Featured Artist: Michael Berkowitz

copyright (c) Michael Berkowitz

Michael Brekowitz is an artist in every respect.  Until recently, he had been known as a sculptor and performance artist.  Finding inspiration in 19th century erotic photography, Michael began photographing nude portraits.  What was initially a diversion between exhibitions of his more serious work, photographing the nude quickly became his new focus but he preserved those early creative outlets into his approach to photographing the nude.  He controls every aspect of his image. There is a common creative element that runs through all of Michael’s nude photographs that is in no doubt due to his interest in the “power and necessity of religious ritual and its theatrical qualities” as he states on his website.  Indeed, there is a strong theatrical element in his compositions.  His models, elaborately clad in jewelry and costumes, become erotic goddesses that inspire desire and appreciation for beauty.  Initially Michael would utilize props, fabrics, laces and furniture that he had collected from all over the world over many years to set his stage.  As his need for creative individualism progressed, he began designing his own costumes, masks and jewelry tailored to each model.

copyright (c) Michael Berkowitz

Micheal’s models come from all walks of life.  Most are often amateur models with no prior modeling experience.  Some are young women in their early twenties, others are mature and into their 50s.   There is an everyday beauty to them.  In a society often obsessed celebrities and the idealized form, Michael’s models remind us that it is equally beautiful to be natural and comfortable with who you are.  Scars are not hidden and wrinkles are not masked.  His models are of many different ethnic backgrounds.  He has photographed women with a variety of body shapes that range from thin and sculpted to the smooth form of the slightly overweight.  In spite of the vast variety of body types, ages and personalities available to Michael, the one trait they all share in common is their desire to explore their sexuality and display their nude bodies so that they can see themselves are they truly are and yet simultaneously become goddesses.  The majority of the nude portraits photographed by Michael have been women but he has also photographed men, couples and transgenders.  Michael’s nude photographs are an ode to the naked body, a celebration of the human form.

Mature Beauty

Copyright (c) Michael Berkowitz. From his Mature Beauty Series.

The idea for Michael’s latest series of work titled Mature Beauty came to him while he was filtering through model ads of 40 and 50 year old models.  What particularly stood out to Michael was their apologetic tone for not being young, skinny or perfect.  It’s hard to say whether this self-defeating language was do to prior experiences or just a general perception that you had to look a certain way to be considered beautiful.  Needless to say, there is certainly beauty that comes from years of aging and experience.  In his new work, Michael has demonstrated in an elequant collection of photographs the inability of age to deminish the radiance of the female nude form.  I am particularly fond of this collection because it articulates how self confidence, regardless of age, is extreamly attractive and does no less to inspire.  We must embrace the changes that take hold of our bodies and admire them for what they are and not how they once were.

For more about Michael Berkowitz and his collection of work, please visit his website at http://www.michaelberkowitz.com.