Here are a few of the images, along with quotes from some of the models. My artist's statement is below.
“Someone knowing you intimately means they can also tear into you. It's pretty scary.” - Emma
“It's great having someone to spend time with, just to have them there. I really feel the best significant other is your best friend, that way you can do everything you do with your normal friends, but it's always acceptable to pull them close and steal a kiss.” - Jesse
“My favorite part of the relationship is Julia. She is the most incredible person that I have ever met!!!” -Glen
Intimacy has many aspects and many meanings. I wanted this project to capture as many different forms of intimacy as I could, and to convey its meaning as completely as possible. This project is more personal than most photography and multifaceted. Inevitably it will evoke distinct and varied definitions of what intimacy is from the perspective of my models, the photographer's, my own, viewpoint, and that of the audience.
Portraits are my favorite photographic genre. I decided to take a step beyond pure portraiture and attempt to photograph not only people, faces, and personalities, but also a specific emotion and the beauty of the human body engaging in that emotion.
I consciously tried for artistic images with some sophistication. I also wanted to take the viewer beyond the actual image, to include an element of mystery, leaving the viewer attempting to fill in a missing piece, as it were. My goal was also to make viewers slightly uncomfortable, without showing anything objectionable. I wanted my audience to feel that they should not be seeing such intimate moments (whether sexual or not), but also to draw the viewers into the story of the picture.
I shot all the photographs in the studio because I wanted to use lighting intentionally and artistically. I also wanted to control the background, keeping it clean and free of distractions.
I intend to continue this project and make it more complete by encompassing more forms of intimacy. I hope that this is the first installment of photographs which, viewed as a group, will form a visual definition of intimacy.
