Chad States: photography: men at their most masculine
interest and relations:
State's process in this work interest me because of his lack of specificity. Even in the proposal, State chose to intentionally state his project in a way that welcomes a wider range of subject than the project title would thought to have addressed. The lack of predictability falls on the subject's definition of masculinity as well as how the subject chooses to present it. I enjoy seeing the effect of control being given to the subject by the artist. States says "I want them to construct their identity for me, not for me to decide what I want from them. Because of this, every shoot is different, with different desires on the part of the subjects being manifested in the shooting process." I am learning to embrace the nature of unpredictability in my work as well and to make unexpected elements work. I also love seeing the subject reveal a bit of themselves to me, something else I enjoy is the surprise the subject experience learning something about themselves that they did not know of before. I want to see the honesty. It is somewhat a win-win situation for the subject and the artist, myself. The honesty that they bring to the project only only helps them to find themselves and in a way help me find myself through that.
biography:
"Men at Their Most Masculine" was a photography project Chad States began by posting "Are you masculine?" on Craiglist in search of folks who identify as masculine and why. I intentionally leave it gender-neutral so males, females and transpeople feel free to respond. The intention was to showcase a range of people who identified as masculine and photograph them on their own terms in to inspire discussion on masculinity.
One thing I did notice through the project was that masculinity was mostly seen as an innate characteristic, something the subject possessed regardless of outward appearance."
quotes:
"I am interested in using photographs to challenge definitions. I am attracted to undefined grey areas where perception can not always be trusted; areas in which the photograph proves everything and nothing simultaneously. The subjects of my investigations vary as do my methods of investigation." - Chad States
"The quotations that are the titles of the photographs come from the subjects during our initial email exchanges. If they are interested in participating in the project I ask them why they consider themselves to be masculine. I then use the resulting answers as the titles. In this way the subjects are given more of a voice and it often adds another layer to the photographs." -Chad States
images:
Liz, “When I wear men’s clothes I feel comfortable and confident in how I look on the outside which now matches the inside.”
Greg, “I feel most masculine when I am lying in bed naked.”
Dex, “First off, I’d say I’m masculine because of how I feel inside, who I am, and how I carry myself. In a lot of ways my masculinity is tied to my male gender role and how I want to project that and be perceived by others.”
Mike, “I want to show that, despite stereotypes, gay men can be masculine too.”review, artist & gallery link:
http://www.chadstates.com/
http://www.50contemporaryart.com/gallery/2008-exhibitions-June-Chad-States
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