Model : Larissa Angharada Photographer : Robin Burch (Copyright 2019)
"[If a photographer or client] puts a model in Wal-Mart undies, spread her legs and have her suck on a lollipop, that turns trashy real quick. But if you put a model in Agent Provocateur or Victoria's Secret with amazing hair & make-up and a fancy hotel suite, and she knows how to pose sensually, then [it can be] classy." Playboy Model Elsa Day
https://fstoppers.com/commercial/wait-glamour-photography-what-exactly-34724
The above came from an article written by renowned glamour photographer Nino Batista defining the glamour genre. In the same article Nino quotes Don Hales as saying “fashion sells products, glamour sells the model”. I think both of these quotes sum up the aim for a good glamour photographer. I think the ‘glamour’ term is overused and used to describe a lot of trashy photographers. Alternatively, I think that the fashion photographer captures snippets of society and reflects an element of our culture. There are some who include nudity in their work but predominantly, it is about the clothes. What then is the classification of art nude or figurative art?
I started to wonder about this when I first started shooting and went so far as to say I thought boudoir photography is art. To be honest, I didn’t really believe that but I felt it gave me more credibility to say what I was doing was art. As a male photographer, shooting boudoir for private clients involves an amount of stigma and misperceptions. If I could convince people it was art then I was an artist. As I have evolved in how I shoot, I don’t think it is. I don’t think I need to convince anybody about of a valid form of photography.
I thought this might make an interesting blog post and started to think how I would frame it after I posted a throw-away meme on my Instagram. It stated “A picture of your ass is not art”. I get the impression as I scroll through social media platforms that if you have a camera or camera phone then you are creating art. If you or someone else is taking a picture of you then you are an artist.
I continually see models describing themselves as artists. I wonder whether Mona Lisa described herself that way. I never heard of Kate Moss liken herself as an artist. I have looked but can’t find one instance where Coco Rocha describes herself as an artist. Maybe supermodels are above the artist nomenclature. Now, I acknowledge that art nude or figurative photography requires a subject and the collaboration produces the work. So it could be argued that both the photographer and the modeling subject are artists. As well as the hair and makeup artists. Maybe the lighting person and the retoucher too. What about the film developer and the magazine content creator and the marketing graphic designer?
Or how about a spread legged woman inviting you to “cum see my art” on OnlyFans? I have no problem with sex work whatsoever or an entrepreneurial capitalist platform such as OF, nor am I against erotic imagery or pornography. Really. I know I sound arrogant and condescending. I’m trying to show a point not my opinion or judgement. Each to their own, but is it art?
Is everyone an artist now in the age where a garbageman is a Waste Relocation Specialist? Is this the same mentality that gives every kid a medal for taking part and there is no winner or loser?
I am a fan of Helmut Newton and his union of fashion and/or commerce with visual art makes him a huge influence to this day. He is described as a photographer. He was the influence for the above shot with the talented model Larissa*. I loved how the mirror image represents the male fantasy but the foreground reveals she is wearing slippers. The juxtaposition of behind the fantasy lies reality. How do I classify that image though?
When I walk through an art gallery I never say “look at that art”. It is a painting or tapestry, or a photograph, or a carving. An artist is usually used as a term for a painter, however it is a broad term depending upon the user. When we describe what we do for a living, the term we use is based upon the medium. An engineer engineers, a cashier collects payment, a teacher teaches -- so do I describe myself as an artist?
Hell no. I am not sure whether I even class myself as a photographer yet. I have taken some good photographs and some hang in my house and I have sold some which hang in other people’s homes. I call them photographs. I describe myself as predominantly a fine art nude photographer because that’s the closest term I have found to categorize what I enjoy photographing. Not all my work is nude but I am not a fashion tog or landscape tog or a fine art abstract tog. I am not a glamour or a boudoir photog either.
What about models? Well, I have worked with women who have modeled for me. Would I describe them as models? I couldn’t because a ‘model’ has a skill set and experience and in my mind, I use that term as a noun not a verb. So, to use that same logic, I would use the term ‘photographer’ as a noun too. Then what about an ‘artist’?
A model needs someone to reproduce their likeness or representation in order to (verb) model in order to be a (noun) model. A photographer needs a subject to (verb) photograph in order to be a (noun) photographer. An artist needs to produce (verb) art to be an (noun) artist. So who is producing the art? The subject or the reproducer? Do we call a stream an artist? A mountain? A sunset? How about a horse? A human?
Sure, I am using a logical argument based on language usage and meaning. By this argument a photographer is not an artist either -- or are they? In the art world, it is largely the critic who determines what is art and so the same determination could be applied to Instagram or Vogue or Penthouse. I have arrived at the eternal debate of is pornography art? I shall slowly back away and leave that open because I am in no way knowledgeable (or brave) enough to answer that. It is a subjective question.
So, who is the artist? Is a model an artist and/or the photographer? Following my logical language argument, I can’t say either one but maybe what they produce together is considered art. But, only by the critic or audience. Personally, I think there is an artistry evident in a photographers vision of a scene or their processing of an image. I think there is an artistry evident in artistic modeling and using the body as tool to reflect light or create form. What about a close up of your ass?
Unfortunately, in order to follow my own argument of logic, there must exist a boundary or line where a description no longer can be used. The word “art” allows me a little leeway but also makes me the critic. Thankfully, it is subjective so I may answer the question only from my own point of view.
“Is a photo of your ass art?” No. It’s a photograph of your ass.
*Larissa Angharada : www.instagram.com/angharada.model
11. Is Your Ass Art?
So, it's always a bit of a debate, especially in the nude photography world, as to what is art and what is.. well smut, porn or just a nude photo. In my experience, I have found that the type of photos you take (or a model wants to pose for) can be affected by the mighty $. You mention a model using an attention-grabbing headline like “cum see my art” on OnlyFans. I know models that are working hard to be artistic and don't particularly want to go down that road, but the reality is that they are competing for income with others who raise (or lower) the bar and they may feel that they need to attract that attention, by posting content that may not be their desired niche. As a photographer who does NOT rely on my photographs to earn income, in a lot of ways I am free from that kind of choice. At the same time, my motivation is to share my art and for that, I need an audience, so at times, to increase that audience, I am guilty of the same attention-grabbing headline or posts. My justification is that even my explicit photos have artistic merit. But do they? Well, to some they do. I find the biggest taboo is that a lot of people automatically reject explicit photos as porn, and don't even consider that they may have artistic merit. I muddle along, being my own worst critic, periodically removing photos that I look back on and see as not having real artistic merit, or feeling that they are more exploitative in nature. There is no black and white here. Only shades of grey, and of course some splashes of color!
Many of my photos of nudes I consider art, partly because the initial photo is not the final outcome but just the raw material I use to create the image. The photo is also rarely about a specific body part but instead is more about form/shape/shadow that makes it into art.
I also think that often art tells a story, the Helmut Newton photo does that and that is what makes it art as opposed to just a photo of an ass.
You can see examples of what I'm referring to at https://www.instagram.com/craigcolvinphoto/