Ryan McGinley

As I hinted at in my last post, today's post is about the photographer Ryan McGinley, if you didn't catch the hint, it was because he inspired and collaborated with Sigur Rós on the music video for Gobbledigook.  He is known for his dramatic yet fresh aesthetic and particularly his photos of naked people running around.  McGinley certainly isn't the first person to have nudes in his photographs, but the way he treats his nudes is truly, well, different.

But before I talk more about him I want to mention the other photographer whose name comes up everytime nudity and photography are discussed: Robert Mapplethorpe.  Mapplethorpe was known best for his controversial images (which in itself is sad, unless that's what he was going for).  They were homoerotic and shocking to many people: Google Images: Robert Mapplethorpe.  Beware NSFW! And you should probably un-filter your images because the important stuff is probably flagged as pornographic.

Usually when people talk about Mapplethorpe they discuss his homosexuality, or the line between pornography and art, or whether or not the government should fund controversial art, but what is interesting to me is the way that he deals with the nude body and what that might say about his relationship with it.  His photos are sexualized in a brutal way and his high-contrast aesthetic brings that out even more.  Personally, I find even his pictures of flowers too aggressive.  But that's an argument about the purpose of art.  What isn't arguable is that Ryan McGinley approaches nudity from a very different direction:

Running Fireworks, 2007

Blue, Moon, 2008/2009

Marcel, Ann & Coley, 2007

Cyclone, 2008/2009

Jonas (Disco Snow), 2008/2009

There is definitely a shocking element to these photos but the shock comes from the fact that the models don't seem to care that they're naked.  They just look like they're having so much fun!  I strongly suggest you look at the entire photographs series (same link as Ryan McGinley above) because every single image pulls its own weight.  And while nudity is certainly a big part of these photos, there are certainly other things (like bears!).  When it gets sexual it's not entirely heteronormative either, which is refreshing.  I really can't come up with anything bad to say about these photos.

If you look around more on his website you'll find some more marketable photos that manage retain his very distinct style: the Olympics, portraits of M.I.A. and some stills from a short film with Tilda Swinton which showcases Pringle of Scotland's spring 2010 line! This guy is doing stuff all over the place.  With his powerful sense of composition and color balance and life I have little doubt that Ryan McGinley will come to be known as one of the great photographers, dare I say artists, of our time.

So I got a little carried away there, if you can't tell I'm a little bit of a fan. This song is for driving at high speeds on warm summer nights with the top down and the music up, preferably on Walnut street.

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