For my self-portrait project, I was inspired by a piece of art from the Met. Its name is “Nude with Tattoo,” it focuses heavily on sexuality and objectivity of the male form, something I had previously not seen at the Met in such a simple and blatant way.
At first I wanted to do a dramatic painting, but instead, I was drawn to the symbolism and idea behind “Nude with Tattoo.” The painting also uses a simple color palette, in its case it is blues and browns, the colors that I identify with the most is red and black.
To modernize the piece, I changed the medium, moving from paints and paper to photography. I designed a simple layout for a shoot and used one of my friends a co-model for the piece. I picked out clothing that was both simple and dark, as well as a central piece which contained metallic detail which would give some shimmer.
A friend of mine was able to get a blank spot for the shoot in a SOHO gallery. There, I set a red gel light and cast a very strong bath of light over the spot. The photo turned out far better than I could have hoped. It contained a great amount of detail and meaning, which I hadn’t intended and yet lent further power to the shot. The one I finally chose was the 3rd in 40.
Joe Brainard, Nude with Tattoo, 1974, water color on canvas
Images (clockwise from left): initial sketch example from the Met and observation of layout, the first sketch of photo composition (the embrace), color layout (eg light, highlight, shadow and dark) and tonal planning), costume and light planning and the inclusion of body contact.
Oliver Dillon, Embrace, 2017, image on medium gloss paper
