Artist’s Statement: The Male Nude in the Age of #MeToo

The time of the man in the suit is over, at least in its 1950’s “man’s man” version. Yet even in the 21st Century many messages still tell men we’re supposed to be strong, assertive, in control: running the world, bending nature and other people to our will. But more and more this path seems at best futile and at worst leads to darkness. I seek to understand what it means to be alive in this time, what it could mean to find new ways to relate to nature, and what it could mean to find new ways of thinking about the place of men and the male body in our world. How does it affect our thinking if a man is portrayed as vulnerable, exposed, close to nature, and even beautiful: the modes historically and still commonly used for the female nude? Can the naked male body ever be seen as anything other than threatening, especially in this age of #MeToo? I seek new ways of inhabiting my male body. I seek to interrogate how women and men have been portrayed in art and culture. I seek to change how we think about men and the male body in relationship with the natural and human realms. I challenge gender stereotypes and explore our thought processes and feelings about the naked male body.