You know I love me some good art. And this time I can combine my love for art with my activism in the area of gender and gender performance. My focus this time: The gender bending and blurring photography of Nir Arilei.
Nir Arieli started his photography career as a military photographer. He got a scholarship at the New York School of Visual Art and graduated with honors. His website bio says that he is focusing on photography of dance and is into beauty and art. His photographs are wonderfully natural and one series in particular has captured my direct attention through a German news website. The series is called "MEN". I got my two favorite pictures from this series for you below. (And of course the copyright belongs to Nir! ;))
I love this one since it is absolutely the combination of a Lana Del Rey vibe photograph. And Lana is all about the glam side of the 50's and super stereotypical femininity and bad girl mix. The fact that Nir choose a handsome lack man and added him into the scene of a feminine floral surrounding destroys the stereotype of men ad black men in stereotypical (I mean what is more stereotypical than black man as bro's?). I just love it, and besides: It is a wonderful picture.
And this one? I like that it is sat in this clear environment and as well feminine surrounding of the flower print. And in all this we have a nude man lying down, but with a stereotypical symbol of masculinity: a beard. And since the overall is very white it highlights the vulnerability of men and the constructiveness of masculinity.
On the website I found his photographs said that the series is about men in stereotypical poses is only getting attention because it is shocking to see men in such feminine poses that display the stereotype of women as vulnerable. Okay. I was a bit in shock about this description. I don't find these shocking. I find these to be deconstructive and beautiful. But not shocking. We really need some more gender deconstruction by pictures such as Nir's. Anyways. his photographs are beautiful, amazing, academically usable and they are true art. So go and check out his website nirarielie.com.
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