[a thoroughly modern muse] - [with alicja august]

I have long felt the ideas surrounding the word "muse", and the dynamic it seems to infer, which place the muse at the service of the somehow more important "artist" has long been in need of an update. Must we still look to Greece for our mythos?, and must the word "muse" logically imply a furtherance of all the trappings of a patristic society? To both these questions, I have to clearly and flatly say: "No".

 

Having been as fortunate as I have been to work with some incredible collaborators, who happen to be in front of the lens instead of behind it, I would like to offer a different take on what it means to be a muse. For me, a muse is a singularity, an individual that holds the intangible and the unseen in their power and brings to the creative process a substance that if properly sought --- fires the imagination and starts the alchemy of art into motion.

 

I titled this "a thoroughly modern muse" because Alicja is exactly that kind of individual. As much as she inspires, she also confers her own presence and substance upon the process, and as such is so much more than simply a human wireframe for what she's wearing, or for the gaze of the photographer. This is true for everyone I am fortunate enough to work with, and to have in front of the camera. And I honestly feel like it's a lot closer to the heart and mind and soul of what represents the beautiful.

 

So maybe just maybe, we can move our ideas from the 2nd century to the 21st. Let's hope. And thanks for reading this.

 

Done