“Towards the door we never opened”
Looking at these photos keeps making me think about Burnt-Norton: “footfalls echo[ing] in the memory…”
(photo by Veronika Von Volkova)
(photo by Veronika Von Volkova)
I Want to Tell You a Secret
I used to have a roommate with whom I would have conversations about fetishes. I told her I always loved the look and feel of writing on skin. She agreed, but while I thought of poetry, she thought of music—bar, staff, and all.
We wondered what it be like to date a mathematician.
The Garden
Katelan and I are back at it…
(photo by Veronika von Volkova)
This time we shot in a garden in the East Village, early in July. Veronika came down from Montreal to do some work in the city, and as you’ll see, we were incredibly lucky to get a few hours with her that afternoon. The sun was perfect, the garden was in full summer bloom, and we were quietly alone together, the strange, muted light moving between the overgrown foliage and surrounding buildings. Katelan says this is one of her favorite places in New York.
(photo by Veronika von Volkova)
I can’t wait to show you more of it.
And So It Begins: Von Volkova
Photo by Veronika von Volkova
A few months back I emailed Mike telling him I wouldn’t be doing anymore fully nude modeling. That was a semi-lie as I have one more shoot coming up in October, but it was one that was promised many moons ago. I felt like that aspect of my life was over and it was time to start a new path.
“So what does that mean for Lie & Indite?” He asked me.
“We can still do it, we just have to be more creative.”
“I can deal with that. It makes it more interesting.”
A few weeks later I was a bit restless and wanted a photographer for an impromptu shoot in a secret garden. I had been talking with Canadian photographer and friend Veronika von Volkova about Lie & Indite for a few days and she messaged me right away.
“Oh I’d love to shoot this. Just out of curiosity I’m going to check train tickets.”
Two minutes later she had messaged me again. Tickets were cheap and she was willing to come. “Book it!” I wrote. A few days later she was at my house.
I had no plan for this shoot. All I knew is that I wanted to shoot it in the secret garden. Veronika and I woke up that morning, threw a bunch of random things into various bags and headed over to the garden. I had another shoot planned before Lie & Indite. Another impromptu shoot, that one Gypsy inspired. We took over the garden and began. We did six photo shoots in one day. I was covered in mulberries, dirt, and ink by the end of it.
This shoot is different from the last, as each one after this will be as well. We’ve also decided to write a little less for these posts so that you can enjoy the art more. This project has turned out to be more than just words on flesh, it’s also become a love letter of sorts to New York City, a place I have called home now for fourteen years. Mike and I were interviewed by my good friends at Eight Cuts about it. You can read the interview here. And now we bring you round two: Von Volkova.
x to the o,
Katelan
Photo by Veronika von Volkova
VII.
This is going to be the last post for this round of Lie & Indite. Since GQ Italy picked up our big, final shot a few months back, it may not be as surprising, but I’ve been looking forward to posting it for months now. I’m happy it’s landing on my turn.
(photo by Balthazar)
I’ve received some amazing feedback on this project—from old friends, people I barely know, even relatives that have called me up for the first time in a decade. Katelan and I have been talking with a photographer about our next shoot, and it’ll probably take place in the next 2 weeks, but that means we’ll be down for a while.
(photo by Balthazar)
It’s going to be different. And exciting. And I hope you get to see a different side of what Katelan and I are doing and thinking in the city to which this project has become a love letter.
(photo by Balthazar)
M.C.L. June 2011
The String Wears Thin At The Ends
We are coming to the end of our first session with Balthazar. Balthazar is one of those people I had only met over the computer screen. A friend had done a drunken interview with me on Filthy Gorgeous Things and he was featured as well. Somehow we connected. And on one odd day he left a comment on a photograph which prompted me to ask him to be our photographer.
Balthazar and Sonia came to my house one of the first nights they were in the city. We had an impromptu underwear party. Mike was at home. He was very jealous. There was magic between all of us. And I knew right then and there that this series of photographs was going to be special.
Balthazar writes letters. They contain stories, some true, som made up, some are clean, and some are seductive. You never know, perhaps you’ll get one of our images with your letter. Either way, it’s always lovely to get mail.
This week I am tired. I have written guest blogs, I have painted tarot cards, and I just finished a giant blog on inspiration, imagination, and neurotic behaviors. This week I want to sip champagne and eat strawberries and chocolate. This week we start with a new photographer. But until then. Here’s a few more photos from our session with Balthazar and Sonia.
VI.
I took an impromptu trip to Paris for 5 nights last week, to see two old friends, one who was very glad I was coming (he’s from Detroit; we met there), and one who probably didn’t expect or explicitly want to see me, but nevertheless agreed to.
(Photo by Balthazar)
I grew up moving every few months or years, so it’s almost a necessity for me to get out of the country, and especially out of New York, every once in a while. I get really caught up in living here. On the other hand, I always find myself being relieved when I see the New York skyline after an absence, and despite what I thought would happen, returning from Paris was no different.
(Photo by Balthazar)
We’re beginning to approach the end of the first round of Lie & Indite shoots, and despite what I thought this project would mean to me, and to everyone I’ve talked to since it’s gone up, I think L&I has among other things undoubtedly become a tribute from two non-NYC natives to the kind of city that would spur someone to say “I want you to write poems all over me for a photo shoot” to a relatively new friend (read: almost stranger) and think that’s reasonable way to spend a Sunday.
I logged in from the hotel lobby late last Monday night (Paris time) to see that Katelan had left a draft for me to look over—one more reminder to enjoy myself where I was, and to come back ready to work, which is what, I think, both of us came here to do.
M.C.L.
Apr. 2011
Pixels on Screen
This week we become pixels.
Photos by Balthazar
Part of this experience is the New York experience. Going to sleazy motels, having limited time, the wrong markers, and making art.
We create the world we live in. We create ourselves.
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