The Portrait Project

Portraiture is a celebration of the individual. But more than that, it is an imprint of the sitter. It presents the subject's likeness after death, or after aging, to future generations of spectators. Perhaps that is why portraits have such gravity, it is impossible not to wonder about the life behind the face.

I was particularly inspired by a recent trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see their Renaissance Portrait Exhibition. After decades of Mary and Jesus, the "Renaissance witnessed the rediscovery of the individual." Of course, I was most interested in the clothes, jewelry, and hairstyles that were perfectly captured in the profiles of the most beautiful ladies of the day.

But Nick and I, being products of our generation, decided to tackle portraiture with a healthy dose of post-modernism. Enjoy the photos!

Photographed by Nick Shepard
Styled by Annie Shepard
Assisted by Andra Georges
Modeled by Mikaela Flynn and Katie Hoffman

More Portraits after the Jump

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Gaultier at the De Young

It takes a minute once you walk into the Gaultier show at the De Young Museum, to figure out whether the mannequins are alive or not. Their eyes seem to follow you, they open and close their mouths, heck they even address you directly. But they are too still, some of the faces seem to repeat, and there is just something well, off.

The revelation that the mannequins do not, in fact, have a soul and are simply projections, do nothing to diminish their impact. They make the clothes literally come alive, with a power akin to performance art. Below are my photographs of the show, as you can see, they look like Wagnerian Opera figures, fleshy but not of this world.

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Have we Met?

In Blow-Up, a film by Antonioni, a fashion photographer unwittingly captures a possible murder while shooting in a park. He then tries to solve the mystery  by blowing up his film to look for clues to the crime.  Antonioni was not alone in using photographs to accelerate the plot. In many 1960s movies, photographs shot by a private investigator or spy give the viewer a key piece of evidence. 

In this photoshoot, we sought to pay homage to the style and spy photos of 1960s films. The photoshoot focuses on a female character who is unknowingly caught on film throughout her wanderings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Why is she being watched? Who is watching her? Is she a victim or a perpetrator?

The styling was inspired by Faye Dunaway in the indelible Thomas Crowne Affair. She is always dressed to the nines, favoring perfectly tailored dresses and jackets complemented with an upswept bun and always, sunglasses. In the film, the Met was her crime scene and her target, Steve McQueen. Can you spot her in the crowd?

ASOS dress, vintage Aquasactum trench, Hermes bag, Barney's headband, Marc Jacobs sunglasses

Photographs by Nick Shepard

Styling by Annie Shepard

More photos after THE JUMP