Midas Touch

This image is from my Yosemite project with Allyn Saroyan. These images will be accompanied by writing and published in what will be my second book collaboration. I'm very much looking forward to sharing it with you.

We lodged at Mono Lake, and spent four full days hiking and shooting. We hiked 8-15 miles every day to some of the most pristine, and diverse, landscapes I have ever seen.

The scene in this image was one of my favorite places to pose, because there were so many options to play with. I must have worked with just these two boulders for at least an hour. The immediate feature that struck me was the unique color of this rock. It was the only boulder, as far as my eye could see, that was even remotely of this hue. It was as if someone placed it there, and it matched me.

My mind immediately recalled the story of King Midas, who became so corrupt with greed, he wished for everything he touched to be transformed to gold. When his wish was granted, to his surprise, he found himself isolated and miserable. He had succeeded in freezing the entire living, breathing world into the hard stuff of futile currency; Even his own daughter. 

This was a story my mother read to me often when I was very young. Especially having lived in poverty for much of my childhood, as well as witnessing the maddening effect money and gambling had inflicted upon some of my family members, this story left a profound impression on me as I developed a character of my own.

This image, to me, is very much an ironic allegory, embodying the moral that had so deeply influenced my way of life.

Here we have a nude figure, shed of clothing and jewelry, outside of conventional public decorum, exposed in the wild elements. But it is not a mere figure, but a breathing subject. The subject understands the power she has to adapt to ever changing systems, and to manifest her intentions. But there is not a longing for excess. There is commune with the organic world, and a knowing that she has the strength to maneuver obstacles, and conscious confidence in her choices. There is a steadiness and readiness. She is presently between a rock and a hard place, but she is still standing, with her heart to the sun.

xo.