Sunday, January 20, 2008

Air McElroy



Lilly McElroy likes to throw herself around. At men, onto her bed, through the air. A performative photographer and video artist, McElroy seems to have a lot of fun doing what she does while making refreshingly spontaneous pictures. I asked her to explain the procedure behind her photographs and this is what she sent me:

"I started the project by placing an ad on Craig's list looking for men who would meet me at bars blind date style and let me literally throw myself at them. This worked fairly well, but limited the # of photos I could take. Now , I go to bars with a friend/photographer and approach men who are physically larger than I am. I ask them if I can literally throw myself at them. If they say yes, I have myself photographed doing it and buy them a drink afterwards. If it seems like they want to hang out, I'll have a drink as well. Sometimes we talk about the project and sometimes we just chat. I don't have a specific set up for the photos. I just want them to look as much like snap shots or party pics as possible."

Of course there are layers of meaning behind the physical comedy, but McElroy knows how to capture our interest and keep our attention. There are lots of other good series on her website which I'd recommend checking out.





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