Queer Art Tuesday: Recreating John Koch's 'The Sculptor'
There's something magical about collaborating with fellow creatives. Especially when it was the very first I met them both in person! Maybe that’s the silver lining of social media…
Like a musician covering a beloved song, recreating artistic works with new people brings fresh energy and unexpected interpretations to familiar concepts.
After seeing my Objectified series, Simone proposed recreating John Koch's The Sculptor (below). Being passionate about connecting creative professionals, he recommended bringing in Georg Meyer-Wiel, a London-based German multimedia artist, to portray the artist in the photo.
John Koch (American, 1909–1978) The Sculptor, 1964
Oil on canvas, 80 x 59cm 7/8 in.
None of us smoked so we decided to modernise the scene by having Simone showing something on his phone to Georg.
We also tried a different composition:
As the shoot progressed, Georg and I switched roles, with me stepping in front of the camera.
The session took an inspiring turn when Georg felt moved to draw Simone, transforming the whole experience into a very fulfilling and spontaneous artistic collaboration.
About the Muse
Having embarked on my journey as figurative artist, I learnt very soon that my world would be void of inspiration if it wasn't for what each model brings to a session.
There is no great art without the right inspiration and muse.
Being face-to-face in the same space, having conversations with the model and enjoying the moments between working, to get to know each other, is the best part of the creative process for me, more important and rewarding than the final outcome. It breathes the soul into my work.
An artist I admire, who managed to depict this relation beautifully, is painter John Koch, and today's post is a tribute to his work in general and inspired by his 1964 painting 'The Sculptor'.
This photo is the result of a recent shoot with Photographer Pierre Monnerville and model Simone, who posed for me on numerous occasion. It does not come as a surprise that it was Simone's idea to recreate Koch's painting in my studio and I would like to thank Pierre and Simone for the amazing collaboration.
My heartfelt thanks go out to all those fantastic models that I've been privileged enough to portray over the years.
