Via Dorso: Sonnets to Unguarded Moments

From the outset, it was only from the back.

In portraying the nude male figure, I was not interested in exploring the power and sexuality displayed from the front.

I wanted to see the energy emitted from the side of men they themselves do not see.

For months, I drew and painted men’s backs from memory. Although pleased with those earlier works, I grew frustrated because I had no visual reference that was better than what was inside my head.

Finally I asked my dear friend to be my model. Three months later, he agreed.

I photographed him in two sessions. Cautiously intimate in those unguarded moments, we pushed forward past any gesture of cliche.

It was exciting to be so present with him, a union of like minds exploring his beauty and grace. The openness to our vulnerability and the willingness to accept it, was a magical thing.

Then began the solitary work of responding to the captured images. I covered the photos with veils and added my marks, expressing my connection. I was surprised to find that instead of hiding the figure, the veils actually revealed.

These “visual sonnets” are my love poems to the full range of emotions inherent to being a Man, as a waterfall, reflecting light in dark, an outward force, underscored by inward grace.