Celebrating Life, Beauty, Art

Model = Kitty Pantera [link]

1/29/2011 After almost two years of discussing this photo I have come to some conclusions about my intent behind creating it. In my comments below I am responding to critics of the photo and barely touch on my reasons for creating this image. In fact I was intentionally thinking of The George Bush's of the world. Nazism still exists today under many different names. Wether it is perpetrated by a dictator or a certain US President the fact remains that intolerance and genocide still exist. This photo is a homage to George Bush and Dick Cheney for their incredibly successful propaganda campaign to get us into 2 murderous wars. The minds behind the Iraq wars are well aware of a book called "Mien Kaupf." The book it part autobiographical and part political theory. By any standard Hitler's political skills proved to be very successful and are a integral part of today's standard operating political procedures.

Thank you for your comments. While I have no problem apologizing for offending anyone, I will not remove the picture. Where do I begin? The First Amendment: Here in the United States we have freedom of speech and expression. You’ve missed the point of the photograph entirely. My purpose it to stimulate thought. While you see glorification of Nazi war crimes others see the juxtaposition of a beautiful nude woman wearing one of the all time symbols of evil. I think most people understand the intent of the photo is to provoke thought. If I had used a US Air Force hat instead, do you think anybody would demand that I remove the photo because the United States military has caused the bombing deaths of millions of people in Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Japan and Iraq? Not to mention all the dictators my government has supported around the world. I’m more concerned with the genocide that is happening right now, right here. Should pictures of models holding assault weapons be banned? Last week a dockworker here in San Pedro was gunned down in cold blood across the street from my studio. I saw his brain splattered on the street, blood still seeping from the wound. Man’s inhumanity to man is the question here. The intent of this photo is to bring attention to this cruelty. Any reasonable person knows the difference between right and wrong and any reasonable person viewing this picture will view it through their own perspective and make their own judgment. To think that life imitates art is sheer folly. To think that anyone viewing this photo is suddenly going to become a Nazi sympathizer is ludicrous. To think I am glorifying genocide is ridiculous. I must maintain my artistic integrity and stand by my work.

Some controversial hats to come: Papal hat on a nude young man wearing a cross, symbolizing child abuse by people you are told to trust. Confederate hat on a nude black woman symbolizing slavery, Vietnamese woman with napalm scars wearing a US Air Force hat symbolizing the horrors of war, etc. etc.

In 1993 I documented with photographs the entire Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance. The center’s stated purpose is much the same as mine: to challenge visitors to confront bigotry and racism…

By the way, I find much of the depiction of female genitalia on Deviant Art to be offensive to women, but I don’t accuse the models of being sluts and whores, they are entitled to express their sexuality anyway they like. It’s just not my cup of tea.

Just to be clear my intent was to provoke thought, I leave it up to the viewer to reach their own conclusions.

Fine Art Undressed