Here's what Brenda and Clint each had to say about their
collaboration.
Brenda's words on the project:
I took this picture which was given to me by photographer
Clint Weathers to work with. What struck me most was the
raw, yet vulnerable, sexuality of the model. That, and
oddly, that she appears cold. There are goose-bumps on her
legs if you look closely. The contrast between the striking
green of her eyes and the red and black veil or cape that
drapes down her back.
A million ideas came to mind, from a re-telling of Little
Red Riding Hood to working this clearly fantastical being
into my usual fare as a writer of hard science fiction. But
she herself did not want to go there. Sometimes characters
are like that. Perhaps the idea of being inside a cold
silver rocket ship is what brought up the goose bumps in
the first place.
I chose to work in two mediums and do two pieces that would
relate to each other, so what follows is a poem, and a
flash fiction story in the language of myth.
Clint has this to say:
To
me, there are two kinds of art -- art which shows the world
as it is, and art which shows the world as it could be.
As I age, I tend to think of myself less a "photographer"
and more a philosopher with a camera. As I explore the
ideas of conceptualism and epistemology in photography, I
look for places where those lines blur.
This is one of those photographs. It shows a beautiful
young woman wearing a red hooded cape. But almost instantly
upon looking at the photograph, narratives come to mind --
narratives not back up by any possible exegesis of the
photograph. Little Red Riding Hood being the most obvious.
Her glance seems predatory and that lends itself to other,
darker narratives as well. But again, be careful -- no
narrative can be assumed. Even the works of epic narrative
photographers (Doisneau comes readily to mind) is posed,
set up and "fake."
Having read some of Brenda's work after getting her as my
partner, I knew she'd look past the cliched possibilities
and go straight for an authenticity that would be
unescapable.
Let her words be your guide with my photograph.
Brenda can be found online at
www.brenda-cooper.com
Clint can be found online at
www.squeenus.com