This was taken in 2007 with the Canon AE-1 SLR (35mm) that my father gave to me after high school as a gift. He never used it when he bought it in 1981, so I got to reap the benefits of that! Nearly dropped it in the tub a few times. I took a series of photographs after having read about Cindy Sherman and some concepts about the female form in photography, particularly about how the lens has traditionally been the realm of the male utilizing voyeurism (to intentionally or unintentionally objectify the female). It intrigued me, because I had been a figure model for life-drawing classes since 2000. (I reaped the rewards in under-the-table, awesome hourly wages and in free drawing classes any time I wanted). I was constantly being stared at, in the nude, by other artists I'd walk around the room each break I got and checked up on people's art to make sure there weren't any creepers in the class. The person that ran each class also knew the people that showed up to draw, and it was pretty safe all around. I was proud to help out artists learning to draw or honing their already gifted talents. And I was not too shabby of an artist myself, so the free classes helped me brush up.
But I couldn't help thinking that there was an inherent voyeurism to life drawing, and photography, that I'd failed to notice all those years. Could I have been an exhibitionist, and not realized it? I still model on the side, for extra cash and for respected artists in the community. Am I just as much a voyeur, then, since I too draw the human form and scrutinize the images I seek behind my lens? For the series of photographs I was to take for a project in my photography class, I decided to explore the idea of voyeurism, and use myself both as subject and object, both the voyeur and the exhibitionist.
For the glossy effect, I used a floodlight and would submerge myself under water in my tub, leaving the camera outside of the water in my hand. I'd try to take the photo as soon as I came out from under the water, so the thin film of water was still on my face. Used a mirror to get the image of myself, and the tub was my prop to hold my hand still with the long exposure time. I had fun with it.
