Proper Social Context

By Gabriel Diaz

My work focuses on people. Reading images of people stimulates my mind in a manner no other type of image does. Augmenting and shaping interplay of figures after the fact creates a new largely fictitious social world. The events that take place in front of the camera inspire and shape the fantasies I create. Participants on both sides of the camera guide me. I see my work as the product of collaboration between myself and other artists.

I suppose the phrase "participants on both sides of the camera" demands some explanation. First, I often provide models minimal directions, or none at all (as is the case when I photograph a stranger at a party). In addition, I need peers to assist me with logistical and creative endeavors behind the camera. In fact, during some staged events, other folks make just as many images as I do. A usual shoot will involve myself and one other photographer (such as Henry Agnew, who has been my "photographic assistant" for a few years) making images as the model's actions unfold.

The structure of my photographic practice is varied, but illustrative examples of the process I describe above can be seen in the Happenings Gallery. For example, "floor.jpg" is a shot from a happening I orchestrated. Two painters volunteered to paint two models head to toe in latex body paint. Each came prepared with a theme and set to work creating an original work on a model's body. Three photographers and myself worked along with a videographer to document. Afterward I pooled and edited most of the media we made. The models went home to peel off the latex body paint.

I presented media from the happening above as a piece by me, but I never felt that was sufficient. A work of such scope, that requires so much communal effort, belongs to everyone who participates. Sure, I directed much of the action during the shoot above, but I was not the only creative impetus. The painters made their plans with no input from me, and those wielding cameras got only minimal direction. I established goals, and tackled logistics. The magic of the shoot, however, came from the collaboration.

This blog will help my photographs live in their proper social context. Writers who have created images with me (from either side of the camera) or have an interest in my work, are invited to contribute. I hope that as time passes readers will have the opportunity to understand the collaborative spirit behind the work I make. I also hope that contributors to this blog will inspire others to collaborate. I make pictures not only to produce images, but to explore social living. Readers of this blog are invited to join me.