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THE BOXERS PROJECT
Peregrine Smith Books
THE BOXERS PROJECT is one part of a larger body of work on underwear and will be part of a gallery installation. It will also be released in book format.
Over the past few years I’ve evolved from work that is primarily concerned with formal issues to work that is thematic. These thematic projects have incorporated a variety of media.
THE BOXERS PROJECT addresses several personal concerns. I am interested in humor as a vehicle for deeper content. The series is on one level humorous and I hope that the images also reveal my pleasure for image-making. But they also address a concern that I have with commercial applications of photography. Most models are of a prescribed body type and clothing size. This is a contradiction because the buying public is so diverse. I find all body types to be wonderful and I’m attempting to photograph the vast range of age, size, etc.
The series is about people being comfortable with their bodies; however, most of the people photographed have expressed some anxiety about their bodies and the “shoot” has taken on, unintentionally, some therapeutic aspects. I’m trying to avoid photographing men and women in historical roles, yet I’m also trying not to assign them new roles ... they are just people.
I also have a renewed interest in the portrait and an exchange with people and how they see themselves. The “stage” for this project is an empty white seamless. I request that the model bring to the shoot a few self-portrait props. The objects may be symbolic or just things common to the models existence. A dialogue about the props precedes the “shoot”. Often models have “used” their photograph as a tool for communicating their own political and social concerns. During the photo session, ideas about the prop usually change and new issues evolve. In a sense, the shorts are a uniform. They are all the same size yet their “fit” varies with the person wearing them. The pattern on the shorts is appropriate to the biographical concept (at least 50% of the shorts were constructed specifically for the particular photographs).
The dialogue continues beyond the photo session as I request a statement from each volunteer to be the text of the book and appear with the pieces in the gallery. The models’ written responses have been as diverse as the models themselves. I request that the statements address the image, the process, or general personal philosophy. Within those requirements the statements have varied in tone, scale and content. The statements have become a major part of the project.
Gallery installation will include the actual boxer shorts on hangers from the ceiling with the photos (11" x 14") on surrounding walls.
Marjorie Masel