"A good nude photograph can be erotic, but certainly not sentimental or pornographic.”
- Bill Brandt
What happens when we recreate a pop culture sex symbol as a surrealistic manifestation?
Marilyn Monroe is likely one of the most recognizable sex symbols in the world. I’d almost bet my right leg that everyone, from every coast, over the age of 12 would recognize the infamous Marilyn Monroe. Apparently Chicago loved the image of Marilyn Monroe enough to pay an East coast sculptor money to build a 26’ tall replica of Marilyn. Read some of the controversy over “Forever Marilyn” here and here.
My idea for this installation and collaborative (Exquisite Corpse) project has little to do with capturing Marilyn's pin-up style and more to do with the nature of surrealism. When shooting, I had the distorted, high contrast images of British photographer, Bill Brandt on my mind.
Although I lack a fun mirror, I used perspective and directional light to create a disorienting effect in most of my images. My photographs were created with Marilyn's sexual potency and objectification in mind. This is Marilyn Monroe's (and ultimately every woman's) sexuality objectified through the eyes of surrealism.
Below you will see my images (still in the tweaking/cropping/shooting process) coupled with Carrie McGath's images to create a large installation piece for our Exquisite Corpse - final size will be approximately 7' x 5'. The empty white spaces are where Brittany Majka's images will be placed.
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