About the Book
Cannon Ball evolved out of photos I took to explore the nature of confinement, both physical and psychological. For those, I used large pieces of plexi-glass to contain my subjects under water. While this process resulted in some beautiful images of the human form, I was surprised to discover an even more powerful sense of beauty resulting from the models’ process of coming to grips with their confinement. More specifically, it was their process of coming to grips with a loss of control. The discomfort of early shots gave way, over the course of the shoot, to a peacefulness that was reflected in the images.
I’ve struggled with issues of personal control my whole life - as I’m sure most people have to some degree – and my interest quickly shifted from confinement to lack of control. The underwater environment, in which body control and conventional signifiers of beauty are virtually impossible to control, remained the ideal environment for the new study. But this time I was headed in the pool alongside the models. Just as the models lost control of their bodies, their facial expressions, their pose, I lost control of the standard items in the photographer’s toolbox – lights, crews, verbal direction, repetition of shots, or even the benefit of real underwater camera housing, which was too bulky and cumbersome for use in this series.
For me, the images do have a quiet beauty that I associate with the freedom and tranquility of water. But that alone can be achieved with most underwater nudes. The real beauty of the Cannonball series comes from that fact that the models aren’t floating or at peace at all. Rather, they are hurling their bodies through the water as is seen in their skin, muscles, and faces and in the bubbles created as their bodies pierce the water.
It was a long process getting Cannonball from my head to what is hanging on walls today. But what I found during that process was that when trying to capture what cannot be manipulated, you cannot try and put order to it. That was freeing in a sense, yet certainly not natural. But in the end I had to accept the unpredictability that comes with two people plunging into the unknown.
I’ve struggled with issues of personal control my whole life - as I’m sure most people have to some degree – and my interest quickly shifted from confinement to lack of control. The underwater environment, in which body control and conventional signifiers of beauty are virtually impossible to control, remained the ideal environment for the new study. But this time I was headed in the pool alongside the models. Just as the models lost control of their bodies, their facial expressions, their pose, I lost control of the standard items in the photographer’s toolbox – lights, crews, verbal direction, repetition of shots, or even the benefit of real underwater camera housing, which was too bulky and cumbersome for use in this series.
For me, the images do have a quiet beauty that I associate with the freedom and tranquility of water. But that alone can be achieved with most underwater nudes. The real beauty of the Cannonball series comes from that fact that the models aren’t floating or at peace at all. Rather, they are hurling their bodies through the water as is seen in their skin, muscles, and faces and in the bubbles created as their bodies pierce the water.
It was a long process getting Cannonball from my head to what is hanging on walls today. But what I found during that process was that when trying to capture what cannot be manipulated, you cannot try and put order to it. That was freeing in a sense, yet certainly not natural. But in the end I had to accept the unpredictability that comes with two people plunging into the unknown.
Features & Details
- Primary Category: Fine Art Photography
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Project Option: Large Format Landscape, 13×11 in, 33×28 cm
# of Pages: 60 - Publish Date: Jun 01, 2009
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About the Creator
The Billboard Creative
Los Angeles
The Billboard Creative is a nonprofit platform for both emerging and mid-career artists. Our work consists of breaking through traditional career bottlenecks and providing unprecedented exposure to a mass market, by transforming commercial billboards into public art sites. This representation both raises the profile of individual artists with the general public, and reintroduces new works to curators, galleries and passionate art enthusiasts. In addition to these public works, our semi-annual digital and print publication memorializes these efforts for the art community at large.