. I love it because you get one photo output.

Non-photography - I am falling in love with my Martin000-15M guitar. I started playing guitar last year and am learning much more about myself in the process. I forgot what it was like to be a novice and having to learn from scratch. When you are a beginner, you have freedom to flub up without harsh judgement. I can take risks by asking things like, “Why not try to play the intro to ‘Layla’ by Clapton? “. I’ve shot with intent for over forty years and got this limiting notion in my head that every shot had to be gold, even if it was something I’d never tried for before.




Laila Love King and Kate



What Blogs, periodicals, podcasts, etc. do you regularly follow?

Periodicals and podcasts - Petapixel, The New York Times, Slate photo stories/essays, Media Storm, and, many others for occasional insights. Podcasts - This Week in Photography (TWIP) - when I need to learn about the cool new tech, Risk - I learn a lot about how to tell a story effectively by listening to others share theirs, How Stuff Works - curiosity is my strength and kryptonite. WTF with Marc Maron - it’s good to get inside the heads of creatives.

Blogs - Photo Anthems - When I started blogging in late 2008, Terrell was one of the first to welcome and inspire me. His blog is one of the few to have survived after all these years and continually evolves as he, and photography, do as well. As for other blogs, I tend to peruse Tumblr for inspiration, but few seem to capture me on it. Univers d' Artistes was also one of the first to welcome me and always has quality content and writing.


"Nudity is a powerful subject."






What do you love about shooting nudes?

I answer this differently with every shoot and model. Overall, it is a chance to work with another creative muse to create together something I can’t do on my own. I love having a general theme and then having the model take it, relate it to themselves, and let them move through it. By capturing how they emote and feel about things helps make me connected to them through either a shared outlook, or learning how others feel differently than I do.

I also love the creative power with it. I am not a heavy-handed, perfectionist director while shooting, but I am controlling the flow, look, feel, and subject. I love to give as much freedom as possible within the boundaries of my vision, but ultimately, they are my visions to follow. With that said, I’ve had many shoots where I go in with one idea and through the magic of collaboration, the output evolved or morphed into something so much better than I could have created without the model.

Nudity is a powerful subject. There is the age-old debate of “porn vs. art”. To me, they are not mutually exclusive. Some stuff is just porn, some is just art, and some is both. For me it is the intent of the creator(s). In my prudish American culture, nudity and sex are so charged and related that any nudity will be seen as sexual. When I began photographing nudes, I struggled with trying to keep it art only and defending it as such. After I started blogging, and reading other’s blogs, I learned to get past that bullshit. So what if there is erotic content in my art? IT’S MY ART! Why can’t sex, sexuality, sex-culture, and eroticism be captured in it?



Sal Marquez and ViviMarie


One last thing about photographing nude models - I am very protective of them because they shared their bare physical beings as well as their emotions and feelings with me and the camera. This bond is what makes my heart swell when creating.


What outside challenges do you face with your nude work?

In the beginning of creating this type of work, I created the persona of Side B as an alias. Side B was my dark-side artistic soul back then that rode along with my public self. Side B was there to show my nude work, write about me, sex, eroticism, and art while my vanilla side got to live the Clark Kent life. My creations kept pushing the boundaries more and more as I wanted to shock the world, while still hiding it from the clean side.

A few years ago, that came apart because I couldn’t keep up with both personas. I relished the bad-boy part of SideB, but lived with the vanilla side to pay the bills and keep up appearances for day-job work, family, and friends. The toll of it led to a nervous breakdown (I also had other life issues going on as well) and I stopped photographing nudes for almost a year. After time, therapy, talking with artist friends, and looking at my work, I decided this work is part of who I am and the type of art I need to create. I realized I had lost the integrity in what I created. I created more to shock than to create for me. Big mistake.



Fae DeCay



I still go by SideB, but that is mainly due to my day job in big pharma. I got over the dual pressures of creating nude/erotic work of craving being the bad boy, while feeling shame for both creating it, and hiding it. In other words, I started owning my shit. I am now creating work that is deeper in meaning and power (to me). Some of it is very vanilla, some is very graphic. My goal is that is an extension of me, not a persona I need to both become and hide at the same time due to how I think society sees and judges me.

What is your latest project?

My latest non-nude project just displayed at a local show. It consists of three triptychs of Polaroid photos of abandoned structures in Montana and California. The series is called “Abandonment Issues”. At the show, many asked if I felt abandoned and was trying to communicate that. I was more interested in their connections to the theme.



Luna Lain



My latest nude project was working with a married couple that have an open relationship and are pan-sexual. Neither fit the norms of prescribed gender and sexual roles. I am exploring how fluid and spectrum all these topics are and how they are evolving in our awareness. That all sounds very lofty, which I hope it can attain, but there is also the base eroticism and voyeurism of capturing two connected people in their intimate sensual moments.


What is your next project?

I am creating a mixed media piece or two for a themed show at a local art cooperative. The theme is “Into the Mystic”. My work will explore the quietness of the inner mystic journey of myself and the nostalgia it brings. I plan on creating actual cyanotypes of medium format negatives, including many nudes, and how they are part of the mystic of my memory.


What's your dream project?

I have non-nude dream projects, but that is outside of this question. For nude dream projects, I want to explore the solitary things we all do that are purely for ourselves and show that while we do them alone, we are not lonely. This includes reading, sleeping, smoking, masturbation, creating art, and other indulgences. I feel that all parts of life are lived while in solitary pleasures, distractions, contemplations, and destruction.


 
Rain DeGrey



What one change or new thing about shooting nudes or photography in general, would you like see?

I love digital photography, and the freedoms of mass production it allows. I can take a raw image and explore many different uses, looks, and creations from it. With this freedom though, I’ve found that there is over exposure of images. Thanks to the billions of images created annually, the power of the photo is lost due to the volume. With nudes, I can type any search term relating to nudes and find tons of images (many porn). I miss the days when one image of Marilyn Monroe’s dress blowing up over a street vent is a powerful statement of sexuality that becomes iconic. Images are too disposable, as are the objectified content they contain.

I am encouraged by the returning value seen in analog methods and ideas, such as vinyl records, Polaroids, and other outputs that have a physical, limited output. It is a way to return the precious value of the subject and output, especially the nude. It can be held, studied, hidden, and looked at again. I want to see how nude photography, especially digital, can bring back this sense of uniqueness in a world glut of online, virtual photos.




Valya


Where can people follow or see your work?
Looking about - My old blog that I am resurrecting.
Shadows Exposed - A retired blog that I wrote with a great model, friend, and photographer, Miz B. I went by SideB at it. Lots of great stuff there.
Photos With Meaning - This is my commercial photo website that peddles my non-nude wares.


May 14, 2016

A Letter to the Readers by Carrie Leigh











A wonderful memory when I was her International Editor... I still love her and she misses me. Carrie, if you read me, I hope you are healthy and happy. Carrie, I will fly away very soon  with you in my heart. What a joy to have known you !

Take care, your Chris forever.


Look at some of the members of Univers d'Artistes we published together.






07/08/2009
"Dear Readers,

I have just had one of those rare opportunities to actually spend time with Chris in his city of Marseille, France, and I can tell you that this man has a heart of gold.

Most of you know him as the person who promotes your art. What you should know is my husband and I found out first hand and how, by sharing time and thoughts with Chris, we have come to understand the human (not cyber) side of Chris.

What my husband and I found most inspirational is his passion for people, not only the artist but people from all walks of life. Most of us know Chris as the man behind this site and the attention he pays to the artist. What you may or may not know is that this not only comes from his heart but also out of his desire to create something extremely nice for all of us.

What I want you to know is - never take advantage of Chris. He is there for the artist yet, as he writes, he is ill. His illness can be painful. I saw this first hand, and I know many of you probably read about it on his site, but in all reality you cannot comprehend it unless you see it first hand.

Yet, he pursues on where many would not. He drives himself where many would stop, and he creates where many would say, "I am too ill for this."

I found this so inspiring.

I wanted you to know that, as an artist I know when pain pushes one forward, and in the case of Chris, it is this pain that he suffers daily that drives him to do what he does for all of us.

So, with great admiration and respect, I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for the time we shared and the work that was accomplished and with an understanding of a man with a heart of gold.

Carrie Leigh"



Souvenirs, souvenirs... Il est je :

Dès leur arrivée, elle l’a embrassé sur la bouche. Il en resté le souffle coupé. Il a vu de belles femmes mais elle les dépassait toutes. Sa bouche était aussi grande que la sienne. Et son visage de près comme de loin une œuvre d’art. Il se souvient que le temps s’est arrêté quand leurs lèvres se sont jointes. Le mari à côté. Elles étaient douces et fermes. Il a même senti du mouillé.
- Hi Chris ! C’est si bon de te voir enfin !
Il s’est détaché le plus vite possible pour huguer son mari avocat. Il a eu du mal, son aversion pour leur hug qui ne veut rien dire tant il est pratiqué, et les a conduits à leur chambre avec vue sur le Vieux Port, les réflexes du métier. Ils se sont aimés au premier regard. Elle l’a aidé à descendre du taxi et lui a pris le bras jusqu’au check-in, il était entre la canne et le fauteuil roulant.  

Il était son rédacteur international. Il lui donnait le meilleur de lui-même, tout pareil, sans compter son temps. Ils ont passé une semaine ensemble, deux baisers par jour qui rendaient fous le concierge, le barman, les clients, les chauffeurs de taxis. Elle passait souvent son bras autour du sien pour le soutenir dans les endroits difficiles, la maladie progressait. Malgré sa maladie, elle était enjouée et dynamique. Soucieux l’un de l’autre, de leur incompréhensible fatigue et de leurs douleurs, quand il les invitait à diner à la maison, elle mettait la main à la pâte. Elle était émerveillée du nombre d’épices qu’il lui fallait pour faire un plat, du temps passé devant les fourneaux, du mijotage. Puis elle le forçait à aller s’asseoir pour mettre la table. Quand le diner était terminé, elle enlevait ses chaussures, se couvrait du plaid, tapotait son coussin et se lovait dans leur canapé, ses deux pieds contre sa cuisse, dieu qu’ils étaient beaux, le visage ouvert et détendu, le sourire aux lèvres, le verre de blanc entre ses longues mains. Ils parlaient jusqu’à plus d’heures tandis que son mari ronflait sur l’autre canapé. Il n’a cuisiné que pour elle :
- Mais comment tu fais pour que ce soit si bon ?
- J’ai une épice secrète…
- Dis-moi !!
- C’est un secret.
- Mais je n’y connais rien à la cuisine française. Dis-moi…
Elle lui a pris la main, l’a serrée :
- Dis-moi Chris…
Il a craqué :
- De l’amour.
Elle s’est relevée et l’a embrassé. C’était très mouillé. Il a léché ses lèvres, elle a fait pareil en souriant :
- C’est sucré ! C’est bon…
- C’est le Sauternes ! 
Il a retrouvé avec délice la chaleur de ses pieds contre sa cuisse. De son belvédère le spectacle était extraordinaire et le moment à marquer d’une pierre blanche. En riant, elle lui a montré son verre. Il les a servis, ça lui a donné le temps de reprendre ses esprits. Et ils ont continué sur l’histoire des vieux objets de sa maison qui la passionnaient. Elle appréciait son choix de grands vins qu’il lui apprenait à déguster. En bonne américaine, elle avait une préférence pour les blancs et le Dom Pérignon qu’elle adorait. Le rosé ne passait pas, quasiment inconnu sur la côte ouest. Mais ses rouges grands crus l’ont emballée. Il lui a même appris à manger des huitres pas lavées. Le summum. La première fois qu’il l’a vu aux États-Unis, il était au comptoir d’un petit bar sur Bourbon Street. Il a hurlé pour couvrir le groupe cajun :
- Non !!!
A en paralyser son serveur.
- Désolé. Excusez-moi. Rien de grave.
On ne crie pas là-bas. Il l’a senti se détendre :
- Je suis français. Et en France on ne lave pas les huitres
L’huitre dans une main, le jet dans l’autre, il a senti le bug venir :
- On ne lave aucun coquillage. Dans leurs jus résident de précieuses vitamines.
Toujours pas un mot mais il ne s’attendait pas à être compris, autant expliquer la physique quantique à Herenui.
- Donc ne les lavez pas, s’il vous plait.
- Mais les bactéries ?!
- En France, on les digère très bien. On est équipé pour.
Il lui en a servi une douzaine et l’a regardé les avaler gloutonnement. Il le sentait prêt à faire le nine-one-one. La douzaine engloutie, il en a commandé une autre avec un Ricard dont il lui a forcément appris les règles et qu’il l’a invité à goûter. Á chacun de ses passages, ils se marraient de leurs débuts :
- La trouille que tu m’as faite !! Allez, un Ricard sinon rien !
En français dans le texte :
- Deux !!

Les huitres de Carrie lui ont valu la Légion d’Honneur. Il était sûr qu’il aurait pu lui faire goûter des escargots, leur pire cauchemar. Il voulait lui donner la France, ses saveurs, ses odeurs, sa diversité, sa beauté et elle prenait tout avec le sourire comme une belle expérience.





Some of the Members of UdA we published with Carrie Leigh

"Sophie a quai 1"





Christophe Vermare
"Kyla Montalivet-9"





Marc Hoppe
"Minotaur"
Art Model Kat Love






Dan West
"A lovely Mystery"





IMSirReal
"Handstand"
Dancer Giulia





Yvan Teulé
"Callipyge et psyché"





François Benveniste
"Stranded"
Art Model Liloo





Pascal Renoux
"Nu - matin C."





Mike Cary
"Yulia Nov 07 081"





Michael Siu
"Mural Scene Street Doves"
Art Model Betcee May






Vernon Trent
"Dive"
Art Model Madame Bink





Andre J
"Huddled"
Art Model Genevieve





Minon
"When we move"
Self portrait







 

Matthew Scherfenberg
"Twinkle Toes"





David LeBeck
RIp my friend
"Window"
Art Model Betcee May





May 9, 2016

Simon Shadowshow : the story of the Hotel and Motel series

A new member of Univers d'Artistes




After some words on Facebook, I received these photographs with these kind words :
- Hi Chris. Some new work for you, from a world of sleazy hotels and motels :-)

I love kindness, we all love it. And I felt the "wow" factor. As Simon Shadowshow says : 

"The images themselves are a bit raw, grainy , blurred in places and far removed from high glamour and sterile studios." 

This way to do gives to his photographs a special atmospher I rarely saw. Helped with talented Art Models, Simon delights my eyes. So I am very happy to welcome him in Univers d'Artistes. Bravo Simon ! Please come back soon...





The story of the series

Hotel and Motel sleaze is what my work is all about at the moment. It used to be set pieces that looked like they were shot outside a carnival tent and before that it was burlesque dancers and showgirls. I think the underlying ‘theme’ remains the same even though the aesthetic has changed; a narrative where the viewer can create a backstory based on the subject and their environment.The images themselves are a bit raw, grainy , blurred in places and far removed from high glamour and sterile studios. 


I often quote the phrase "I'd rather be someone's shot of whiskey than everyone's cup of tea..." and that is at least partially true.