Friday 18 July 2008

Jennifer Loeber



















All images ©Jennifer Loeber

Jennifer Loeber recently wrote to me to let me in on the ideas and inspiration behind her stunning project, Zeig Mal. She explains:

"The idea to shoot nude portraits came about as I rode the NYC subway and pretended not to notice, across the aisle, a man fumbling to remove his clothes and expose himself to me. He looked distinctly uncomfortable yet wholly determined in his goal. His great drive to reveal himself to the commuting populace was made more palpable by the fact that he hadn't quite worked out the logistics. In turn, I also felt uneasy but intrigued to find myself an unwitting participant in what could be seen as an unusual collaboration. Can clues about a person's interior life be revealed through the harmony of discomfort?

Photographed within the landscape of my subjects' homes and bound by elements of voyeurism, these portraits capture the interaction between artist and subject; the external tension of internal narratives. Transformed by the unfamiliar, these friends, strangers and acquaintances quietly bare themselves (in more than one sense) within the self-awareness of another's gaze. Using only available light and documentary techniques, these portraits study the balance between the unseen and the exposed."

Her photographs first came to my attention via her in depth interview at Exposure Compensation here. It seems her work has been orbiting the blogosphere for quite a while now and has had some considerable press attention as you can see from another conversation here at The Gothamist as well as at the lovely Liz Kuball´s blog which you can find here.

Back on terra firma, this New York based photographer has been widely exhibited throughout the States. She received a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and her work was most recently seen at the White Wall Gallery in Michigan and the New Century Artists gallery in New York City. A print from her series Zeig Mal is currently being offered as part of a limited edition through The Humble Arts Foundation so go on be generous and support this great artist!