Colored Reflective Images: Bodyscapes & Portraits

This project started as a homework assignment for the online class From Concept to Presentation.  I started with one mirror.  Utilizing complementary colors, I explored the combinations of orange and blue, red and green, and yellow and purple.  I tried one color, and I tried off-color combinations.  Ultimately, the complementary combinations were the best, and I gravitated to orange and blue, my two favorite colors.

 I wanted to create an image that stood out from old concepts. I first was more concerned about bodyscape.  In the past, a bodyscape was a naked body in black and white with the edge of the form lit with harsh white light.  I wanted to add color and show multiple facets of the body in one image, thus the mirror.  All these images are created in a camera utilizing colored strobes and mirrors.  I also wanted to develop a sense of confusion as a photograph invokes you to question what is happening.

I started with nude models.  They created significant confusion.  Then I wanted more structure and form and moved to dancers, creating striking shapes. One mirror was fascinating, even though something was missing.  I added a second mirror; the confusion was terrific.  As we are in a society always wanting more, I added a third mirror, and the illusion was mind-blowing.

Ultimately, what you see is what I and the camera saw - confusion, beauty, form, color, and multiple facets of a person or body.

While working on the bodyscape, I would also take some time and photograph portraits of the models and dancers.  These were revealing as you can see two different sides of a person.  The images lead to a movie poster and an album cover.

I hope you enjoy this fascinating world I created.

Michael Eastman: “Bad Lands” at LaToletta SpazioEventi

Robert Rausch: “Examination” at the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art

Tom Bolles