The Assassination of Art

Naked Men

On my way back to America I picked up a copy of GQ's international Style edition in which Tom Ford wrote an article in which he deplores the double standard when it comes to nudity in the American media. While women's bodies are celebrated (well, a very specific type of body of course), male nudity seems to make just about everyone uncomfortable. And while women have to face public discussion of the shape or size of their breasts, men do not have to take part in such open critique of their genital anatomy.

Maybe that is partly why my exhibits were shut down. We only discuss the sex life of politicians if they involve some lurid details that might derail their career. We particularly do not want to discuss a black politician's sex life, with all the stereotypes that come into play. While sex was a theme I wove into both my exhibits, it was of course most spectacularly displayed in the giant black cock that nearly covered the walls of the Naomi Gates Gallery. I am quite sure that if my show had run in Europe, where nudity seems to be a much more natural state of being, visitors' jaws wouldn't have dropped like they dropped here.

Eat Me Art

What a contrast between Eat Me Art, the opulent restaurant I had dinner at in Bangkok a couple of nights ago, and the floating village of Tonle Sap here next to Siem Reap, in Cambodia.

Despite the floating basketball court, the poverty here is absolute. The local Cambodian fishermen and the illegal Vietnamese alike have almost nothing to their names but wooden sheds that nearly sink every rain season.

I thought of those villagers as I came across an ad for Christie's London's upcoming auction of a Lucien Freud painting for an estimated $25 to $35 million. What would it mean to them if they saw that ad, or the painting itself? Do they appreciate art? Could they even have an understanding of what $25 million can get you, and of the possibility of being so wealthy that you can actually spend that kind of money on a painting of an old, fat woman?

Is making or collecting art a selfish pursuit when other human beings are left to live in such conditions? Does art only really matter if it deals with social and political issues? Should its value be gauged against the impact it has on the wider public rather than the prices it reaches at auctions (or should the former dictate the latter?).

And what if I feature these poor people in my photography, am I helping their cause, or am I really just using them to get myself the kind of life they can't even dream of? Will I publish the images of their faces as they looked in envy at my first world swagger? I guess we will find out when I go home to New York and post my photo selects on my website.

Graffiti Glam

I spent a great deal of yesterday out in Brooklyn working on a photo shoot that one of my friends was doing the styling for. I was asked to photograph this story about a month ago and with all of the craziness that has been going on I had totally forgotten. I was thrilled that the weather was perfect as many of the images we wanted to create were set outdoors.

I have to say that this came at a perfect time. I spent all of the weekend focusing on new work and working with these folks was very refreshing. And on top of that, I am very pleased with the results! Check some of the photos below.