documentary photography / drawing... irises... side track

...charcoal drawings worked up from some of the digital photos.
... a few days ago I gathered some irises to put in a vase. Since then, their figurative forms have haunted my dreams. ... decided to investigate this dream-imagery through documentary photography. A bit of a side track from my current project... oh well.

Construction of the installation figure begins...

I am creating a wire and aluminum rod armature of the life-sized male figure for my installation. I have been using a fine gauge poultry netting and a variety of thin wires to sew the molded form pieces together. I have aluminum rods which will be inserted into the form grounding its balance in cast cement [inside a pair of men's dress shoes]. The majority of this figure will be covered in long, pink faux fur. I am not yet sure how to present the face and hands. I am thinking about casting them. Also, I have a cast iron mask. Not sure if I will have the figure wearing the mask or holding it in hands. Much to do. More to come...

exécution de baiser [performance kiss]

This version of exécution de baiser is about 5 minutes. I shot the film very quickly [only one take]. The film sequence documents a performance kiss from an extreme close up perspective. I slowed down the speed to approximately twenty percent of the actual speed of the shot footage.The film was inspired by Yoko Ono's fluxus film "eye blink". It's a silent film showing [close up] the striking of a match in slow motion. it's one of my favorite short films. If you know me, you'll see that I have put my own twist on the concept.

photo booth documentary - alone in chicago

I've been using photo booth for photo documentary [in relation to identity-based imagery]. These photos were shot while I was alone in Chicago for a visit to the Video Data Bank. These shots reveal a narrative which I find interesting... especially in relation to other more domestic, identity based shots I've taken while cooking and doing laundry.

more photodocumentary pics

variation and process of installation

I am working out variations of media, content, and arrangement for my installation. This arrangement would be comprised of three life-sized panels, hung from the ceiling [separated by 1.5" of space] depicting a version of self [self-portrait] engaged in a gaze with a sculptural figure.

The first panel is a large digital negative [printed on mylar] depicting a version of self or self-portrait, the second panel is a series of digital prints of making up the depicted figure. This figure is a digital photo, overlaid with digital imagery [montage]of documentary images [identity-related actions, tasks, and events], the third panel is an intaglio etching of the depicted figure.

All three panels will be hung from the ceiling with approx. 1-2 feet between them. A few feet in front of the panels will a large figure covered in long, pink fur... gazing at the depicted image in front of the display. There may also be a second figure [made of barbed wire], wearing a cast-iron mask.

mask for installation figure

Here is how my mask turned out from the iron pour last weekend....still a little more grinding to do to clean up this iron-cast mask. then I'd like to either rust it or apply a patina. more to follow.