 |
| Kevin Slack's photography of Cuban men has spanned several years. |
Canadian photographer Kevin Slack appreciates the visual beauty of Cuba. And that extends to his appreciation of the male form, as he has spent years creating beautiful portraits of Cuban men. In this exclusive interview with portfolioLATINO.com, he shares some personal thoughts about his work and inspiration. (Considering that there hasn't been much in book form dedicated solely to Cuban male models since 1998's Somos Cubanos, don't you think it's about time Mr. Slack gets a book deal?)
El fotógrafo canadiense Kevin Slack aprecia la belleza visual de la isla de Cuba. Y eso también incluye el cuerpo masculino. Slack a pasado varios años creando imagenes inolvidables de hombres cubanos. En esta entrevista exclusiva con portfolioLATINO.com, comparte unos de sus pensamientos sobre sus obras.
 |
| Kevin Slack depicts Cuban men in Cuban settings, both natural and man-made. |
You’ve been visiting Cuba since 2000, and have photographed a lot there. How has your work and artistic eye evolved?
The biggest differences are peripheral, I think. In the beginning, I was a tourist who would occasionally try to take a few beautiful photos, mostly because I was overwhelmed with the space and the people, in particular of course, the men. Now when I go, it's to spend time with my friends, yes, and to take home as many satisfying images as I can. And with the evolution of motivation is the evolution of logistics. After so many visits to Cuba, I have quite a lot of friends and models and contacts that help me get closer to finding the images I am looking for.
And maybe then there is an evolution of perspective too. I am still an outsider. But my heart and my soul yearn for Cuba. I feel more at home there most of the time than I do in Canada. I hear my Cuban friends scoffing at that, a little. It's easier to love Cuba when you don't have to live there. In the end, I don't think my aesthetic — wherever it is beauty comes from — hasn't changed that much. Just perspective and opportunity has changed. That, and I'm a lot harder on myself what makes a good image.
With gradual change coming to Cuba, how will this affect your artistic motivation and the creative approach of your Cuban models?
It's more and more difficult for me to predict the nature of change that will come to Cuba. What I mean is, I would have thought it would have come already. But it has not come. Cuba lives on the apex of change and disaster. And really, right now, Cuba needs more than gradual change. It needs solid and sudden change. I'm not terribly politically-minded, but I can still see the suffering and I can still see the desperation. Paradoxically, I'm not sure the Cuba I love will survive sudden and sweeping change. This is the same paradox that prevents Cuba from correction; what I mean is all the old men who could make change in Cuba are too afraid of what will happen to Cuba to make any change of any significant impact. It already affects my motivation. I feel like the work that I do has an expiration date. I feel urgent. And for my friends I hope that change, like a calculated avalanche, will be swift and sudden, and most of all helpful.
How do you find models in Cuba? What do you look for in a male model?
First, the kind of man I love to photograph is everywhere. Just walk down to the street. Young, muscular, sun-burnished, and fierce. And some of my favorite models, I have found this way, walking down the street. In which case, I stop them, and introduce myself in barely sufficient Spanish and tell them I am a photographer and show them samples of my work and ask them if they are interested. And so far, after ten years, nobody has been obviously offended or angry.
Now that I think of it, I found all six of the twins in the street. Others are friends of friends. Friends and models who know the work I do will bring a friend or three to my private house in Havana for impromptu auditions and interviews. Sure, I respond to masculinity and sexuality and eroticism. But after that, the thing that I look for most in a model is enthusiasm and trust. A model needs to trust me. And I need to know that they are interested in doing it, not just for the money and not just to have a beautiful image of themselves, but for the experience of doing it.
Your models exude a combination of masculinity, sexuality and eroticism that not every male model has the ability to convey. How difficult is it to find models that fit the bill both in terms of their physical looks and their ability to portray these qualities?
Some are better than others, of course. But I'm not often wrong with my instincts who will make a good model. And models are usually well prepared for what I'm looking for. Once in a while, I will find a potential model who, physically, is exactly what I'm looking for. Or who has something special that intrigues me. And I will spend the extra effort building that relationship and trust; and when it works, it is very satisfying. But, really that vivid and fluid sexuality, and that vulnerability that I love in so many of my models, is raw material. It's all there already; I don't have to manufacture it. I just have to mold it.
How does your work with male models in Cuba differ from your work with male models in other destinations?
My passion is Cuba and Cuban men. And there's something about the whole process, the whole experience of my Cuban work that gets me and keeps me going. The heat, the sea air, the boys, the music, the space, the light, is all an inspiration. And I wake up inspired. And I dream inspired. My work in Cuba is a miraculous sprint every time. Only two of my models in Cuba have gone on to pursue modeling. It's not a big industry in Cuba, where they have almost no consumer culture and no advertising to speak of. But, at best, I am in Cuba for one month in a year.
The only other place where I have worked is at home in Toronto. It's a completely different experience. I have had the privilege of working with a few great models locally. But, quite reasonably, male models in Toronto have their own expectations and their own agenda and the whole experience become more like a negotiation. It’s a dialogue to satisfy two needs rather than a dialogue to satisfy one, or at least that’s the way it seems. And — for whatever reason — the trust I love with my Cuban models is so much more warily given and so much more tentative, and the vulnerability, so much more guarded and protected when I work with local models.
Do you have any Cuba-specific projects that you’re currently working on?
If all goes well, I'm hoping to get back to Cuba the end of March. I was there in November and, while I had some successes — and I'm working through quite a large catalogue of new work — I also had a number of challenges. It rained for over a week for one thing, thanks to a tropical storm. And since I got home I have been overwhelmed with the desire to get back and fix everything that didn't go quite right. I already have a very long shot list planned. Meanwhile, I continue to add new work to the public area of www.snappedshots.com. I am also going to be updating the Members area — www.snappedshots.com/join.php — with some of my more erotic work in the coming weeks. Almost all of the images on my website — in the public and private areas — are available for sale as prints. And I'm hoping that 2011 is the year where I will finally snag a book contract. When I get information about that, of course I will post it on the website.
If some enterprising and motivated person wanted to start a Facebook fan group, I sure would appreciate it. For their effort, I would give that person access to my Members area. And put up a follow link on SnappedShots.
Comments
Post a Comment