For our maiden voyage in our interview series I am honored to present to you Eden Eris. Eden is by my accounting a stunning model who brings a rich emotional sensuality to her modeling, particularly in her nude work. She's an active artist, both modeling and shooting her own photography. From her photographs there is an obvious intelligence, which I think comes through in this interview. Please enjoy this interview.
Interview
DPX: When did you first begin to appreciate or enjoy art forms expressed by nudes? And were there particular mediums that you became aware of before finding photography, or did that come first for you?Eden: I always enjoyed neoclassical, baroque, surrealism, etc, etc, paintings and sketches of nudes. I have drawn ever since I could hold a pencil, so that was my first medium. This progressed to painting. A good friend of mine and fellow artist starting becoming interested in photography at a young age, when we were 11 or so, and that's when I first started posing as a model for her, though not nude, obviously. I first tried nude modeling when I was 20, and I have been doing it ever since.
DPX: What artists in particular can you remember finding some resonance with? What was it about their work that struck you?
Eden: Marc Chagall is my favorite artist of all time. The depth of honest emotion in his paintings are what draw me in. Vermeer, Velazquez, Frida, and Van Gogh are other favorites of mine. Their provoking honesty in depicting humanity is what I find so striking. Lara Jade has also been very inspiring to me. Her works takes my breath away in its stark beauty.
DPX: When was it that you began to entertain the idea that you would try your hand at nude art modeling? And if you can comment on why it was appealing to you, please comment on that, too.
Eden: I first posed nude just after my 20th birthday. I had just started modeling and wanted to try out everything to see what suited me. It took some time for it to evolve into something meaningful for me, as a true art form.
DPX: What was this first nude modeling session like for you? Was that for a photographer, and what was that experience like for you, artistically and personally?
Eden: My first nude shoot was just "I'm a naked girl on a bed, trying to look sexy", for a local photographer. It really crept up on me, and before I realized it, I was in love with the art of it. I was completely unaware of its depth the first several nude shoots I did. It wasn't until at least 6 months later that I really came into my depth with it. Right around the time I first shot with Angela K Rough, actually. Something clicked in my brain when I saw the shots from our first shoot together. She awakened the art in me. I had done many nude shoots before her, but for the first time, when I looked at the images from our shoot, I saw myself in an entirely non sexual light. It was pure art, and that's what got me hooked.
DPX: How do you think of yourself in the artistic process, from the model's point of view? Do you think of yourself as a collaborating artist, or "just" a model?
Eden: It depends on the photographer, on the particular shoot. Even if it's a paid shoot that I would not be doing for trade under any circumstances, I try my hardest to impart the essence of my being into my poses and expressions. I definitely think of myself as a collaborating artist, but to varying degrees depending on who I'm shooting with. With Angela, for example, I am always very inspired to create and impart my artistic vision into our shoot as much as I can.
DPX: When modeling for photographers, do you prefer that they have a strongly formed concept in mind prior to the shoot, or can a shoot be something that evolves in it's own right, even surprising you and the photographer?
Eden: I have no preference. Both have their points.
DPX: What are you favorite styles or themes of shoots to participate in? Do you prefer a more figure-centered or driven theme, or portrait-styled nudes, or otherwise?
Eden: I prefer to do emotive art nudes surrounded by nature. There is an energy that flows through nature to humans, and when captured photographically is most powerful.
DPX: Who would you say are some of your favorite photographers that you have worked with? Can you tell us a little bit about what it is that endears them to you?
Eden: Angela is one of my all time favorites. She is open to my ideas and improvisation, she is fluid and creative. I don't have sufficient words to describe her vision, and I think to attempt to do so would undermine her talents.
DPX: You're a photographer in your own right, what I would call a "modtographer," shooting film. Have you tried digital photography and just not liking it? What's the romance with the film? And how long have you been a photographer?
Eden: I have tried digital photography. Most of the reason I do film only is because, well, I only own film cameras I do prefer film overall though, I do wish to get a DSLR at some point. Film is more personal and raw to me. There is so much history to film. A meeting of science and art, is utterly fascinating. I have been shooting since around the age of 17.
DPX: Tell us a little bit about your self-portraits. They're quite strong in that they're well composed and show an adept eye. Why do you shoot self-portraits? How is this different from modeling for another photographer?
Eden: Thank you! You're very generous with your praise. I wouldn't have been so flattering to myself, but, I am always my toughest critic. I shoot self portraits for a few reasons, the practical one being I always have myself around to shoot if I don't have a willing subject at hand. The personal reason would be self exploration. There is no pretense with self portraits. I am not trying to be anything anyone else wants me to be, for it is just the camera and I. No one else's opinion is influencing the shot, just mine and mine alone. What you see when I capture myself in photographs is pure me. Not sexy Erin, not pretty Erin, not sad Erin, and so forth. Just a candid measure of self.
DPX: Are your self-portraits simple self-exploration? Are you making any statement about art or yourself? What's behind this work and what do you hope the viewers will encounter?
Eden: I have no agenda for my self portraits. If I am making a statement, it is entirely candid. I have no hopes for what others will think of it. It is entirely a recording of self observation.
Photo by Angela K. Rough, All Rights Reserved, 2010
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